Severn Trent has awarded aggregator Open Energi a contract to help balance the grid by using its flexible load in demand-side response (DSR) programmes.
Under the agreement, awarded via open tender, Severn Trent’s process flexibility will be aggregated into a portfolio to provide services such as dynamic firm frequency response. FFR services command a premium because they help National Grid quickly balance the system as frequency rises or falls.
The water company already used Open Energi’s platform to harness flexibility at two sewage treatment works, totalling around 1.2MW. It has now identified a further six sites that it expects to bring online within the next six months.
Longer-term, Severn Trent plans to bring smaller sites and estate buildings into balancing and the firm aims to bring forward more than 20MW of flexibility by 2020.
Rob Wild, demand side response manager at Severn Trent, said the business case goes beyond revenue.
“Open Energi’s tech delivers an income, but it also gives us far greater visibility of how our assets are performing, second-by-second. This insight can help us to optimise our sites for the future – pre-empting maintenance issues, improving resiliency, and thinking more smartly about how we integrate other technologies, such as renewable energy and battery storage,” he said.
Open Energi said it will launch an upgrade to its tech platform next month.
Interested in demand-side response? Download The Energyst’s 2017 DSR report here.
Related stories:
Open Energi and Camborne Energy Storage take Tesla battery into frequency response
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Open Energi and Forum for the Future urge firms to join DSR ‘movement’
Open Energi signs 2MW DSR deal with construction firm Hanson
Government to consult on DSR in spring, aggregator Open Energi signs big deal
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