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Trent Basin Community Energy Scheme

Trent Basin Ph1 -06417-061 copy

2.1MWh

Tesla Battery

350

Low energy homes

250acre

Development site

£100m

Development value

£3m

ERA investment

The Trent Basin Community Energy Test Bed provides a full-scale demonstration of an integrated energy system using both solar and thermal ground source energy generation. Built by the regeneration company, Blueprint, Trent Basin currently comprises 45 low-energy homes, with a further 100 being built in phase 2. 

Residents that opt into the scheme will have photovoltaic panels installed on their roofs, and will be provided with smart meters and voice controlled speakers for access to live data on energy generated and consumed. An urban solar panel farmhas been installed on the areas of the site yet to be developed, and, as houses are built, these panels will be transferred to each home.

Professor Mark Gillott croppedNottingham and all UK cities can become energy self-sufficient and community energy schemes like Project SCENe at Trent Basin show how this can be accomplished.

Professor Mark Gillott, University of Nottingham

The vision for Trent Basin foresees a new kind of sustainable neighbourhood with a distinct identity and a strong sense of place, underpinned by research and innovation.

A significant part of this innovation is enabled by Innovate UK funding and the Energy Research Accelerator ERA. It brings together companies involved in the energy supply chain with key industry players, academics and the potential buyers of around 120 homes on site to deliver new models for community energy schemes. Using novel consumer engagement tools and a focus on business model development the consortium will develop and test business model templates that could be used by developers of large scale housing projects.

How it works

There is a need to find ways to store energy, typically at night when demand is slack, smoothing out the peaks and troughs of supply and demand. Trent Basin’s distribution system will be connected to the grid. This means that in addition to being able to store energy generated from local renewable sources, the community battery can also be used to provide services to benefit the national grid, such as feeding energy into the grid to meet demand at peaks times. Solar photovoltaics will generate clean renewable energy on site for storage, distribution and use.

The Partnership

The project involves a consortium of partners. In addition to the Energy Research Accelerator, other partners include Innovate UK’s Project SCENe, Blueprint, the University of Nottingham, Loughborough University, AT Kearney, SmartKlub, Siemens, URBED, Slam Jam, Sticky World, Solar Ready. The project is also supported by Nottingham City Council.

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