Powervault, a UK-based maker of smart energy storage systems, is expanding a programme to use home batteries across London as a virtual power plant to support the power grid.
The roll-out in St Helier is part of a second commercial contract. It comes after a successful trial as part of which 45 households were paid by UK Power Networks to store power for use by the network operator when demand peaks. The scheme was successful in cutting household evening peak power demand by 60% and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power by 20% for average households.
Powervault’s batteries optimise home power use through artificial intelligence (AI), which could help make it less necessary to dig up and replace power cables or even avoid it entirely. The batteries can store energy produced by solar panels, which homeowners can sell back to utilities at new export tariffs. In addition, households can get paid to store renewable energy from the power grid at times when too much is being produced.
According to an Imperial College study, improving the flexibility of the power grid, including through battery storage use, could save the UK between GBP 17 billion (USD 21m/EUR 18.9m) and GBP 40 billion by 2050.
Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF), which backs the newest technologies, products and processes in energy efficiency, electricity production and heat and power storage, is part-funding the scheme.
