Opus One Solutions’ latest initiative is helping to develop a smarter energy network that’ll aid the U.K. in meeting its net-zero goals.
Opus One Solutions, a top 100 Global Clean Tech Company based in Canada, recently announced two exciting projects with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to develop solutions for flexibility market models. This builds upon SSEN’s Project MERLIN, a large-scale modelling of the economic impacts of distributed energy resources on future grid plans.
Through these projects, Opus One Solutions is helping utilities transition from operating as a distribution network operators (DNO) — companies that own and operate power lines and infrastructure, and distribute electricity from the network to individual properties — to becoming distribution system operators (DSOs) — companies that operate entire energy distribution systems. As more and more energy is being generated locally and from renewable sources (such as wind and solar), connecting this energy to such networks is essential to creating smarter, cost-effective, and sustainable electricity distribution grids.
“This is a milestone for the company as it anchors our leadership position in the transactive energy and flex markets spaces in the U.K., from our first project with National Grid,” says Josh Wong, CEO of Opus One Solutions.
Making the move to a smarter network
The transition to a DSO helps move from centralized generation to decentralized generation, and will create the potential for exciting new opportunities for energy users through peer-to-peer and flexibility trading, creating new markets where supply and demand can be balanced and traded at a local level.
Flexibility and system coordination will also play a critical role in the cost-effective transition to net zero, whereby low-carbon technologies and solutions participate within a market on a level playing field. Opus One Solutions’ venture represents a first-of-kind solution that’s building the necessary infrastructure to enable flexibility markets and energy transition.
As the U.K. is moving to decarbonize in alignment with its commitment to the Paris Agreement, energy transition is an essential pathway toward transforming the energy sector. Opus One Solutions’ innovative project is a live demonstration for a smarter energy network and will help the U.K. move closer to its stated goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“This brings us closer to enabling the four Ds — democratization, decentralization, digitization, and decarbonization — in a business-as-usual construct by 2023 than a pilot would, and also leads to cost savings,” explains Hari Suthan, Opus One Solutions’ Chief of Strategic Growth.
A smart, flexible electricity grid could help the U.K. cut carbon more cheaply, saving up to £40 billion across the electricity system between now and 2050.
Using advanced analytics for smarter flexible energy system
In this new initiative, Opus One Solutions will develop and deploy two flexibility market models: Neutral Market Facilitator (NMF) and Whole System Coordinator (WSC). The NMF platform will be deployed for buyers and sellers of flexible electricity sources to register their requirements and capabilities. The WSC platform, meanwhile, will integrate SSEN system data from a variety of sources to quantify the requirements for network flexibility across different timeframes. Together, these tools aim to support the deployment of more cost-effective flexibility markets to maintain network integrity and to provide an alternative to traditional network reinforcement.
Opus One Solutions is a software engineering and solutions company that helps utilities optimize energy planning, operations, and market management using the advanced analytics software platform GridOS®. It will take the key learnings from these new projects to implement and scale future solutions for a smarter, flexible energy system.
