Housing association signs up to scheme which turns surplus energy into hot water
HJALTLAND Housing Association is working in partnership with a mainland company to begin a programme enabling local families to benefit from surplus renewable energy.
The housing association has teamed up with EnergyCloud on a pilot project which aims to demonstrate how the initiative could be extended across its network of 900 homes.
Instead of letting surplus energy go to waste, the trial will see it used to heat tenants’ hot water cylinders for free.
Chief executive Bryan Leask said: “Sometimes wind turbines produce more electricity than people need.
“When that happens EnergyCloud sends the extra energy to heat the water in tenants’ tanks using the immersion heater.”
Leask said a small controller will be fitted near the hot water tank, which will work the same as the current system, such as economy 7/10 times.
In other EnergyCloud schemes a signal is sent to the smart controllers when surplus energy becomes available.
“Tenants will still be able to boost their hot water manually, just using the boost switch on your new controller,” Leask said.
“Even though the hot water is free during the periods of surplus, the electricity used is still measured.
“As part of the pilot the association will then pay the tenant for the energy used to charge the hot water cylinder during periods of surplus energy.
“Tenants will get a message each month explaining their usage and payment.”
EnergyCloud said it creates ‘EnergyCloud Moments’ – periods when there is more renewable electricity available than the electricity system can use.
“Rather than allowing this clean electricity to be curtailed or go unused, EnergyCloud works with partners across the energy system to transform renewable energy surplus into social value,” it said.
Leask said that “for too long, Shetland has represented a contradiction”.
“We generate enormous amounts of renewable electricity, yet many local households experience some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the UK,” he said.
“This partnership with EnergyCloud is about changing that story. As the first homes begin joining the project, we are taking an important step towards ensuring more of the clean energy generated here delivers benefits for the people and communities who live here.
“We are proud to be launching a project that has the potential to demonstrate how the energy transition can be fairer, more local and more inclusive.”
EnergyCloud said launching in Shetland was an “important milestone”.
The not-for-profit organisation said it works with electricity system operators, renewable generators, network companies, housing providers, local authorities and community organisations to “unlock the social value of surplus renewable electricity”.
The issue of curtailed energy has been experienced with the 103-turbine Viking wind farm in Shetland’s Central Mainland, which sometimes has to stop turning due to bottlenecks in the system down south.
This then leads to operator SSEN receiving constraint payments, with the company given £10 million in 2025.
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