David Walker has a wide breadth of expertise and more than 30 years of international experience covering the entire energy value chain. He started his career as a geologist for American oil company, Amoco, before moving into operations and then major capital project management – the latter for BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian mining company. He was President of BHP Billiton’s petroleum operations in the North Sea, North Africa, Middle East and Australia. He joined DNV in 2007 to further develop its energy business and then moved into the role of Chief Strategy Officer within the DNV Group. Walker was appointed as CEO of DNV KEMA as of June 2012 and CEO of DNV GL Energy in September 2013 following the merger of DNV Group with Germanischer Lloyd (GL).

1. Managing the world’s growing demand for energy requires a balance between costs, reliability and environment. How can DNV GL – Energy help governments and key energy stakeholders in Asia Pacific address this trilemma?

DNV GL counsels governments and key energy stakeholders on meeting these changes and addressing the trilemma. For example, this year we advised on one of Turkey’s largest smart metering projects to prepare for the deployment of a full-scale Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system; demonstrated as part of a consortium in the Netherlands, that smart energy systems are technically feasible and that energy flexibility makes economic sense; and assessed the potential for electricity efficiency in Saudi Arabia. 

2. In terms of energy security, what are the challenges in moving to a high renewables future?

A key challenge is managing the variability of solar and wind power without compromising power system reliability. This undoubtedly brings technical complexity – but not necessarily at additional cost. As an example, our recent study for the European Commission suggested that the cost of integrating a high share of renewable energy into Europe’s electricity system need not be more costly than alternative scenarios based on conventional generation.

Achieving this, however, requires system operators and regulators to embrace innovation and plan well ahead. We should also see grid investments as equal to generation investments. The grid should be adapted to meet the needs of renewables rather than the other way around. A grid facilitating interconnection between renewable energy sources in different regions and countries can also boost the overall reliability of renewable-based markets.

3. With renewables penetrations expected to increase across Asia, what are DNV GL’s solutions to address key challenges in renewables integration whilst ensuring grid reliability? 

There is no silver bullet: we need a holistic and integrated approach ranging from cross-regional interconnection, through to consumer-level demand response and energy efficiency. 

In particular, we believe that energy storage presents a huge opportunity. Storage is already finding distinctive applications in Asia – for instance, as an alternative to diesel hybrids in remote areas. Batteries behind the meter, such as recently announced home-based systems, and on an industrial scale before the meter, are revolutionising the way renewable energy is perceived. Storage technology is now passing down a cost curve similar to that of solar PV’s. Our Beyond Integration survey shows that storage is believed to be the most important enabler for a high renewables system. 

4. On the topic of sustainable energy, a recent DNV GL report stated that 82 percent of respondents believe that the electricity system can be 70 percent renewable by 2050. What are your views on this?

As we build up to COP21 in Paris later this year, it is clear that global carbon emissions must be cut.  Our Beyond Integration survey has shown that the vast majority of energy industry leaders are confident or convinced that renewables could play a major role in the future energy supply within our lifetime.

This means that the widespread deployment of renewables is a question of “how” not “if”. Change is happening: PV and wind are already increasingly seen as mature technologies. The recent announcement of the final Clean Power Plan in the US is further evidence of this.

5. What are the major threats to power infrastructure?

Extreme weather is a threat which may emerge as particularly relevant in Asia, especially as the impacts of climate change are felt. Weather events have major implications for power sector asset owners and grid operators, affecting the loading, efficiency, and failure rate of components. In turn, high failure rates may increase the likelihood of overlapping outages, with the risk of them spreading and cascading.

In planning for extreme weather risks, power sector decision-makers can face difficult choices relating to increasing system hardening and ride-through (i.e. minimizing the amount of damage caused) and improving resilience to extreme weather events (i.e. minimizing the impact of any damage). 

At DNV GL, we developed the ADAPT framework to address threats to power infrastructure and help decision-makers better understand and manage these risks spanning climate projection, hazard identification, impact assessment, risk evaluation, risk management measures and cost-benefit analysis.