The Electric Storage Company has disclosed that Northern Ireland’s first smart grid, based in Coleraine, has saved a combined total of £27,000 in energy costs.
The £4.5 million project included 60 properties concentrated around the Ballysally area of Coleraine for one year. The savings represent an average of 55% per property across the project.
Smart Grids hold promise in reducing energy costs. Project Girona had been designed by The Electric Storage Company to demonstrate the potential benefits of a SLES (Smart Local Energy System).
Combining solar panels and battery storage technology, Project Girona successfully saved businesses, homeowners, tenants, and local community groups an average of 55% in electricity costs, the company said.
Alongside this, the project also helped to prevent vast quantities of CO2 from being emitted. This not only reduces the cost of energy for households, but it is an effective measure in which to reduce the overall carbon footprint of local communities.
The project generated 171MWh of renewable electricity and exported 30MWh of green energy to the grid. The exported electricity generated a further income for the properties which in turn enabled other properties to benefit from clean energy.
“We’re living through a cost-of-living crisis with energy costs spiralling, and this makes the results of Project Girona even more relevant in today’s environment,” said Eddie McGoldrick, co-founder of The Electric Storage Company.
“We have been working on bringing this technology to market for seven years, and it’s now available to customers across Northern Ireland, who can benefit from reduced electricity costs, whilst reducing their carbon footprint. Combining battery storage with renewable technology is the way forward in future-proofing homes from the escalating energy costs that we’re seeing today.”
Project Girona was included in a £90 million investment package for projects released in 2020, which focused on reducing emissions from heavy industry and homes. The bulk of the funding (£70 million) went to developing hydrogen projects, whereas £20 million had been earmarked for local energy projects.
This went to ten local demonstration phase smart energy projects, including Project Girona, located across the country. The projects also formed part of UKRI Local Smart Energy Designs.
“I am acutely aware that the unprecedented rise in energy prices is having a significant impact on homes, business and the community sector,” said Gordon Lyons, Minister for the Economy.
“While we unfortunately do not have control of the global markets dictating many of these costs, green energy projects help to protect consumers by providing alternative sources of energy. Project Girona is an excellent example of an innovative local pilot project making energy more affordable.”
Prior to COP26 in 2021, an International Community for Local Smart Grids (ICLSG) initiative was launched by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), Ausgrid, the Enel Group and the University of Oxford.
The initiative’s aim was to increase knowledge sharing between community energy groups and electricity networks, increasing insight from innovation projects and facilitating discussions around the challenges of decarbonisation.
