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Residents of a block of flats in Brixton are to offer flexibility services to UK Power Networks (UKPN) as part of a ground-breaking trial.
The scheme will build upon the existing CommUNITY project run by EDF Energy and Repowering London, which enabled the occupants of Elmore House to trade electricity generated on site through a peer-to-peer energy market.
The Urban Energy Club will take this a step further by allowing them to offer flexibility services to UK Power Networks using the solar panels and batteries installed at the building.
“Elmore House residents will be able to dip their toes into the water of managing renewable energy generated from their own rooftop,” said UKPN head of innovation Ian Cameron.
“The results will really help us design and shape future services. We hope it will ultimately offer more residents the opportunity to run their energy supplies like this.”
Agamemnon Otero, co-chief executive at Repowering London, said: “Building the first inner-city community energy project on social housing in the UK in 2012 was just the start. Brixton Energy Solar 1 showed how energy could be produced and owned by communities, creating a local solution to fuel poverty and climate change. Now there are four projects up and running in the London Borough of Lambeth.
“Urban Energy Club is the next step in developing a local energy model where renewable energy can be stored and used on site by residents. Generating, managing and sharing their own energy truly empowers people, and we can live up to the co-ops’ mission – ‘Power to, for and by the people’.”
Maria Brucoli, smart energy systems manager at EDF Energy R&D, said: “Working with UK Power Networks on this new project is the first step to understanding how domestic, local energy markets like this can interact with the grid and flex to match market demands.
“Urban Energy Club is a first for the residential market but will hopefully inspire many more and support our journey to net zero by 2050.”
Last month, Centrica gained approval for the electricity system operator to provide frequency response using a fleet of smart hot water tanks installed in homes.
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