Regen has been commissioned by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council to undertake a comprehensive assessment of renewable energy opportunities in the area. Using the knowledge and expertise gained in our delivery of the Progress report for Wales, and Future Energy Scenario work for Western Power and UKPN, this 5 month assessment considered all types of renewable energy and how it could provide energy opportunities for the area.
Renewable Energy Assessment for Merthyr Tydfil
Renewable Energy Assessment for Merthyr Tydfil
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Natural Resources Wales – Resource Assessment
Projection duration: May 2017 to March 2018
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) commissioned Regen to undertake an assessment to evaluate renewable energy generation potential on the NRW estate. This study was one of a set of studies that informed the mitigation options under NRW’s Carbon Positive Project, assessing the potential to mitigate, reduce or offset NRW’s carbon footprint.
NRW tasked Regen to conduct a strategic, cross-technology pre-feasibility study to evaluate the potential to deploy renewable energy generation on the NRW managed estate and operational assets, which comprises approximately 7% of the land area of Wales.
The study was based around Regen’s established resource assessment methodology for onshore wind, solar PV and hydro power, identifying both larger standalone generation opportunities and smaller scale generation opportunities to directly supply NRW’s operational assets (such as pumping stations, visitors centres and river level kiosks etc.).
Regen worked closely with the Carbon Positive Project Team and NRW’s wider staff, to ensure a holistic and consistent methodology for assessing opportunities for each technology. The result was two shortlists (standalone and self-supply) of opportunities for NRW to review and to undertake more detailed feasibility.
Led by: Ray Arrell – Senior Project Manager
Contact: rarrell@regensw.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Project duration: 2015 – 2018
The aim of this analysis was to support WPD to conduct network planning and investment appraisal. This was done by informing future load analysis, helping to identify where strategic network investment or active network management was needed. The fast-changing nature of our energy networks and the urgent goal to reach net-zero mean that we need this analysis now more than ever.
Since 2015, Regen has worked with WPD in the development of a methodology and process to create distribution future energy scenarios. WPD used the data from this 2016-2017 to identify potential network constraints and to develop a set of sub-transmission investment options.
Our reports for WPD’s licence areas are now available:
- South West licence area report (2016)
- South Wales licence area report (2016)
- East Midlands licence area report (2017)
- West Midlands licence area report (2017)
WPD has published its reports on the licence areas, Strategic network investment, based on the growth potential data we provided, which assesses options for reinforcement and provides recommendations for ‘low regret’ investment.
Regen are also working with UK Power Networks (UKPN), Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and Wales and West Utilities (WWU) to develop detailed local scenario analysis for the future development of distributed energy. To find out more about our other Scenario projects, click here.
To find out more about our work with Scenarios, contact Poppy Maltby at pmaltby@regen.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Bruce Bardsley
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Sophie Whinney
Hazel Williams
South West Water Renewable Energy Strategy
In 2012 Regen agreed a partnership with SWW that put renewable energy and local communities at the heart of their investment strategy.
One of the main costs of supplying water, other than staffing, is the energy needed to treat and pump it around the undulating landscape of the SW region. SWW’s energy bills are as a result, in excess of £25million p.a.
Project duration: 2012 – ongoing
As part of a programme to keep water bills down, Regen and SWW developed a renewable energy strategy and investment case leading to a series of small renewable energy projects, sized to power SWW infrastructure.
The unique element of this project is the way in which SWW engages with their customers and local communities, seeking their views on renewable energy and building local partnerships. The business model for SWW’s portfolio of investments are varied, reflecting the policy environment, the nature of each site and the needs of the local communities they serve. Projects have included communities or developers building their own schemes and supplying power to SWW sites, including Nanstallon pictured above.
For more information see Ray Arrell’s presentation to the Institute of Water.
Led by: Hazel Williams and Ray Arrell
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Grid connection consortium trial
The electricity network has become constrained across much of the UK, which has led to high connection and network reinforcement costs being offered to developers, making projects unviable.
In March 2013 Ofgem proposed that developers apply for grid reinforcement as a consortium to reduce the cost of grid reinforcement to individual developers.
Project duration: March to November 2015
So Regen worked in partnership with Western Power Distribution (WPD) to trial a consortium approach to a gaining a grid connection in a constrained area of the network in Bridgwater, Somerset.
Regen facilitated the formation of a consortium. More than a dozen developers expressed an interest but were wittled down to three that were ready to go ahead. The consortium application was submitted to WPD by Regen in May 2015.
A grid connection offer was made to the consortium in August 2015, but was withdrawn in November 2015 due to a number of factors, which were fed back to Ofgem and WPD. Full details of learning from the trial can be found in the report below.
