By: Samira Viswanathan
Powerconsumer has partnered with Elexicon Energy, Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Limited (NT Power), and Norway-based NODES in a government-funded project to test how customers can participate in the energy transition to smarter, cleaner, and more affordable energy systems of the future.
Historically, energy sources needed to be far away from customers – energy sources were polluting or needed to be close to other resources like water for cooling or hydro-electricity. Powerlines carried (and still carry!) and distribute the energy made from these sources to communities who need it. But things are changing.
Cleaner technologies mean that energy sources can be closer to where they are used. Rapidly declining costs of cleaner technologies like solar power, electric vehicles, and batteries, means that people and businesses can use energy they make themselves, or share with the neighbours.
Powerconsumer and our project partners are modelling how to maximize the value of local energy. If Elexicon can reduce energy at peak times by working with its own customers and local energy sources, they can avoid future needs to upgrade the distribution system – making the system smarter, cleaner, and more affordable for all its customers. It is similar to planning roads and traffic – the roads do not have to be as wide or expensive if you can optimize how and when the traffic flows.
The project is simulating local energy markets by creating future scenarios in which every customer can be a “distributed energy resource” – or a prosumer – and can supply energy services to the distribution system.
In the simulation, energy services are transacted on an independent energy service market integration platform designed by Powerconsumer to work in North American markets and integrated with NODES’ proprietary energy services exchange platform which serves customers in Norway, Sweden, Europe, and the UK.
The platform creates the local energy market in the local community – just like Uber connects riders and drivers in an individual city or town. The platform provides a central cloud-based service that connects customers with its distributor allowing them to share resources when it makes economic sense to do so.
The project is supported by in-kind resources at Elexicon and NT Power and is funded by the Independent Electricity System Operator Grid Innovation Fund.
Stay tuned for project results in early 2023!
