SolarEdge, a clean energy technology company, will be integrated into Octopus Energy’s proprietary technology platform, Kraken.
The Kraken platform, which has machine learning capabilities, will enable SolarEdge customers to charge their home battery systems when demand is low and automatically sell energy back to the grid at peak demand.
Customers of both SolarEdge and Octopus will be able to access Octopus Energy’s “Intelligent Octopus” smart import and export tariff. Additionally, SolarEdge customers across the globe will be able to join Kraken’s virtual power plant (VPP).
Devrim Celal, CEO of Kraken, said: “This partnership with SolarEdge sees a key player in clean domestic energy tech join our ecosystem. The scale this brings will benefit our customers’ pockets and support the transition to a clean, sustainable energy system.”
Zvi Lando, CEO of SolarEdge Technologies, commented: “This strategic partnership puts SolarEdge customers at the centre of the energy ecosystem and helps drive greater energy resiliency to homes and the grid in the UK and Texas. As the world continues to transition towards net-zero, these programs will be critical to ensuring a stable penetration of renewable energy into the grid network.”
At the beginning of June, a two-year fixed-price tolling deal saw Octopus acquire over 500MW of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund’s battery assets, bringing the utility’s VPP portfolio to over 1.5GW.
SolarEdge’s own energy assistant platform, SolarEdge ONE, which helps customers optimise their energy storage and consumption and manages energy during an outage. The platform supports import and export tariff scenarios and the partnership with Octopus means additional revenue through Octopus’ VPP programmes.
In June, the company launched its first battery VPP to support National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS). Home battery customers with smart meters installed can automate energy consumption drops during pre-scheduled demand events, additionally exporting their excess battery energy back into the grid.
SolarEdge co-founder and chief product officer Meir Adest called it a “prime example of the transformational impact that battery storage can have”.
Shortly after SolarEdge’s VPP announcement, National Grid announced changes to the DFS, allowing it to compete against the other commercial tools available to the ESO control room and DFS providers.
This story was originally reported on our sister site, Solar Power Portal.