EDF Energy has signed a deal with UK storage player Anesco to optimise a combined 16MW of photovoltaics and batteries at the Clayhill solar farm in England.
EDF will work with technology partner Upside Energy and Anesco to enhance the efficiency and profitability of the Clayhill assets, securing contracts with grid operators and generating revenue through direct access to wholesale markets.
The energy supplier will operate the assets at the site through its own demand-side response platform, PowerShift, which allows industrial or grid-scale customers to access markets through EDF Energy’s round-the-clock trading arm.
The partnership between the three companies will also connect additional storage and generation assets owned by Anesco to the PowerShift platform.
Anesco has completed over 100MW of storage projects and has a pipeline of 380MW that it expects to connect by 2020.
Going forward they will test new business models and provide demand-side response services that help the grid deal with fluctuations during times of peak usage and make maximum use of available renewable energy.
From experience gained within its trading arm, EDF said it is able to offer Anesco a guaranteed ‘floor price’ for Clayhill.
Asset owners can choose to consume or sell energy based on real-time pricing from “every available market source”, according to EDF.
At Clayhill, EDF will work alongside Upside Energy as controls partner.
The UK-based start-up has developed a machine learning platform able to match energy demand with available supply, which can manage demand response across hundreds of thousands of devices and distributed energy assets in parallel.
Anesco executive chairman Steve Shine said: “The floor price and 24-hour trading capability provided in this deal are crucial new developments for storage.
“This is a partnership between three fantastic organisations, we’re already achieving great results and I am sure we will be working together ever more closely in the future.”
Anesco’s Clayhill solar farm in Bedfordshire, England, comprises 10MW of solar PV, co-located with five 1.2MW battery systems.