Virtual power station to be installed across London homes

London is soon to get its first ‘virtual power plant’.

The innovative idea uses excess power from solar panels, stored in batteries, to help the electricity grid manage supply and demand.

40 homes in the capital will be fitted with battery storage technology which can be remotely controlled to take advantage of their domestic solar panels. This can help relieve the pressure on the power network in times of high demand.

Solar panels and battery storage on their own help households to save money by sourcing their own clean electricity. This new scheme will also mean households will be paid for their power as well.

An agreement to take the project forward has been reached between UK Power Networks and battery manufacturer Powervault after a successful trial earlier this year. The trial saw 45 batteries help control consumption and reduce demand by 60 percent.

A similar scheme was launched in South Australia earlier this year which has the ambitious aim of combining the power supply of 50,000 households.

Barry Hatton at UK Power Networks said: “We are committed to harnessing new technology to deliver direct benefits to our customers. Our plans to create the capital’s first ever ‘virtual power station’ are paving the way for a smart, flexible electricity network that puts people in charge of their energy use. 

“London is a world-leader in technology and projects like this are just the start as we move towards a decarbonised, decentralised and digitised network that will offer significant benefits to our customers. It will help to keep down electricity distribution costs by providing a viable alternative to the traditional approach of simply adding more cables and substations to increase capacity.”

Joe Warren, managing director of Powervault, said the deal “proves the value of domestic battery storage to the whole energy system”.

 “We think this contract is just the first step in what will be a huge growth area,” he added.