Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 25TH - 31ST OCTOBER 2019 | 11 Finance & Investment Ovo acquires stake in Renewable Exchange Challenger supplier buys a minority stake in the digital marketplace for an undisclosed sum Ovo announced on 21 October that it has purchased a minority stake in digital marketplace Renewable Exchange for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, Steve Ack- royd, Ovo's director of business development, will be appointed to Renewable Exchange's board. The challenger energy sup- plier said the proceeds of its investment will be used by Bristol-based Renewable Exchange to accelerate the development of its digital Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market platform. Founded in 2016, Renewable Exchange already has 727 generators with an installed capacity of more than 1GW connected to the platform. Stephen Fitzpatrick, chief executive and founder of Ovo, said: "Renewable Exchange is the UK's leading digital platform, connecting independent renewable energy generators with buyers and bringing simplicity to an increasingly complex energy system. "We're delighted to be working with Rob and his team to bring clean, affordable energy to more customers." Robert Ogden, chief executive and founder of Renewa- ble Exchange, said: "By working with Ovo we can deliver on our vision to pave the way for subsidy-free renewables by digitising and democratising the PPA market." The deal is the latest in a series of investments since the Mitsubishi Corporation acquired a £200 million, 20 per cent stake in Ovo in February. And Ovo has revealed it is seeking to invest in more companies fol- lowing the purchase of the minority stake in Renewable Exchange. Speaking to Utility Week, Ackroyd said: "We're always looking for companies to invest in that share our values and can bring us closer to delivering on our mission to bring clean affordable energy to more people. "Earlier this year we invested in energy blockchain pioneer Electron." Ackroyd did not rule out Ovo investing more in Renewable Exchange in the future when asked about the possibility of acquiring a larger stake. He said: "We are invested in supporting the growth of Renewable Exchange and will make future investment decisions as and when necessary to help it achieve its goals." Ackroyd said it is "critical" that new generators opti- mise the value of PPAs. "In a subsidy-free world, a PPA is going to provide 100 per cent of the revenue for new generators, so it's critical that they optimise their value. Renewable Exchange's digital platform is going to be essential to optimising renewable energy assets and will support new clean energy projects getting built." AJ ENERGY Tidal project 'shows sector's maturity' The approval of the largest inter- nation tidal energy project shows the sector is ready for commer- cialisation, one of the key figures behind the project claims. The Tidal Stream Industry Energiser Project (TIGER) will enable up to 8MW of tidal capac- ity installed between the UK and France. Simon Cheeseman, sector lead for wave and tidal energy at Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, which is co-ordinating the project, told Utility Week the initial phase of the project involves 2.8MW of turbines installed at five sites, with the potential to deploy a further 5MW. The UK sites are Ramsey Sound in Pembrokeshire, on the site of a previous turbine, and Yar- mouth on the Isle of Wight, which will host two small installations. In France, installations will be at Paimpol-Brehat and Morbihan in Brittany, and Le Raz Blanchard off the Normandy coast. The project is due to be completed by March 2023, with turbines expected to be installed at the five sites from 2020. Cheeseman said: "The project is going to demonstrate that the tidal sector has reached an important point of maturity; it's right on the edge of being ready to commercialise." Funding for the €46.8 million project comes in part from the Interreg France (Channel) Eng- land Programme, which is an EU initiative providing funding for sustainable projects in northern France and the southern UK. The project supports the long- term aim of reducing generation costs of tidal stream energy from the existing €300/MWh to €150/ MWh by 2025 and increasing uptake. The EU has set a target to reach €100/MWh by 2030. WATER Sector reflects on Beast from the East In its final report on lessons learnt following the Beast from the East, Water UK has high- lighted improvements made in key areas such as communica- tion and weather prediction. The trade body for the water sector also pointed to better preparations across the board, including the establishment of an expert community to share best practice in planning for how freeze-thaw events could hinder supply. Water UK has also worked with water compa- nies to have a ready supply of bottled water in case of future service interruptions. The report explored how tech- nology and data analysis can be better used across the sector to predict extreme weather, an area Water UK has been working on with suppliers both within and outside of the industry. Criticisms of how compa- nies responded to and handled the Beast from the East largely related to keeping customers informed, and there was a call to revise communication protocols – particularly to vulnerable and priority customers. Company-specific action taken has included Affinity Water establishing an integrated Rapid Response and Restoration team; and Thames Water increasing its access to back-up clean water tanks by 115 per cent. ENERGY Octopus buys smart home platform Challenger energy supplier Octo- pus Energy has announced the acquisition of smart home energy management platform nCube. Launched in 2013, nCube sup- ports more than 100 products including Nest, Sonos and Yale. As part of the acquisition, Phil Steele, nCube's founder and chief executive, will join Octopus as the company's first "future technologies evangelist". He will lead on the development and integration of nCube's assets. Octopus will use the newly acquired platform to drive more automation for its customers and closer integration between smart meters and energy-consuming devices. Ackroyd: said more investments are planned This week

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