UK energy storage specialist Moixa is to create a ‘virtual power plant’ in the south of England, linking solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles (EVs).
The first phase of a planned £40m smart local energy system, the mixed-asset virtual power plant will be managed by demand-response specialist Flexitricity.
Later this year, Moixa will start installing solar panels and battery storage in 250 council homes in Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea, and in 100 schools and council buildings in the area. The company’s GridShare platform will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to tailor the performance of each system to customers’ needs, according to pv magazine.
Next year will see the rollout of 250 EV charging points across the region, at homes as well as “strategic locations” such as schools and council depots. With the two-way vehicle-to-everything (V2X) chargers, EV users can choose to send power from the vehicle’s battery to the network during times of peak demand, edie reports.
Eventually, the system will also include a marine source heat pump, a combined heat and power system, a grid-scale battery, air source heat pumps and a refuelling station for hydrogen and electric-powered vehicles. Upon completion, these technologies will provide 7.65 MW of generating capacity and around 17 MW of storage.
The project is supported by West Sussex County Council and the Carbon and Energy Fund.
Chris Wright, chief technology officer at Moixa, said: “This project will show how solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles at home and in the workplace can play a vital role in creating a smart, low-carbon, energy system, cutting energy bills, saving the country billions and helping to meet our climate targets.
“It will demonstrate the benefits of linking power, heat and transport in one local system and showcase UK expertise in an emerging global smart grid market.”
Tags: electric vehicles, energy storage, solar panels, virtual power plant