National Grid has this week launched a new ‘Distributed Resource Desk’ in its control room, enabling the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to allow smaller market players to participate much faster.
Balancing markets throughout Europe are opening up to decentralised power, but there is still “significant room” for mechanisms to improve further.
The balancing and frequency markets will double in value by 2030 as the evolution of the power market creates £6 billion of investment opportunity for battery storage and other flexible and distributed generation assets.
Ofgem has approved a regulation change that will allow parties without a supply licence to participate in the Balancing Mechanism as part of preparations for the Great Britain’s involvement in a Europe-wide energy balancing platform.
Battery assets have been used in the Balancing Mechanism for the first time via a virtual power plant, marking the start of a new era in energy storage revenues in the UK.
Limejump has been admitted into the Balancing Mechanism (BM) using its Virtual Power Plant (VPP), laying claim to being the first to use an aggregated BM unit (BMU) in the market.
Flexibility providers with units as small as 1MW will be able to access the Balancing Mechanism (BM) by April next year under proposals published by National Grid which will also allow aggregators to play in the market.
Andy Lowe, head of business development at Flexitricity, explains the risks and rewards of navigating the Balancing Mechanism as the aggregator prepares to take third party assets into the market.
Flexitricity has successfully secured gas and electricity supply licences from Ofgem, giving the demand response aggregator the green light to enter the balancing mechanism.
