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Renewable Revolution

Renewable Revolution 1
Twitter 400X400 Written by

Chris Broadhurst, ENSEK | Head of Sales & Marketing

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Last month, Britain went without coal based power for the first time since the 1880s. This week, solar power has reached an all-time high with 8.7GW being generated on Friday, equivalent to 24.3% of total generation across the board.

With the Financial Times citing the beginning of a ‘Big Green Bang’, this week we’re taking a closer look at the renewable phenomenon and the opportunities and challenges it presents to suppliers.

The thrust of the article by the FT is simple – rapid growth in renewable consumption and reductions in generation cost, combined with green policy, are all leading us towards an inevitable and paradigmatic shift from fossil fuels to greener, cleaner sources. Consumers are moving towards green too, with an ever-increasing number of suppliers all offering exclusively green tariffs.

As the market continues to march towards to a renewable future, the challenge for suppliers is how to keep up. Fundamental to the movement is the source of generation, which for suppliers means the securing of renewable generation assets to certify their supply as green. When it comes to renewable generation, embedded generation is a growing feature of the market and an increasing proportion of the generation mix.

Emebedded generation can yield several benefits, both in terms of the incentives offered by the industry to recognise the value of locally sourced energy, but also in the form of reduced transmission costs as the power generated is distributed locally. But for suppliers with embedded generation assets in their portfolio it can be difficult to account for or validate the charges and credits received by a supplier from the industry.

The reason for this comes down to data. Typically, the embedded generators themselves are usually individuals without the resources or expertise to manage the quality of their generation data, and ultimately the BSC obliges suppliers to manage settlement data on behalf of embedded generators with whom they’ve contracted. With the burden placed on suppliers, analysing and evaluating this generation data can be a time consuming and highly manual task, which makes any meaningful validation exercises costly from the outset.

Using our industry leading energy data reconciliation engine, Libra, we’re able to piece this information back together intelligently to calculate, right down to the HH, the benefit that embedded generation is providing to your overall portfolio. A great method to routinely assess the effectiveness of this business model.

Through a detailed analysis and evaluation of your export generation, we can identify and validate independently;

Transmission Charges – Non Half Hourly Demand

With embedded generation capacity, you’re able to net off any generation volumes against supply volumes in the local region, for the simple reason that where power is generated and distributed locally via the DNO, the transmission network isn’t used.

Transmission Charges – Half Hourly Export

Half hourly metered generation attracts significant credits to recognise the alleviation of demand on transmission network

Distribution Charges

Distribution Network Operators pay out credits based on embedded generation on their network.

Trading Imbalance Charges

Reduced due to the netting effect of generation and supply volumes at a regional level – only the net volume is settled at cash out prices.

Balancing Charges

Similar to mitigation of transmission charges and trading imbalance charges, embedded generation also reduces BSUoS and RCRC by distributing its power locally, therefore reducing impact on the national grid.

Enhanced visibility and insight into your embedded generation sourcing delivers great control over your portfolio, giving you the ability to analyse performance by region, and ensure that you can maximise the benefits associated through the avoidance of Transmission/Balancing charges and DNO credits.

Want to find out how ENSEK could help you take advantage of the renewable revolution and make the most of embedded generation? Contact us today by email info@ensek.co.uk or by phone on 0115 710 0180