Recipient organisationThe European Marine Energy Centre Limited
Funding£6.6M
PeriodMar 2019 — Mar 2023
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Orkney already generates 130% of its electricity from renewables, yet 63% of its residents live in fuel poverty. This project installs flexible technologies—vehicle-to-grid chargers, smart heating controllers, building management systems, and a virtual power plant—to link electricity, transport, and heat into a single responsive virtual energy system. The goal is to break the mismatch between abundant renewable generation and high consumer costs. If successful, the system could prove that local energy networks can maximise production, recover wasted efficiency, and supply power at minimum cost to households. The project is a practical demonstration, not fundamental science: it tests whether existing technologies can be combined and operated together in a real, constrained grid. Orkney’s isolation makes it a testbed for problems that affect networks across the UK. The knowledge gained—about business models, system integration, and consumer impact—is designed to be replicated elsewhere, potentially reshaping how distributed energy systems are built and managed.
View original technical description
"The energy system in Orkney is subject to specific constraints, and its independent location means it is the ideal location to demonstrate the capabilities of a self-contained smart energy network, and the potential impact it can deliver. Orkney is a representation of energy supply problems which energy networks find difficult to solve using traditional technology. Specifically; Orkney produces 130% of the electricity it needs through existing installed renewable generation, yet 63% of Orkneys residents live in fuel poverty. Project **ReFLEX** will install **FLEX**ible technologies to address the restrictions which cause this imbalance and demonstrate a **Re**sponsive Virtual Energy System which links these networks together. Thus, allowing production to be maximised, efficiencies to be recovered, and new business models to be proven, meaning energy can be supplied at minimum cost to the consumer and generating knowledge which will allow us to replicate activity and impact across the UK and internationally. The project will last for 36 months and include the installation and operation of multiple technologies including: \*Vehicle to grid charging infrastructure \*Building management systems \*Virtual power plant systems \*Integrated Grid-smart community-led transport system and infrastructure \*Smart Heating Controllers A Virtual Energy System will combine the above infrastructure to demonstrate the capabilities of a smart energy system.
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