Regen SW Bridgwater Consortium Grid Connection Trial Final Report (1)
Lead by: Merlin Hyman
Contact: mhyman@regensw.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Grid Charging for a flexible future
The energy system is changing rapidly. We have seen a radical increase in the amount of renewable generation and a growth in smart technology and services that can enable more flexibility in how we use the networks. The rapid growth in renewable energy deployment marks the start of an anticipated revolution in the way in which we generate, store and use energy.
The grid charging regime has a key role to play in encouraging the most efficient use of the networks in a way that meets government’s long term objectives of decarbonising the power system and providing energy security.
Project duration: June to September 2016
This project considers what the principles of a charging regime that supports the transition to a smart system should be, in order to contribute to the current discussions under the flexibility agenda and shorter term proposals on embedded benefits.
The final report is available here.
Project lead: Tamar Bourne
Contact: tbourne@regensw.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Project duration: March – May 2018
Regen, partnering with energy software company Piclo (formerly Open Utility), published a series of blogs about the development of local flexibility markets.
These blogs can be accessed below:
Part 1 – Local flexibility trials
Part 2 – The benefits of local flexibility for DNOs
Part 3 – The role of a local flexibility market
Part 4 – How a local flexibility trading platform might work
Part 5 – What does local flexibility mean for you?
Project lead: Ray Arrell, Senior Project Manager
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Bruce Bardsley
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Rebecca Ford
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Sophie Whinney
Hazel Williams
Cornwall Council commissioned Regen to provide advice on the most suitable local electricity supply model to pilot in Cornwall.
A screening exercise and feasibility study that focused on models that met some or all of the following outcomes specified by the Council:
- An accessible model for community or community energy groups
- Made the best use of local electricity generation
- Provided benefits for local residents
- Accommodated technology changes
- Retained value from generating and supplying electricity locally.
The study ran from February to August 2017
Led by: Tamar Bourne
Contact: tbourne@regensw.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Regen has been working closely with Western Power Distribution (WPD) to develop detailed scenarios to understand the future of distributed generation, demand and storage in their licence areas.
Off the back of this work WPD commissioned Regen to develop an approach to model the growth and operation of storage assets, so as to better understand how these assets are likely to be used and their ‘mode of operation’; including their typical profile of charge and discharge.
Regen developed and published an industry consultation, to see views from the sector around:
- The potential scale of growth of energy storage within its distribution networks
- The type of energy storage assets/projects that are likely to be deployed and their business models
- The typical operating behaviour of storage assets, how they are likely to be used and their typical daily mode(s) of operation
The consultation ran across summer 2017, with 27 organisations responding. The consultation paper and results report are available to download below:
WPD Storage Growth And Operating Modes Consultation Paper (May 2017)
WPD Storage Consultation Paper Results Report (August 2017)
Led by: Ray Arrell – Senior Project Manager
Contact: rarrell@regen.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Bruce Bardsley
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Rebecca Ford
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Sophie Whinney
Hazel Williams
Sunshine Tariff
Project duration: October 2014 to February 2017
Regen worked with Western Power Distribution (WPD), Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) and Tempus Energy to trial a Sunshine Tariff in Wadebridge, Cornwall.
The trial looked to understand how different customers engage with a cheaper daytime tariff and how active they become in changing their consumption patterns in response to this price signal. The project aimed to resolve network capacity issues in the local area by incentivising customers to use electricity between 10am and 4pm in the summer months, which is often when solar generation is at its greatest.
The findings from the trial are set out in a number of reports (click to download):
And you can listen to the team talk about the trial in the Sunshine Tariff webinar. Please note that there is no sound for the first one and a half minutes.
The team were not able to answer all the questions during the webinar, so a Frequently Asked Questions document was compiled.
Project lead: Tamar Bourne
Contact: tbourne@regen.co.uk
People on this project
Ray Arrell
Mollie Atherton
Tamar Bourne
Ellie Brundrett
Jo Butlin
Christine Chapter
Robbie Evans
Rebecca Ford
Becky Fowell
Olly Frankland
Maxine Frerk
Simon Gill
Johnny Gowdy
Rachel Hayes
Jonty Haynes
Frank Hodgson
Merlin Hyman
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith
Poppy Maltby
George Middlemiss
Grace Millman
Meagan Reasoner
Shona R
Hannah Stanley
Fraser Stewart
Prina Sumaria
Patti S
Joel Venn
Charlotte Wason
Hazel Williams
Rebecca Windemer
This report comes as National Grid announced it has contracted with eight storage projects for total of 201 MW of capacity to provide services to help manage the network, while saving the operator an estimated £200 million.
Energy storage is poised to grow rapidly in the UK towards 10 GW in the 2030’s – but action is needed to align the technology with market and policy signals if this potential is to be realised.