We are delighted to announce our involvement in the revolutionary ReFLEX Orkney project
LEVL are delighted to announce our involvement in the ground-breaking ReFLEX Orkney project.
What is the ReFLEX Orkney project?
The ReFLEX (Responsive Flexibility) project is an £28.5 million innovative project, to create an affordable, low-carbon integrated energy system (IES) in Orkney, Scotland.
The project is aiming to integrate local electricity, transport and heat networks into one controllable system using advanced software to balance the supply and demand on Orkney and to help address the constraints in the local electricity network. The aim is to allow local renewable electricity production to be maximised so affordable low carbon energy can be supplied to local consumers.
The project will be using some of the most advanced technology available including:
- Battery energy storage systems
- Electric vehicles and other low carbon transport solutions
- Smart EV chargers (including vehicle to grid)
- Smart heating systems
- Building management systems
ReFLEX has introduced a local energy tariff for Orkney residents. Along with the IES control platform, the tariff links these technologies together to create an integrated system. Technologies are being offered to local households and businesses through leasing and finance plans to not only reduce large upfront costs but to also work towards the ReFLEX mission to decarbonise Orkney. Electric buses, local electric car club and the use of green hydrogen for storage and vehicles are a number of large-scale community-focused initiatives set up by the project.
Since 2013, Orkney has generated over 100% of its electricity demand from renewable power sources. The integrated energy system delivered by ReFLEX will help to:
- maximise the potential of Orkney’s significant renewable generation capabilities by storing more electricity locally,
- ensure higher quality and more affordable energy services,
- lower the county’s carbon footprint by decreasing reliance on imported carbon-intensive energy from the UK mainland.
The project is being funded by UKRI through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the project is led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) with cross sector partners including Aquatera, SMS, Community Energy Scotland, Heriot-Watt University and Orkney Islands Council.
A local project in Orkney could have a significant global impact. If successful, the integrated energy service framework will be replicated across the UK and internationally. Long-term the project can export opportunities to create more flexible and renewable energy systems worldwide.
Want to know more about the project? Click below to watch the ReFlex Orkney project video.
Our Involvement
Similar to the Electric Nation Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) project, the ReFLEX Orkney project is using state of the art vehicle-to-grid technology together with smart EV chargers.
A project goal is to significantly increase the use of electric vehicles for home and business users by seeking to make the total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle no more than an equivalent petrol or diesel powered vehicle.. Through ReFLEX’s delivery supplier Drive Electric, residents and businesses on the Orkney Island will be offered a discount on leased cars and vans.
We are responsible for the supply of the Geotab telematics device into electric vehicles used in the project. Through the Geotab EV telematics device fitted, the customer will receive vital EV data. For business users, the data can play a vital role in fleet management. Working with us ReFLEX Orkney will manage the receipt of data, which may include:
- Live state of charge (SOC)
- Charging data (rate and time of charging)
- Energy used and vehicle performance (kWh per mile)
The benefit of this data will be to contribute to assessing the impact of the ReFLEX project in reducing Orkney’s carbon emissions and maximising the use of locally generated renewable energy.
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