UK: SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) has entered into a strategic agreement with Dimplex (Glen Dimplex Group) to develop and deploy systems and products which can support the decarbonisation of electrical heating.
SSE is the UK’s leading generator of electricity from renewable sources and has over five million electricity supply customers and Dimplex is the world’s largest electrical heating business.
The UK government’s Annual Energy Statement, published in July 2010, stated that ‘we cannot continue to rely on gas, or oil, for our heating needs indefinitely’ and that the country’s future heat supply will require increased electrification.
SSE and Dimplex plan to:
• work together on developing systems for storing energy from the electricity grid in, for example, thermal storage heating devices or water heating devices; and
• work together on investment in, and the development and manufacture of, new heating products using new technologies.
In this way, the companies expect to develop systems and products such as heat pumps which can maximise the use of zero carbon electricity when it is available from technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaics and have the ability to store it for use during periods of peak demand.
They are also aiming to invest in communication systems required to make these technologies work together to achieve the maximum energy efficiency.
