Microgrid Project This feasibility study aims to develop a model for a rural microgrid using Ashton Hayes as a test-bed. The project is led by the University of Chester Technical and business expertise are provided by EA Technology Ltd Ashton Hayes Parish Council’s Going Carbon Neutral sub-Committee facilitates liaison within the village.

The Concept Using renewable energy locally Raising awareness of energy and its use Developing innovative use of technology - Ashton Hayes is leading the way with this feasibility study Getting renewable energy onto the network more cheaply Saving money

What makes a microgrid? Local renewable generation – match demand and generation Develop a local energy economy – save money On a defined piece of network (both electrically and geographically) Could involve storage Could attempt to improve quality of supply

What are we doing? There are three parts to the project: –Technical Work –Financial and Operational Models –Community Involvement

Technical work This involves three objectives: –Assess the potential renewable energy supply –Assess the demand profile –Match up supply and demand

Assessing Renewable Resources Possibility of a wind farm Solar pv Biomass boiler or CHP for the school rather than gas –Bio-oil (old chip fat!), Pellets? –CHP with a summer heat store (so we can use the power in the summer).

Ownership and management 1 Proposal: A Community Renewable Energy Organisation (COREO) that will own the generators and manage the electricity supply they generate. Goals of the COREO : –simple, –workable, –inclusive, –not something that will fizzle out in a week!

Community Involvement In order to investigate how these options might work we are working with the village community. We have recruited volunteers to two focus groups: 1.To consider ownership and running of a COREO. This would include allocation of power, ownership of equipment, pricing, income streams. 2.To consider the technical options for generation and metering.