KiWi Power to partner with UK Power Networks in successful bid for energy storage project
Successful trials of energy storage could save more than £700m by 2040
London, 3 December, 2012 – KiWi Power, the UK’s leading smart grid and energy demand management company, will partner UK Power Networks on a four-year project which will examine the technical challenges and commercial opportunities of using stored electricity to meet peak energy demands.
The Smarter Network Storage (SNS) project is one of five innovative schemes selected by Ofgem to help secure the UK’s electricity supply and develop a new smart grid network.
According to Ofgem the SNS project has the potential to deliver significant new learning on the commercial and operational arrangements that could make battery storage an economically viable option for addressing network constraints.
The five schemes received £45.5m second-tier funding through Ofgem’s Low Carbon Networks (LCN) fund, which aims to accelerate the development of a low carbon energy sector, improve efficiency of the electricity distribution network and deliver financial benefits for end users.
One of the aims of the SNS project will be to trial storage technology and investigate the financial benefits of deferring or avoiding network reinforcement and selling flexibility services. Installation of a large-scale 6MW/10MWh energy storage facility at a trial site in Bedfordshire will commence in January 2013.
Yoav Zingher, CEO and co-founder of Kiwi Power said: “In order to achieve our renewable energy targets, the UK will need more than 40 GW of new low-carbon capacity by 2030. Alongside demand side response measures, energy storage has the flexibility to meet increasing demand peaks and help to manage the supply-side energy provision from intermittent wind and inflexible nuclear energy. This trial is an important step towards proving the benefits of energy storage and will provide essential information for understanding the practicalities and economics of energy storage ahead of a smart grid transition.”
KiWi Power will manage the commercial arrangements for the energy storage unit's participation in National Grid's load balancing services, including short-term operating reserves (STOR) and frequency response.
Once the project has proven successful and the capabilities of energy storage are fully understood, it is expected that similar projects could be rolled out across the UK and provide savings of over £700m by 2040.
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Editor’s notes
A summary of the five projects selected by Ofgem can be found here.
Energy storage device
The energy storage device will comprise:
- 10 MWh Lithium-ion battery system with racks of battery cells
- 6 MW power conversion system (PCS) with 11 kV step-up transformer
- 11 kV switchgear and protection
- Control management system to manage the safety and operation of batteries, PCS and interface with smart optimisation and control hardware
About KiWi Power
KiWi Power was co-founded by Yoav Zingher and Ziko Abram in 2009. KiWi 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 & Scotland supplying Demand Side Management services to National Grid. National Grid pays for these demand reductions, thereby allowing participating companies to generate new recurring revenue streams and reduce their carbon footprint.
About LCN fund
Ofgem announced the Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCN) fund in August 2009, which runs from April 2010 to March 2015. The fund will make available
up to £500 million over the five years, encouraging and enabling participating companies to trial new technology and explore operating and commercial arrangements which will aid the transition to a low carbon energy sector.
About UK Power Networks
UK Power Networks distributes power to a quarter of Britain’s population through its electricity networks serving London, the South East and the East of England. The company's 5,000 employees are dedicated to delivering a safe, secure electricity supply to about eight million homes and businesses via its networks of substations, overhead lines and underground cables.
UK Power Networks distributed the electricity at many venues for this summer’s international sporting events. This year we are investing £360million in our electricity networks and around £1.8billion in the five years to 2015. We are also undertaking trials to ensure our electricity networks support the transition to a low carbon future.
Customers pay their bills to supply companies but UK Power Networks delivers the power across our three areas. The industry regulator Ofgem sets an allowed revenue to distribution companies so that they can maintain safe and reliable electricity supplies. If customers are unfortunate enough to be affected by a power cut or have another issue with the electricity supply to their property, they should contact UK Power
Media enquiries
Marcus Edgar
T. 01635 898 363
M. 07810 876077
KiWi Power
Marina Hod
T. 0207 183 1030
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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