Welsh Water taps Flexible Energy System with Open Energi

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Welsh Water taps Flexible Energy System with Open Energi

Open Energi agrees deal to roll out demand-side technology across utility firm Welsh Water's sites to manage electricity peaks and troughs

Not-for-profit utility firm Welsh Water has today announced a deal that will see it use Open Energi technology to help manage peaks and troughs in electricity supply and demand across its sites nationwide.

The deal between the two firms follows an open tender and successful trial of Open Energi's Dynamic Demand technology, which will enable Welsh Water to manage flexible energy demand from its equipment in order to boost overall energy efficiency.

Welsh Water said it expects to aggregate around 5MW of capacity from 25 of its sites during the first phase of the fully-automated and autonomous system's implementation.

According to Open Energi, its technology works similarly to a distributed storage network, automatically adjusting water pumps' power consumption "within seconds" to help better manage fluctuations in electricity supply and demand.

The demand side response (DSR) systems company said the rollout of the technology would help build a "smarter, more responsive system which supports renewables and the wider UK transition to a zero carbon economy".

"The water sector consumes a lot of energy, but much of it is not time-sensitive, so there is huge scope for water companies to be flexible about when they consume energy and shift their demand intelligently," said Chris Kimmett, commercial manager at Open Energi.

The deal means Open Energi can ask Welsh Water's pumps and equipment across its nationwide sites to power down temporarily in the event of a shortfall in electricity supply, instead of National Grid requesting power stations to ramp up operations. As a result the technology aims to deliver emissions reductions and lower grid operating costs. 

Similarly, if there is excess power being supplied, Open Energi can bring forward demand to alleviate pressure on the grid.

Open Energi analysis earlier this year suggested London could shift an eighth of its energy demand during peak hours by adopting demand-side technologies to ease pressure on the energy system.

In the longer term Open Energi and Welsh Water plan to expand their partnership to include additional equipment and processes across the utility firm's network.

"We're delighted Welsh Water chose to partner with Open Energi and this is an important milestone as we continue to work closely with the water sector to deliver the scale of invisible demand response National Grid is looking for," added Kimmett.

Source: Business Green

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