Piclo – the collaboration between energy startup Open Utility and green energy provider Good Energy – has teamed up with the Eden Project to pilot the UK’s first online market for renewable energy, allowing consumers and generators to buy and sell renewable energy directly.
Piclo brings the ‘sharing economy’ to the energy industry, as part of the global movement disrupting industries through apps, new business models and digital technology.
Two Scottish renewable generators – a 500kW wind turbine at Shotts Golf Course and the 225 kW Logoch Wind Farm at East Kilbride – are among the first in the UK to take part, while on the consumer side, Ferrygate Farm Fresh Eggs in East Lothian is among the first to benefit.
The peer-to-peer energy market hands control back to the customer. Piclo gives consumers and generators the tools and data needed to have complete choice and control over pricing and consumption.
Piclo takes in all the price and preference information and matches electricity demand and supply every half hour of the day. Good Energy help ensure that the marketplace is always balanced, purchasing surplus power or providing 100% renewable top-up when required.
Piclo is available across the UK. Generators are signed up across England, Wales and Scotland. Open Utility and Good Energy have partnered to trial Piclo for six months and energy trading for generator and consumers begins today (1 Oct)
The project is funded by The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund scheme run by The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the UK’s leading Tech for Good funder, Nominet Trust. Piclo is currently accepting half-hourly settled generation and consumption sites.
Juliet Davenport, Chief Executive, Good Energy, said: “It’ll be really interesting to see how Piclo’s ground breaking technology will transform the energy market. The Eden Project is all about being a catalyst for positive change and this is something we passionately support as a pioneering independent energy supplier.
James Johnston, Chief Executive, Open Utility, added: “The Eden Project is a forward-thinking organisation that is pushing the boundaries of sustainability.
“To power these biomes, they need a lot of electricity – and what better to source this electricity from efficient, local renewable generators.
“We’re looking forward to having Eden Project as part of Piclo, as the online service represents a step change for the energy industry. From October, we will be one step closer to our vision of a local, low cost and democratised energy industry.”
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