Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1057016
NETWORK / 11 / DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019 "SME's have a huge role to play in help- ing us achieve our commitment to deliver more for less for our customers. The open- minded approach we take in our innova- tion programmes has allowed a myriad of customer focused solutions to be initiated and move through the technology readiness scale," commented Iain Miller, Northern Powergrid's head of innovation. Lucy Electric launched the latest addition to its Gemini remote terminal unit (RTU) range, the Gemini 3 Mini, at LCNI 2018. The new Gemini 3 Mini extends the company's range of remote terminal units, which form a key part of its automation solutions. The Gemini 3 is suitable for measure - ment, fault location, automation and remote monitoring and control of power distribu- tion networks. Tim Spearing, automation product manager at Lucy Electric, said: "The Gemini 3 Mini is fully compatible with our earlier Gemini 3 family providing the same com- mon look and feel, communication and configuration environment, offering a great solution for customers looking to manage costs on major projects." Dragons' Den winner This year's event saw start-ups and SMEs given the chance to take part in a Dragons' Den-style event and pitch their project ideas to a panel of senior managers from the gas and electricity networks. The winners of the £10,000 prize were Scene Connect Ltd (Scene), Locogen, and Mentone Energy. Network caught up with Alex Schlicke, director, Scene Connect Ltd. Q. Describe your project and how it can benefit the energy sector? A. The project is for the design of our Cloud Zonal use of System (Cloud ZuoS) trading platform. The platform will enable local and community-based energy services companies to provide a range of services for local generators, consumers and for the future distribution services operators. Trusted community energy services companies will develop long-term relationships with local energy consumers and generators through aggregating consumers and generators together to source the best deals on the market for their energy and automatically renewing contracts to ensure continued best value for money. Algorithms in the Cloud ZuoS platform will use advanced weather forecasting software and actual energy generation and consumption data to continuously improve the accuracy of the forecasting model for both energy generation and local energy consumption. The platform will use this data to directly control smart energy technologies in the local network to ensure energy generated locally is consumed locally. Q. How did you feel when pitching the project idea to a panel of senior managers from the gas and electricity networks? A. This was a fantastic opportunity to get our project idea in front of some of the people who are most affected by the issue the project is looking to address, and who have the most to benefit from the increased visibility of energy flow data at the local level. There was the additional thrill of pitching in front of a live crowd, who collectively made up the final panel member for the decision. Q. Why is it important to recognise SMEs in this space? A. SMEs have talented people who by working in smaller organisations can have a more rounded view of the issues faced in the energy market, on consumer, technical, regulatory and financial levels. Collaboration is key to SMEs, and an open competition like this can remove barriers to participation. Q. Why do you think the panel were so impressed with your entry? A. The project offers real innovation in a very topical area. The platform offers the potential to generate multiple benefits within an area which is an important piece of the smart local energy challenge. Q. What are you going to do with the prize money? A. The prize money will support the development of a detailed proposal to the Electricity Network Innovation Competition. In particular we will be undertaking key stakeholder engagement to understand user and regulatory needs and developing the system architecture to define functionality requirements. Q. Where do you go from here? A. As I said, this is a topical area. Only recently, the EU reached agreement on a legal framework for "citizen energy communities". All three project partners already work in the community energy space, and we see this prize as an endorsement that we are on the right track with our thinking, so we'll accelerate our efforts with this concept. Q. As an SME, what are some of the main challenges you face when it comes to engaging with the wider sector and the regulator? A. We're well connected, but when you are tackling challenges through a 'bottom-up' approach by involving local generators and consumers, it can be difficult to engage with the wider sector and regulator to discuss the implications from scaling up. It can also be difficult to get the regulatory and technical permission to undertake test pilots. Q. Can regulation be a barrier to innovation? A. Of course! After all, innovation can be driven by the need to overcome regulatory barriers for a more efficient system. However, there is a strong focus on innovation in the sector, and the regulator is as keen as the customers, generators and system operators to have the best energy network possible. Q. What's your message to other SMEs who are trying to enter this space? A. Keep going, and remain focused on what you want to achieve. Size is not everything, and there is plenty of room in the market for SMEs to play their part. Q. How did it feel to win the prize? A. After the initial shock of hearing our project announced as the winner, we were genuinely delighted that the panel of experts felt this was a compelling proposal which merited further support to develop.