Trial results unveiled of Britain's first peer‐to‐peer marketplace for renewables

Energy start-up Open Utility yesterday unveiled the results of its six‐month trial of Piclo, Britain's first online peer‐to‐peer marketplace for renewable energy.

The service allows consumers and generators to buy and sell renewable energy directly, explained UK green energy provider Good Energy, which was partnering with Open Utility on the trial.

Piclo takes in all the price and preference information and matches electricity demand and supply every half an hour, according to the announcement. Good Energy helps ensure that the marketplace is balanced all the time, buying surplus power or providing 100% renewable top‐up when needed.

"The Piclo trial has provided a glimpse of what a future powered purely by renewables could look like, with everything from rooftop solar to community wind turbines playing a role," said Juliet Davenport, Good Energy chief executive and founder.

The trial has shown that local markets are the future of a decentralised energy economy and that proposals to make grid charges fairer through local matching could lead to significant savings, said Good Energy.

According to James Johnston, Open Utility chief executive and co‐founder, peer‐to‐peer local energy matching could unlock billions of pounds of additional revenue for renewable generation technologies in the UK and overseas. "And now, following the release of our six‐month trial we are in a perfect position to maximise the benefit from the smart meter rollout to 30 million households and businesses across Wales, Scotland and England by the end of 2020 alongside the recognition by Ofgem that it is in consumers' interests to be settled against their half‐hourly consumption data," he said.

Generators that took part in the trial included community energy groups, private developers, family‐owned and charity sites, while consumers included sustainable businesses, charities and a co‐housing association.

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