Energy trading goes peer-to-peer

24 February 2016 Editor's Choice Power Electronics / Power Management

South Africa is not the only country suffering from electricity shortages. Even in the most developed nations, energy grids are groaning under the weight of growing and ever more power-hungry populations. The search for solutions to the problem is sparking something of a revolution in the way large-scale energy is generated, distributed and stored.

The first trend leading the charge is peer-to-peer energy trading, which establishes a mechanism for the ‘haves’ to sell power to the ‘have nots’ over existing power utility grids. This essentially takes the form of a matchmaking service, pairing energy consumers with suppliers in exchange for a fee. Examples of distributed renewables and smart grid technologies such as this have begun to crop up around the world.

In the UK, the company Open Utility has set up Piclo, a marketplace that gives generators and consumers control over their energy by showing where electricity comes from, what it costs and how those costs change over time. The service matches energy supply and demand preferences every half an hour, and trades exclusively in renewable electricity.

Dutch platform Vandebron charges consumers a monthly fee to contract directly with suppliers of clean energy for a set amount of power over a set amount of time. Currently boasting more than 38 000 subscribers, it allows consumers to choose their specific energy supplier, while producers get to name their price.

In parallel with these market dynamics, the continuous development and improvement of battery technologies is providing more efficient means of storing electricity. The most prominent exponent of this evolution to hit the market thus far is Tesla’s Powerwall, a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and then turns provider to power the home in the evening.

Now German company Sonnenbatterie is connecting the strands by offering not only a virtual platform through which renewable energy can be bought and sold, but also a dedicated facility with batteries that store the energy and control its ebb and flow in harmony with the power grid – sort of like a server farm, but for electricity instead of data.

On the home front, the South African Department of Energy’s ‘Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme’ aims for renewable energy to contribute 10 000 GWh, predicated on the estimation that a minimum of 3725 MW is required to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity.

While this programme is playing some part in incentivising the creation of renewable energy generating facilities, perhaps it’s time to open the way for a free market economy that can solve its own problems.

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