Ofgem awards low-carbon network funding

Ofgem published details of the four winning tier 2 projects that had been awarded a total of £62mn from the
£500mn Low-carbon Networks (LCN) Fund. These were:

• CE Electric’s Customer-led network revolution with £26.8mn. The project explores how a combination of smart technologies and changes in customer behaviour can reduce the costs associated with low-carbon technologies and uses British Gas’ early rollout of smart meters and low-carbon products for its base data;  
• UK Power Networks’ Low-carbon London––A learning journey with £24.3mn. A ‘smart city’ initiative for London will explore how to best use new technologies and active network management. It will work on the back of several existing low-carbon projects, such as ‘Plugged in places’ that encourages the use of electric cars. The project will be carried out in partnership with a number of organisations, including EDF Energy, Imperial College, Logica and Transport for London;  
• Central Networks’ Low-carbon hub with £2.8mn. The east Lincolnshire project will investigate ways of increasing the amount of, mainly wind, electricity generation that can be directly connected to a local electricity network. It will monitor wind speed, generator output and network conditions and will benefit small, renewables generators wanting to connect directly to the distribution network. This project is intended to allow more generation to connect at lower cost, so reducing costs for consumers; and  
• Western Power Distribution’s Low-voltage network templates for a low-carbon future with £7.8mn. This will examine the effect that low-carbon technologies have on the network. The trial should help other companies become more efficient by allowing them to anticipate network behaviour and know which solutions have already been proven to work well.  

Ofgem