Lightsource Labs has announced its first commercial partnerships with distribution network operators in the UK.
The Lightsource BP subsidiary will deliver 1.8MW of local flexibility to UK Power Networks, and a further 15kW to Western Power Distribution (WPD).
These flexibility services will help alleviate constraints on the respective distribution networks during times of unusually high ”peak demand” by either shifting demand away from these peak periods or turning up generation.
The services supplied to UK Power Networks will be across 20 zones in and around London, and will be delivered from 2021 to 2028, and the services to WPD will be across 3 constrained zones in Coventry, Witheridge and Ledbury from 2021 to 2022.
Lightsource Labs will utilise its energy management technology – Tribe – installed in residential properties within each zone to deliver the contracted flexibility services.
Tribe will connect to either existing or new generation and storage assets within the properties, including solar PV, batteries and electric vehicle charging points.
In each zone Tribe’s AI technology will optimise schedules of the connected storage assets and loads to ensure there is enough capacity reserved to reduce the evening peak demand.
The systems will aggregate into Lightsource Labs’ Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to respond to UK Power Networks and WPD’s dispatch signals and schedules for flexibility.
Lightsource Labs chief executive Benjamin Kott said: “Using our innovative energy management technology to deliver local flexibility services to UK Power Networks and WPD is a breakthrough moment for Lightsource Labs.
“While our technology is designed to optimise assets to maximise solar self-consumption within the property to reduce energy bills, there’s clearly significant demand side response value it can provide Distribution Network Operators and other utility partners outside the home.
“We’re looking forward to helping UK Power Networks and WPD operate more resilient grid networks and to unlock more value from distributed energy assets for our customers.”
The total electricity demand is set to increase over the next decade – and with that the size of weekday evening peak demand.
UK Power Networks and WPD, are taking a ‘Flexibility First’ approach, and are therefore working with technology and flexibility providers like Lightsource Labs to smooth the demand peaks and reduce the impact they have on their networks helping them avoid or defer network reinforcements and expensive upgrading works.
UK Power Networks power system engineer Evangelos Karagiannis said: “As we look to decarbonise the system while ensuring grid stability.
“We need to work with partners like Lightsource Labs to deliver demand-side flexibility.
“Lightsource Labs’ technology can balance both customer and network needs and provide value to both.”