Scottish Power has set up a residential energy-storage pilot project with Moixa Technology using a ‘smart-battery’ system to help consumers to save money and use more of the energy they generate. Smart batteries are home storage units that enable customers to save money through accessing smart tariffs, store excess solar energy for use during peak hours or share batteries with the grid for a range of network saving benefits. The project could also demonstrate how storage technology could address the challenges facing the National Grid overcome the problem of intermittent electricity generation from solar and wind power. Moixa has deployed 47 of its Maslow energy storage systems for Scottish Power in partnership with BillSaveUK. Its GridShare software dashboard enables Scottish Power householders to view energy, battery and solar use in real time on a smartphone or iPad and identify improvement opportunities. This can lead in some cases to over 20% reduction in energy costs. Neil Clitheroe, Chief Executive, Retail and Generation, Scottish Power, explained: “Electricity is the only commodity that we can’t store at scale. “We need to develop more large-scale storage projects like pumped-storage hydro schemes – but also smaller in-home storage ideas, like this smart battery concept. “As a renewable energy company, we plan to take a leadership role in the development of electricity storage. Our work with Moixa and BillSaveUK will allow us to understand how customers interact with electricity storage at home, and how systems like this can be tailored to offer real benefits for customers.” In pilots with major energy industry partners such as British Gas, SSE, Good Energy, the government (DECC) and direct customer sales, Moixa has deployed 1-MWh of its British-manufactured Maslow smart battery system, deployed across 500 sites, combined with solar panels. These smart batteries can be aggregated to provide a range of services and income, using the patented GridShare battery software platform. Bill Rumble, director at installers BillSaveUK said: “The British renewables industry has weathered some stormy times of late, but as this pilot with Moixa and Scottish Power is demonstrating, the successful installation of smart batteries presents a viable route forward and potentially the start of a new era for domestic power generation.” The recent Smart Power report by Lord Adonis and the National Infrastructure Commission, identified potential savings of £8 billion per year savings from energy storage, and cited Moixa and Tesla as leading examples in distributed storage. Simon Daniel, Chief Executive, Moixa Technology, commented: “Although renewable energies such as solar and wind power have often been seen as a liability to generation networks, the arrival of storage batteries provides an asset not only to householders but also to the grid which can use batteries for balancing and other services. “We will also shortly be announcing closing a round of finance which includes several former chief executives of Big Six utilities”
Scottish Power has launched a home energy storage trial in conjunction with Moixa Technology aimed at helping homeowners better utilise the energy they generate, while saving money using a “smart-battery” system. Using this system, excess energy can be stored for use at peak times, or shared with the grid, demonstrating how such technology could help the National Grid overcome the challenges of intermittent energy supply derived from solar or wind. A total of 47 trial systems have been deployed along with a ‘software dashboard’ app which allows homeowners to view energy, battery, and solar use in real time.