National Grid USA to demonstrate UK flexibility marketplace in New York

National Grid in the US is collaborating with the UK-based Piclo to launch its marketplace for flexibility services in New York state.

Piclo Flex, the company’s flexibility service marketplace, which is used by several of the system operations in the UK as well as by some in Europe, is a cloud-based platform for the procuring and operation of flexibility from distributed energy resources.

In the collaboration, Piclo and National Grid aim to demonstrate how flexibility can be secured at scale and how it can support market growth and unlock maximum benefits from these decentralised technologies.

The initial phase of the project will run for 12 months with the first flexibility competitions in early 2023.

Have you read?
Digitalising Europe’s energy sector – the strategy
Monetising flexibility as a fix for grid congestion

The project covers the area of New York State, with emphasis on National Grid’s upstate New York region and is open to all flexible service providers with existing or planned assets.

“National Grid is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the amount of renewable energy on the grid while improving reliability and affordability for customers,” comments Brian Gemmell, National Grid’s New York Chief Operating Officer for Electric.

“Our clean energy vision outlines a pathway to achieve a fossil-free future to our energy systems that incorporates renewable sources of energy and storage solutions. Adopting Piclo Flex as our marketplace for these opportunities streamlines the process for shepherding projects from proposal to activation while drawing knowledge from an industry leader in the energy flexibility procurement space.”

The US grid is currently heavily dependent on natural gas and coal for almost two-thirds of its electricity generation. By 2030, the goal is that 40% of the nation’s electricity will come from wind, solar and energy storage, increasing the need for a flexible energy system.

While flexibility services – commonly termed ‘non wires alternatives’ in the US – are not a new concept in New York, with their implementation dating back to the Reforming the Energy Vision strategy of 2014, more recent legislation has boosted the need for further expansion of the technology.