ESC21188 - Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester

Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) are looking for external suppliers to support the successful delivery of Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester (UCEGM). UCEGM is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and will deliver approximately 10 Megawatts (MW) of additional clean energy capacity to supply local authority assets across Greater Manchester. It also aims to demonstrate innovative and scalable energy business models, allowing greater participation in the emerging Local Energy Market, reducing reliance on subsidy and enabling future investment in clean energy.

The project commenced in summer 2020 and will run until the end of May 2023. UCEGM is led by ESC in partnership with five Greater Manchester local authorities - Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, and Wigan. ESC have entered into a Grant Funding Agreement with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to deliver the project including certain contracted outputs in the form of kilowatt hours of renewable energy that will be produced and resultant tonnes of carbon dioxide that the project will save. For further information see: https://es.catapult.org.uk/impact/projects/ucegm/

The project has two workstreams:

In Workstream 1 (WS1) renewable energy generation assets will be built and partly funded by the ERDF grant and by the Local Authority (LA). The LAs will deliver ground mount and building integrated solar PV schemes along with a micro hydroelectric plant on council-owned under-utilised land and buildings. These will include battery storage, energy efficiency measures, smart energy management and EV charging at suitable sites.

Workstream 2 (WS2), led by ESC, compliments the development of renewable energy generation projects by developing business model(s) to promote self-consumption of energy by the Local Authorities. The aim of these business model(s) are to improve the business case for the renewable energy generation project by improving the value of energy generated, lowering the cost of energy supply and reducing the carbon intensity of electricity in the local area.

The overall structure of WS2 aims to iteratively develop, test, and then create a detailed implementation plan for a business which allows self-consumption of the energy generated from the renewable energy projects invested within this programme by LAs in the Greater Manchester area. The intention of this work is to also improve the investment case for future renewables projects for LAs in the Greater Manchester area, creating a legacy from the programme by helping to contribute to the renewable capacity target set out in the GM 5-year environment plan.

There are several changes to the regulation of retail energy and how energy supply works within industry code that will liberalise the UK energy market and enable new business models. WS2 will explore how these changes can support the overall objectives of the project and well as providing a blueprint for how policies, regulations and investments can be aligned to grow markets for low carbon investment in the Greater Manchester area.