Oxford 'superhub' plan for green energy
Suzanne Lovell
Oxford City Council, which earlier this year declared a climate emergency in the city, is part of Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO), a project also involving Pivot Power, Habitat Energy, redT, Kensa and Oxford University.
The council has been awarded £1,615,169 from the Government innovation agency, Innovate UK.
ESO will see the installation of a large battery, connected to the Cowley substation which will store and re-supply electricity directly to the grid. It is intended to provide ground-source heating to around 300 homes, and electric vehicle charging across Oxford.
The council says it will work through storing electricity at times of low demand and re-supplying at peak demand and will minimise bills. The council also says it will use the system’s spare capacity in its depots and in key businesses in Oxford, including bus and taxi operators and commercial fleet depots.
An electric vehicle 'superhub' will provide more than 20 ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers for the public use with speeds of between 10 and 30 minutes.
ESO will last for three years and, if successful, will be expanded to up to 44 sites across the UK.
Cllr Tom Hayes, executive board member for safer and greener environment, said: “Leading businesses are investing in Oxford because they recognise that we’re already trialling new technologies exactly like Energy Superhub Oxford.”
In a separate project, Oxfordshire has been awarded £40m to trial a ‘smart grid’. Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) will develop a new model for the way in which local energy systems in Oxfordshire are managed and measured.
Source: Thames Valley Property No 158 (tvproperty.co.uk).
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