Flexibility case study- Generation

Introduction

A dairy farmer is looking to provide Flexible Services to Electricity North West through a Dynamic contract by increasing generation following a fault or unplanned network event.

About Flexible Services

When the demand for electricity is greater than the amount that Electricity North West can provide, we procure Flexible Services to alleviate constraints on our network during peak times. These services are provided by companies or individual customers known as Flexibility Providers, who own assets in our region such as generators, battery storage and EV charge points that can generate more or use less electricity when required, and can provide a minimum of 50kW either individually or via an aggregator. This allows us to balance supply and demand, ensuring a safe and reliable supply of energy for our customers and in return for providing extra capacity, flexibility providers receive payment from the network. 

Generating renewable energy from animal waste

The farmer will provide a Dynamic service by using their biomass plant to generate electricity upon receipt of instruction from Electricity North West. The farmer's biomass plant generates electricity by converting the manure from 600 dairy cows on the farm into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). The slurry from manure is separated from the solid waste and flows into a retention pond (digester) where bacteria converts the manure into biogas. The gas is then cooled and treated to remove hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide to capture as much purified methane as possible. Compared to many other renewable energy options, biomass has the advantage of dispatchability, meaning it is controllable and available when needed. Converting animal waste into electricity is cost effective and helps reduce waste going to landfills or from being released as greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Pre-tender

Our tenders are published on the PicloFlex platform twice a year in Spring and Autumn in line with our Network Development Plan (NDP) and Distribution Future Electricity Scenarios (DFES) publications to reflect our latest requirements. To be notified of our upcoming tenders, the supermarket signs up to our flexible services distribution list.   

Prior to the launch of the tender, the farmer:

• Registers the company onto Piclo's Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) to pre-qualify to participate. The information submitted such as credit checks and insurance details are assessed by Electricity North West and once approved, the companies DPS remains valid to participate for up to 12 months.
• The farmer then registers and pre-qualifies the assets they wish to utilise onto Piclo. 

Tender process 

An Invitation to Tender (ITT) is published on our website and on Piclo which defines the terms of the tender and the tender process, flexible service types required, periods and capacities for each zone requiring a flexible service, and the technical requirements. 

Pre- Qualification

Once the ITT has been published, the farmer reviews the requirements using the interactive map on Piclo, and upon establishing that their farm is located within a requirement zone seeking a Dynamic service, they calculate how much of the required demand response it can offer, when, and at what price. Prior to submitting a bid, the farmer uses the cost calculator tool on our website to check that the prices they are prepared to offer for availability and utilisation don't exceed the ceiling price that we are offering for the service as part of this tender round. The cost calculator can be found within appendix 6 of the ITT appendices. At this point, the farmer has decided they would like to participate in the tender and their next step is to complete the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) on Piclo to provide the necessary technical details of the participating sites and the capability for delivery. Once the questionnaire has been completed, the farmer then confirms their participation in the competition on Piclo. 

Submitting a bid

For the final stage of the procurement process, the farmer submits a bid to the tender via the Piclo Flex platform. This is carried out by linking the pre-registered assets to the Availability and Utilisation payments, as well as the periods where the farmer can deliver availability of the response. Once the bidding window has closed, Electricity North West assesses the tender responses before accepting or rejecting bids based on the proposed payment and its ability to meet the specification. If the farmer's bids are successful they will then enter into a Flexibile Services Agreement with Electricity North West to deliver the Dynamic service within the required service windows. Electricity North West utilises the Standard Flexibility Services Agreement developed by the Energy Network's Association Open Network's Project.