Innovative tech maximises impact of government funding

Our new project maximises the efficiency of government funded solar and batteries, helping those in fuel poverty and providing services to the grid.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are increasingly available commercially, and enable households to sign up their home battery to be remotely controlled and optimised. This saves money for the household by charging when electricity is cheap and selling when prices are high. At the same time the software utilises typically 5% of the household’s battery to provide services to the grid, such as helping to balance the grid when energy is either abundant or in short supply.

Our new Social Virtual Power Plant (SVPP) takes these benefits, but rather than the revenue generated by the grid services going to be big corporate, we will seek to reinvest them back into our local community.

We’re working with the Centre for Energy Equality, who are our tech partners on this project. They are also working with other organisations in a couple of locations across the country to trial this new approach.

Phase 1 of our SVPP, Powering Together Lancashire, is specifically working with our existing partners at Cosy Homes in Lancashire (CHiL) to onboard households who have previously had home batteries installed via government grants. These households often find the technology difficult to fully understand and don’t have the space in their lives to get to grips with and optimise their new systems.

As such, this automated service plugs a gap between government funded installs and the maximum benefits for households and the grid.