The Minuteman of the Half Hour
The Concord Minuteman – “Minutemen were civilian colonists during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute’s notice, hence the name. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats.” The burgeoning popularity of electric vehicles and the increase in renewable […]
Lighting the dark waters of local energy
As long ago as 2016 we started warning of the information security risks in community energy schemes. In the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, we said that: There are many community energy schemes. Their number and variety are increasing briskly. They bring new kinds of information into existence and they handle existing kinds […]
Electricity access without the big networks
We’ve always taken on the challenges in the energy sector. We were champions of energy storage right from our beginning. Now we’re grappling with the challenge of electricity network costs. In the UK, only about 34% of our electricity bills are paying for electricity generation. We pay almost as much as that towards the cost […]
Energy access with a future: minigrid markets
We are delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded grant support through the Energy Catalyst programme of Innovate UK and the Department for International Development, to make commercial trials of the new product EMBLEM in Rwanda and Nepal. After a successful proof-of-concept trial on the Isle of Iona, Scotland, we have teamed up with local […]
Local energy market project to help reduce costs and carbon emissions
An innovative project which will help reduce carbon emissions and energy costs, by increasing the use of local renewable energy, starts this month. The Local Energy Market in Devon and Exeter (LEMDEx) project is grant-supported by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy through the Prospering from the Energy Revolution Programme. It will be […]
Worth its weight in carbon
Here’s more news from our trial of a liberated market for electrical power on the island of Iona, with our partner Scene. Over the past quarter-year, our Real Time Trading Platform has been facilitating energy trading, in real time, for thirty homes. Each of them has had a smart agent negotiating for it within the […]
Cutting Sark?
BBC reported yesterday that the island of Sark would lose its electricity supply at the end of November, because Sark Electricity Limited (SEL) says that it can’t afford to generate power at the 52p/kWh price cap that the local regulator has imposed. The generation is diesel-powered, and shipping diesel to the island is costly. There’s […]
Energy trading, as if people mattered
Swanbarton’s radical re-imagining of electricity trading has become reality on the Hebridean island of Iona. Thirty homes are taking part in a trial led by Scene Connect and Swanbarton. Using real time consumption data gathered by Scene Connect, Swanbarton’s Real Time Trading Platform provides each home with a smart agent to negotiate electricity prices on its behalf, in real time.
The next monster child of the Welfare State?
At the Community Energy Markets Conference the other week, several delegates picked up on Professor Furong Li’s remark that future energy markets are likely to offer tiered prices reflecting tiers of quality of supply. For example, a price for locally generated electricity may be low, but the reliability of generation will be low as well. […]
New Market Models for Community Energy Conference
Developing the Technology and Market Models for Local Energy Markets Thursday 29th January 2015 Community and Localised energy supply can benefit consumers, small generators and network operators. However, in order to implement this new, efficient energy supply, communities need a new market model. This conference discussed the role, technology and development of local energy markets. […]