Newsletter – Issue 7: Unlocking flex
Phase 2 of Centrica’s award-winning Cornwall Local Energy Market is officially live – and it’s already making waves, with small businesses leading the charge in the renewable revolution.
A WORLD FIRST
It is an exciting time for Centrica’s LEM as phase 2 of the trials in Cornwall are now well underway. These are a world first; never before has the transmission and distribution grid operator both procured flexibility services contracts through a third-party market platform.
This is the latest in a number of milestones for the project: from the beta platform going live for the first time in 2018 to installing solar panels and smart battery systems in 100 homes across the county over the winter of 18/19.
Since market trials started in summer 2019, over 32MWh of flexible clean energy, worth approximately £12,000, has been dispatched to date through the platform and 150MWh of capacity reserved for the period until March 2020.
From a carbon perspective, the project has realised at least 8,420 tCO2e savings. This is expected to exceed 9,000 tCO2e by the end of the 2020, (equivalent to almost 1,000 homes' energy use for one year), with the total renewable energy capacity installed under the project exceeding 5MW. The trials will continue to unlock flexible clean energy until conclusion at the end of March 2020.
Phase 2 is our biggest moment yet, representing much of what is truly unique and ground-breaking about the LEM. National Grid is now buying flexibility through a local platform alongside the distribution system operator, for the first time, which opens up new revenue opportunities for LEM participants – and significantly, an exciting new opportunity for the energy industry.
The LEM platform allows buyers to place bids for flexibility, which it then matches with seller offers (i.e. the businesses and households able to generate or use energy in response system needs) through auctions that run from months ahead. Thus far, there have been 16 events where energy has been dispatched from LEM participants to meet local demand.
Crucially, the LEM coordinates the transmission and distribution network bids to avoid conflicting signals. This ability to create contracts for flexibility transactions that are ‘grid secure’ (that won’t create a further constraint on the network) will be key to unlocking flexibility from distributed energy resources as the role of flexibility on the system increases.
Jenny Woodruff, Project Manager for Western Power Distribution, said: “This phase also allows us to find out how flexibility providers behave in marketplaces that have different rules and processes. Discovering what new players who have joined the market like and dislike will be useful in shaping future markets.”
One of the ‘new players’ in the LEM is Newlyn Fish Harbour, which is now playing an important role in shaping Cornwall’s energy market.
At the heart of the Harbour, you’ll find Dan, whose job is that of ice maker. Without the ice he manufactures, the fish caught each day would not be in fit condition to sell to the buyers at Newlyn market each morning, who represent leading supermarkets and restaurants throughout Cornwall and beyond.
By participating in the LEM, Dan is helping to increase the proportion of green energy being used by the local electricity grid – all while doing his day job of keeping the local produce fresh.
Dan’s freezing machine requires the equivalent power of 300 homes when running at full capacity, and can be switched on at any time. He plans when he will be using his machine around a week in advance, which makes him an ideal participant in the LEM.
Centrica’s world-first virtual marketplace means that the system operators can procure Dan’s flexibility in advance – meaning he gets paid to use power at times or reduce power to help alleviate strain on the grid. This helps Dan to reduce his costs, but it also demonstrates the role that local businesses can play in creating a more dynamic, efficient energy network – one that is fit to accommodate the more renewable energy and help reduce our carbon emissions.
“Exploring the provision of flexibility through a local energy market is a first for us and even though we’re in the early stages of the trial, we’re looking forward to evaluating the results. The potential is really exciting as we look to unlock more flexible energy resources in the market, and greater cost benefits to consumers,” said Colm Murphy, Head of Electricity Market Change Delivery at the National Grid.
FURTHER INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
The Local Energy Market continued its winning streak as it scooped the ‘Smart Energy Award’ at this year’s Solar & Storage Live Awards and achieved the ‘Environmental Sustainability Supplier Award – Large Category’ title at the GlaxoSmithKline Environmental Sustainability Awards.
The pioneering project has achieved four accolades to date, following wins earlier this year at the prestigious Renewable Energy Association Awards and BusinessGreen Leaders Awards, where the LEM team collected awards for ‘Smart Energy System’ and ‘Innovation of the Year’, respectively.
Meanwhile, the LEM has also been shortlisted for ‘Clean Energy Scheme’ at the Green Energy Awards. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 27 November.
THE FUTURE RENEWABLE LEADERS
Following a successful exhibition earlier this year, we were delighted to participate in the October Cornwall Skills Show at the Royal Cornwall Show Ground in Wadebridge. The event provided an important opportunity to engage with the future leaders of renewables, with almost 200 STEM students engaging with our stand on 8 October.
Our stand featured the debut of our Smart Electricity System Demonstrator (SESD), which is an interactive model that uses water to represent the flow of electricity, with pumps and valves simulating the interactions between generation and demand.
The SESD was used in the mini workshops we held with students at the event, which sought to introduce the key concepts behind a zero-carbon electricity system, including climate change, the greenhouse gas effect and the technology transitions that will decarbonise our electricity supply. This unique model allows the team to bring each of these concepts to life.
We’re delighted that, as a result of our engaging workshops, several secondary schools have expressed interest in the LEM team bringing our interactive workshop to schools to educate and inform KS3 and KS4 students.
But it doesn’t stop there – we will be taking our education outreach programme on the road again in November at the Opportunities Cornwall event as we continue our efforts to engage the next generation of engineers, scientists and mathematicians.
If your school is interested in being part of this programme, please get in touch.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Camera crews visited LEM participants Newlyn Fish Harbour and the Olde House to film a top-secret documentary for the BBC. While we can’t reveal any details yet, we’re very excited!
Watch this space for more updates.
