AceOn has pioneered a virtual power plant called RENEWERGY.
One of our most innovative and sustainable projects to date, our virtual power plant promises to revolutionise the way in which a network of properties attain their energy through solar panels and energy storage batteries.
It’s something that we’re incredibly excited about, and we firmly believe that virtual power plants will play a crucial role in the future if we’re to stand any chance of combatting the threats caused by human-induced climate change.
This post introduces you to the virtual power plant concept and explains how AceOn is at the forefront of this exciting and timely innovation.
What is a Virtual Power Plant?
As you will be aware, we live in an increasingly virtual world. Virtual reality systems influence many aspects of our daily lives, and the future of energy provision aims to be no different.
The term ‘Virtual Power Plant’ first surfaced in the 1990s, but it’s only really been in the last decade that we’ve seen any concerted effort to progress towards its implementation.
A generic definition of virtual power plants is provided below:
“A virtual power plant is a cloud-based distributed power plant that aggregates the capacities of heterogeneous distributed energy resources for purposes of enhancing power generation, as well as trading or selling power on the electricity market.”
A key component of virtual power plants is that they can successfully aggregate flexible capacity, which means they can address peaks in electricity demand and lighten the load of the grid.
AceOn Group’s Virtual Power Plant.
Our virtual power plant, RENEWERGY, is a network of houses and flats, each operating as a micro-energy regeneration centre through the installation of solar panels and energy storage batteries that are virtually connected through our pioneering Smart Energy Management Platform.
Central to our innovation is integrating a novel algorithm within a modified inverter, which is the main component of our virtual power plant.
Our system has been designed to ensure that energy is more efficiently sourced, utilised, and supplied, which benefits both households and local councils alike. The energy that isn’t consumed at the household level is returned to the grid to generate extra revenue and alleviate the burden during high usage times.
The Benefits of a Virtual Power Plant.
There is a multitude of benefits to our innovative virtual power plant. Our plant will help us achieve the following targets in collaboration with our partners:
Increased Energy Independence
Thanks to the inclusion of our battery storage units at the household level, tenants and homeowners will be able to utilise any surplus energy generated from their solar PV cells. This reduces the amount of energy exported to the grid.
Reduced Energy Costs
Our virtual power plant is estimated to help tenants save almost £600 by 2030. This will help tackle fuel poverty in some of the most deprived areas throughout the United Kingdom.
Creation of ‘Green Dividend’
Our virtual power plant will create a ‘green dividend’ for the councils and housing associations who partner with us. We estimate that an income stream of around £250 per household can be generated, which could be utilised in various ways to pass on cost-savings.
Improvement of Safety and Security
In the event of a power cut, the virtual power plant will continue to provide energy to tenants. The system also constantly monitors usage levels in the home and alerts the council or housing association if notable drops are maintained over a period of days. This offers valuable protection to more vulnerable clients.
Reduced Carbon Footprint
Thanks to the maximisation of renewable energy, our virtual power plant will reduce the carbon footprint of each household through our battery energy storage and solar panels. We expect reductions of up to 70%; a significant contribution to our concerted climate change reduction initiatives.
We’re delighted that our virtual power plant will have a plethora of environmental, economic, and social benefits, and we see significant scope for its implementation throughout the UK and even further afield, long into the future, as local councils and national governments look for innovative solutions to the energy crisis.
The Future of Virtual Power Plants.
At AceOn, we have ambitious plans for the scalability of our RENEWERGY virtual power plant. Our hope is to eventually reach in excess of five million homes in the UK in the next decade, offering residents in council, social, and private housing units the opportunity to save on their electricity bills while reducing their carbon footprint at the same time.
Our unique offering is primarily to councils and housing associations, ensuring that we can support tenants in social housing and those with lower incomes. Too often in the renewable energy market, tenants on low incomes are often excluded from innovations due to high costs and maintenance fees, something that we’re determined to correct.
For RENEWERGY to successfully transform the way in which homeowners and tenants receive their energy supply, we’re hoping to partner with more local councils and housing associations, so we can continue to roll out our technology as the UK adds to its number of housing units.
The next ten years are critical for climate change mitigation. We’re confident that our virtual power plant will help reverse the trend and help British homes become greener, more energy-efficient, and more cost-effective.
For More Information About RENEWERGY.
As British-based pioneers of renewable energy solutions, AceOn is proud to lead the charge when it comes to implementing a virtual power plant in the UK.
Collaborating with local councils and housing associations, we’re able to provide low-income tenants with affordable and renewable energy, introducing sustainable energy solutions to the end of the market that is often omitted from such plans.
For more information about our RENEWERGY project, click here.
You can also call our Telford-based team on 01952 293 388 if you’re interested in partnering with us or would like to discuss any of the details of our virtual power plant.
