Representatives from the Association of Decentralised Energy (ADE) and the government’s department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) visited Eurac, a European foundry using GridBeyond’s energy technology to participate in energy services, demand-side response (DSR) programmes and the Capacity Market.
The visit created an opportunity for the ADE and Beis to observe production processes and witness first-hand how large industrial and commercial energy users use smart sensors and advanced technology to balance the grid.
“We’re pleased that Beis is interested in learning more about the experience of DSR and capacity providers.” commented Michael Phelan, CEO at GridBeyond.
Creating a win-win situation for energy users
Rick Parfett, policy officer for the ADE, participated in the site tour, and commented “Having the opportunity to visit Eurac, and learn about the valuable role that GridBeyond is helping them to play in the transition to the smart system future, was very informative.”
The ADE also believes that “businesses, like Eurac, which are able to be flexible in their demand on grid, are creating a win-win situation for energy users, energy system players and the System Operator [National Grid].”“Those participating receive a financial incentive, the system operator benefits from reduced network costs and this in turn reduces costs for all users of the energy system,” Parfett summarised.
Technology neutrality for the Capacity Market
The visit from the ADE and Beis also provided the opportunity to discuss capacity market reformation, and some of the barriers. GridBeyond believe there is a need for modifications to the Capacity Market rules to ensure technological neutrality for all participants. In the last T-4 auction, held in Feb 2018 for delivery in 2021/22, 25% of the individual units which won contracts were DSR providers, but they were contracted to deliver only 2.5% of the actual capacity volume.
Ongoing dialogue
The recent visit formed part of BEIS’ ongoing dialogue with GridBeyond, the ADE, and numerous other parties to continue the development of suitable regulations and policies for the energy sector.
Steve Merritt, General Manager at Eurac, “welcomed the ADE and BEIS and we were pleased to give them the opportunity to see DSR in action at a large scale operational site. We’ve been working with GridBeyond since 2016 and have built a successful partnership which allows us to achieve the benefits of DSR participation, whilst minimising the impact on the daily operations of the business to a more than manageable level.”
About GridBeyond
GridBeyond uses world-class technology to deliver energy services and demand side response programmes to industrial and commercial businesses. GridBeyond’s intelligent energy technology delivers balancing services, capacity, energy trading, tariff optimisation, peak avoidance, on-site energy optimisation, predictive maintenance, fault-finding, benchmarking, energy analytics, and more.
For more information on how GridBeyond’s technology can impact each area of energy strategy, as well as balancing the electricity grid, download the E-Book “How to Enhance your Energy Strategy with DSR Technology”
