Severn Trent partners with Open Energi for flexible capacity

The water company aims to provide 20MW of flexible capacity by 2020

Severn Trent has joined forces with Open Energi to unlock demand flexibility from its equipment to “help build a smarter energy system in the UK”.

The water company aims to provide more than 20MW of flexible capacity across its network by 2020 and awarded the contract to Open Energi following an open tender.

Open Energi’s demand technology will enable equipment such as pumps, motors and blowers to automatically adjust their electricity without affecting processes.

Severn Trent is already using the technology at two of its sewage treatment works in Redditch and Leicester, and the two sites combined provide National Grid with around 1.2MW of real-time flexibility.

A further six sites have been identified as part of the first phase rollout, which is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2018. Severn Trent plans to expand to smaller sites and estate buildings in the long term.

Open Energi said businesses tapping in to fast-acting flexibility in existing assets are providing an efficient, low-carbon means of balancing electricity supply and demand, which is “paving the way for greater use of renewable energy across the UK”.

Rob Wild, demand side response manager at Severn Trent, said the move supports the commitment of the business to operational excellence and innovation.

“Ultimately we want to minimise the amount of energy we use whilst providing our customers with the best level of service at the least cost,” he said.

“Open Energi’s tech delivers an income, but it also gives us far greater visibility of how our assets are performing, second-by-second. This insight can help us to optimise our sites for the future, pre-empting maintenance issues, improving resiliency, and thinking more smartly about how we integrate other technologies, such as renewable energy and battery storage.”

Paul O’Brien, director of operations at Open Energi, added: “We apply extensive diligence to the integration of our technology with our customers’ assets, working closely with their operations and process scientist teams to ensure that the control protocols are always respected and that our integration has zero impact on the process operating parameters.”

Earlier this month, Severn Trent pledged to replace its fleet with alternative fuel vehicles, as part of its commitment to green energy.