Demand response programme generates significant new revenue for NHS hospital
Health trust implements low carbon technology and avoids rising energy costs
KiWi Power, the UK’s leading smart grid and energy demand management company, is helping public sector organisations, such as the acute NHS-run Lister Hospital, reduce energy costs and avoid peak demand tariffs. The low-carbon energy efficient measures, known as demand side response (DSR), are expected to generate more than £100,000 a year in new revenue for the hospital.
Managed by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Lister Hospital recently upgraded its high voltage electricity network. During KiWi Power’s turnkey project, four new diesel generators were installed to provide backup power along with a duplicate power feed from UK Power Networks. These upgrades will provide a reliable source of power and ensure that critical systems are kept operational in the event of a mains failure.
Yoav Zingher, CEO and co-founder of Kiwi Power said, “Energy savings should be a top priority for UK organisations but many rarely find the time to address facility usage and reduce energy bills. The government is currently discussing demand side response (DSR) measures as part of its electricity market reform (EMR) proposals. Looking at the UK’s capacity margins, demand response should be a part of any robust and sustainable long-term solution for the UK energy industry.”
KiWi Power has also installed smart controls that will allow the hospital’s new gas combined heat and power (CHP) plant to run in parallel with standby power equipment. This will enable the hospital to make additional savings on its utility bills by reducing energy consumption during times of peak demand.
Low-carbon technology will allow the hospital to generate surplus power that can be exported back to the grid, providing it with a new risk-free revenue stream. The hospital will receive payments for participation through demand response aggregator KiWi Power via National Grid.
Control systems were integrated with the hospital’s existing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) equipment so that KiWi Power can control the standby power equipment remotely from its smart grid operations centre in London.
Smart meters provide facility managers at Lister Hospital with real-time data, offering a much-improved insight into periods of high-energy usage, which enables them to manage peak demand more effectively.
Dean Goodrum, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust’s head of estates and facilities, said, “I have been very impressed with KiWi Power’s technical ability and attention to detail. All in all this has been a prime example of partnership working.”
Yoav Zingher continued, “No upfront costs were incurred by Lister Hospital as the National Grid absorbs these. In effect, what we are doing is building a virtual power station, which operates using ‘negawatts’ – or negative watts. By helping National Grid balance electricity loads at short notice we reduce the UK’s reliance on dirty coal-fired power stations to provide electricity during peak demand. That’s good for business and good for the environment.”
KiWi Power was responsible for the management of control installation, grid synchronisation, load performance testing and commissioning during the three-month project.
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Technical notes
- UK Power Networks installed a duplicate 5MVA 11kV feed as part of the hospital’s high-voltage electricity network upgrade.
- A new 1.4 MW spark ignition natural gas combined heat and power engine delivers site base load power and can be run in parallel with four new 2MVA LV diesel generators to provide full backup power. Together, this low carbon technology provides the hospital with 4.5 MW of short-term operating reserve (STOR) and TRIAD avoidance operation.
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About KiWi Power
KiWi Power was co-founded by Yoav Zingher and Ziko Abram in 2009. KiWi Power is a smart grid company that specialises in managing the demand side of energy consumption for large industrial and commercial consumers of electricity and for government regulators. The technical term is ‘demand response’. KiWi Power operates in the UK in England, Wales and Scotland supplying demand-side management services to the National Grid. The National Grid pays for these demand reductions, thereby allowing participating companies to generate new recurring revenue streams and reduce their carbon footprint.
www.kiwipowered.com
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