Level-Up will develop and trial the ZUoS energy balancing digital platform. It will leverage low carbon assets (Solar PV, Batteries, Heat Pumps) installed by the participants of the OneCarluke Community Energy Club. The ZUoS platform will utilise live energy data-feeds from the energy club’s LCT assets and network monitoring. It will integrate the data collected with SP Energy Network's NAVI platform and simulations will be run on the model. This will benefit the network by:
● Developing optimisation strategies to reduce peak demand on the LV network;
● Enhancing energy system modelling in combination with data from LCTs, to build improved LV forecasting capability.
The solution will enhance forecasting accuracy; local energy balancing; and help with resilience planning to more accurately inform capacity thresholds for LCT deployment and LV infrastructure upgrades.
Benefits
Our initial analysis in the Carluke area shows that the application of the ZUoS platform could save around £304k in the area through avoiding conventional reinforcement costs by 2050. These cost savings will be passed onto the customer through lower bills.
The project will explore how the effectiveness of the collaboration with community energy clubs using the ZUoS energy services platform can optimise energy usage, reduce energy expenditure, reduce peak demand and increase LCT deployment. During the project a detailed cost benefit analysis will be undertaken to compare of the method against that of conventional reinforcement.
Our initial analysis to assess the ability of the ZUoS platform to bring financial benefits was conducted across the Carluke area. We assessed 9 ground mounted substations in the Carluke Area. Predicted EV and Heat Pump demand was projected onto the present base demand for each substation.
Base Cost (Conventional Reinforcement) - £243k
Method Cost (Application of energy balancing with ZUoS Platform) - £58k
Potential saving in the Carluke area - £185k
Learnings
Outcomes
The results show a broad evening peak in demand in the base scenario. The effectiveness of various control mechanisms has been evaluated with regard to evening peak reduction.
The installation of PV and PV+Battery systems that maximise self-consumption have no effect on winter peak demand as there is negligible spare PV generation. Batteries that charge during overnight ‘off peak rates’ have no effect on the evening peak as they discharge prior to the evening peak.
Demand response and Collective Demand Side Management (CDSM) using overnight battery charging have been shown to reduce the evening peak. However, the broad peak results in battery depletion before the end of the peak when using a simplistic demand response. The CDSM scenario strategically deploys battery energy to optimally reduce the peak.
The collective control of small-scale assets has been shown as a viable method for reducing peak demand on local network infrastructure. CDSM of low carbon technologies has been shown as the optimal control strategy for reducing peak load on the network.
The project has developed a method statement for the operation of CDSM that benefits CECs, local communities and DNO’s. It has also highlighted barriers to adoption and methods by which, DNO’s can mitigate identified barriers and support the technological and economic case for CDSM of CEC’s, namely:
- Data sharing - open data standards should support the ability to share data to optimise energy Flows.
- Interoperability across low-carbon technologies, including the widespread adoption of standards and standardisation across manufacturers and interoperability between DNO’s and the CEC’s virtual network manager.
- Enhanced approach to assessing diversity of low carbon assets and the standardisation of methods for assessing their peak loading conditions.
- Support for dynamic locational price signals to incentivise CEC’s to control their assets to benefit the local network.
- Support the deployment of smart meters to allow half hourly settlement, allowing the control of assets in response to predicted network loading.
Lessons Learnt
Community Energy Clubs have potential to deliver significant benefits as part of smart energy solutions, including improved energy efficiency, DSO development and reduced need for energy infrastructure reinforcement in addition to cost savings for consumers.
However, the current commercial and regulatory environment is not ready for projects such as these. Difficulties particularly stem from not being able to source energy from multiple suppliers as well as the ability to create an accessible finance and sustainable business model within the current framework.
Control and financial incentives of CEC assets was assessed around power use, generation, storage and demand. Existing network forecasting and response systems also output power quality violations. It is conceivable a CDMS service could be developed to address such violations.
