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How to go local for renewable power so everyone wins

By Talk Power Team | Posted February 05, 2019

Imagine finding a way to switch to a renewable power supply that cuts your organisation’s energy costs as well as its carbon emissions.

That’s an impressive win-win.

Now imagine your choice also helped a local renewable energy business build a new power plant and then earn more than they would have done by selling their power through the grid.

Win-win again.

Well this win-win, win-win outcome is what RAF Marham recently achieved. A 6 kilometre long privately-owned electricity cable (called a private wire) now supplies the airbase with renewable electricity from a nearby power plant built and run by Future Biogas. This connection saves the airbase £300,000 a year on its electricity costs.

Besides the obvious engineering challenges of laying the cable, there was another crucial challenge to address: Future Biogas’s energy production matches RAF Marham’s energy use closely, but not exactly. And there will be times when Future Biogas’s plant needs to shut for maintenance. 

And that’s where EDF Energy played a part. We created a contract to ensure sure this arrangement works for all parties, in all circumstances, for years to come, and is simple to manage.

Our contract – a Private Wire Power Purchase Agreement – enables the airbase to enjoy a seamless supply of power with payments settled in a simple way; irrespective of how much of the supply comes from Future Biogas or the grid.

By covering such contractual and operational risks, PPAs help more decentralised, low-carbon generation enter the UK energy mix with less effort for renewable generators and customers. And that speeds up our progress towards a low carbon future.

Looking for a PPA to support your renewable energy ambitions? Start here.

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