Capula support EDF to design, build and deliver their flexibility platform, PowerShift
Britain can’t achieve Net Zero without supporting the development of the renewable sector. That’s why EDF are investing in new renewable assets as well as working with independent generators and investors to help build the future capacity we need to help Britain achieve Net Zero.
Despite the challenges we have all faced this year, EDF has continued to drive forward innovation in partnership with independent developers, building stronger relationships to support a green recovery that will help Britain achieve its Net Zero target.
EDF are continuously investing to advance the services they offer to help Britain achieve Net Zero. EDF’s flexibility platform PowerShift enables them to optimise the value of flexible assets via access to the wholesale market, the balancing mechanism and various other grid services
Capula has helped to support EDF to design, build and deliver this flexibility platform, you can find out more about the project below.
Introducing PowerShift
EDF identified that a decentralised energy model could provide businesses with further opportunity in terms of balancing consumption and generation. If businesses were able to shift their energy consumption when UK electricity demand from the Grid threatens to exceed supply – and if there could be added incentive in the form of revenue earning potential through trading – this could help balance the Grid and deliver sustainable financial returns.
Enabling assets to be controlled to reduce or shift energy demand – the PowerShift platform would optimise, control and trade over 250MW of assets helping to keep the Grid balanced and enabling customers to earn revenues from flexibility services.
Following successful market validation PowerShift was established as EDF’s flexibility platform that enables customers to manage and monetise their energy assets.
How we helped
Capula was initially selected to support the proof of concept to deliver a scalable and sustainable monitoring and control capability that could be hosted in the Cloud, with a specific focus on the Asset Management System (AMS).
Having delivered a successful proof of concept in an accelerated 8-week timescale, Capula was selected as an integral part of the project to support the delivery and iterative development of the platform, including strengthening the functionality and gradual onboarding of more and varying energy asset types.
Rapid application development capability was critical, and Capula focused on speed of deployment and automated release strategies to allow the EDF PowerShift team to ‘fail fast’ and easily test outcomes. For instance, from the initial stages of the project to the full production environment, Capula was able to deliver automatic deployments to the production environment within 30 minutes compared to a 5-hour time during the proof of concept phase.
Future developments
Further development of the platform will look to include the evolution of different asset types. The approach to collecting real-time data – including extending the use of communication protocols – will achieve a common approach such that each asset control partner can deliver the data required more easily and in the right format to enhance the functionality and scope of the platform.