London could shift an eighth of its energy demand during peak hours by adopting demand-side technologies to ease pressure on the energy system, according to new modelling from demand response firm Open Energi. The analysis of the capital’s “spare” capacity, seen by BusinessGreen, suggests up to 1GW of power could be shifted during peak time without any impact on end users. Using publicly available data and its own experience of demand response, Open Energi suggests London could save millions of pounds – and valuable space in the capital – by adopting demand-side technologies instead of constructing a fleet of new combined heat and power stations. Currently, London’s energy system is built to service a peak demand of around 8GW. But Open Energi’s analysis suggests demand only exceeds 7GW 21 per cent of the time – resulting in a “hugely inefficient” use of resources. Using smart technology Open Energi suggests 1GW of this demand could be shifted in homes and business across the capital during peak times in winter through simple and non-disruptive measures such as shutting off heating and ventilation periods for short periods of time where end users would not notice any difference.
Business Green 4th April 2016 read more »