Moixa, a British developer of battery technologies, has this week launched a solar+storage bundle designed to make it easier for homeowners in the U.K. to adopt solar and consume and store their own energy.
The new package is being priced at £4,995 ($6,360) and comprises a 2 kWh Moixa Smart Battery and eight solar panels (a 2 kW system) that are bundled together to be installed as one.
According to Moixas calculations, each homeowner, landlord or housing association that installs this system can save around £350 per year in electricity bills and FIT payments, while Moixa will also make available additional annual payments of £50 via its GridShare aggregation platoform, which pools the power stored in the Moixa battery network to help make the grid more efficient, greener and cheaper to run by delivering balancing demand.
"We believe our solar+storage deal is a market-leading offer," said Moixa CTO Chris Wright, who unveiled the product at the Clean Energy Live exhibition in Birmingham. "It will protect customers from rising electricity prices and allow them to benefit from the smart power revolution, accessing smart tariffs and making money by supporting the development of a reliable, cost-effective, low-carbon electricity system."
As one of four trials of the Moixa storage technology, the company installed its smart batteries in social housing in Camden and Islington, both boroughs of London. This trial was funded by the National Energy Action charity to demonstrate the efficacy of combined solar and storage in tackling poverty by lowering energy bills.
"Solar plus storage is of huge interest to Camden Council," said Councillor Meric Apak, who is Camden Councils cabinet member for sustainability and environment. "Fuel poverty is a very serious issue blighting people of all ages and circumstances nationwide, and storage solar energy can be one of the methods to offer our tenants significant savings to help reduce this burden."
The Moixa Smart Battery is a wall-mounted device that is comprised of lithium-ion phosphate technology. It is AC-coupled and so can take advantage of smart tariffs by importing power from the grid when it is cheap. The battery has direct USB ports to enable phone and other device charging, and can support LED lighting. Moixa has so far installed 600 of these devices across the U.K., delivering 1.3 Mwh of combined storage capacity.
Solarcentury founding director and Moixa investor Jeremy Leggett said that the combination of solar and storage holds the key to decarbonizing the U.K.s electricity system, which has already proved its worth in recent months by outperforming coal. "Solar plus storage allows homes to provide back-up capacity that enables the grid to use more clean renewable power and reduces the need for coal, diesel and gas to meet peak demand," said Leggett.
The U.K.s "smart power revolution" is a newly launched goal developed with the aim of greening the grid. Storage and demand flexibility are projected to play a leading role in this transition, and could lead to savings of more than £8 billion ($10.1 billion) between now and 2050, according to the National Infrastructure Commissions Smart Power report.
A recent report by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) found that the U.K. currently has 3.23 GW of storage projects already operational, with a further 600 MW planned or in development across the country.
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