This unique deal will see EDF Energy providing a guaranteed floor price for storage – a first within the sector.
EDF Energy will work with Anesco and Upside to enhance the efficiency and profitability of the Clayhill assets, securing contracts with grid operators and generating revenue through direct access to wholesale markets. Due to its expertise in trading and dispatching assets in the UK energy market, EDF Energy has been able to offer Anesco a guaranteed ‘floor price’ for this project, marking a significant step forward for UK renewables.
The deal will see EDF Energy operate Clayhill’s portfolio of assets through their proprietary demand-side response platform, PowerShift. This platform enables industrial or grid-scale customers to benefit from EDF Energy’s 24/7trading capabilities, choosing to consume or sell energy based on real-time pricing from every available market source.The partnership will now see the three firms work together to connect additional Anesco assets to the PowerShift platform.
Anesco’s Clayhill solar farm opened in September 2017 and was the first subsidy-free solar development in the UK. Situated in Bedfordshire, the 44.58 acre site houses 31,240 solar panels, totalling 10MW of solar PV, and is co-located with five 1.2MW batteries.
Anesco is the UK’s leading storage developer with over 100MW of storage completed and a pipeline of some 380 MW by 2020. Anesco’s asset management team have been working with EDF Energy’s team and Upside’s technology developers to analyse all aspects of the revenues available to the site and understand how to precisely optimise the assets to their full capability.
At Clayhill, EDF Energy will work alongside Upside Energy as controls partner. Upside Energy, a UK based energy technology provider, has developed an advanced platform using algorithms and artificial intelligence systems to match energy demand with available supply. The platform is capable of managing demand response across 100,000s of devices running in parallel. Upside’s unique mix of advanced technology and commercial intelligence ensures that renewable assets achieve the greatest return on investment.
EDF Energy is the largest producer of low-carbon energy and is seeking to support the development of renewables in the UK as part of an energy mix. Last year, its parent company, EDF Group announced its ambition to become a European leader in energy storage by 2035 to help ensure the smooth running of a balanced electricity system.
Together, EDF Energy, Upside and Anesco aim to 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.
Vincent de Rul, Director of Energy Solutions at EDF Energy, says: “EDF Energy is thrilled to announce its partnership with Anesco, helping to maximise the profitability of its Clayhill site by providing access to the wholesale market. We have worked closely with Anesco over the past few months to develop a unique and innovative contract structure that will be crucial if we want to balance renewable generation on the grid and work towards a low-carbon energy mix.”
Steve Shine, Executive Chairman at Anesco, says: “At Anesco we are always looking for new and innovative ways to maximise the return on our assets and provide more certainty to our investors. 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.
Devrim Celal, CEO at Upside Energy, says: “We are very proud and happy to work with our partners at EDF Energy and Anesco. We are organisations that know each other well and our positive working relationships reflect that. Shaping the future of energy by pioneering digital solutions that support the management of smart energy is at the core of Upside Energy’s business. This is an exciting, new opportunity at Clayhill to further enhance the business case for renewable energy and play a central role in the future of energy in the UK.”
