"Community Energy Sharing Trial"   CDSO Trial
 
The trial aims to deliver a UK energy industry-first approach to developing a future framework for community distribution system operation (CDSO). The project is funded through Ofgem's Network Innovation Competition (NIC).

Northern Powergrid is leading the project and hosting the trials. LCP Delta are advising on the delivery and business models and toolkit development. TNEI are leading the development of the technical specifications and undertaking trial simulations so that we can understand the network impact.
The project will provide a foundation for communities to adopt a community-led DSO approach, easily and at scale.

Running until late 2026, the project will develop and trial standard approaches to enable communities and regional stakeholders to work with Northern Powergrid as their local electricity network operator to deploy Smart Local Energy Systems, whilst building more resilience and capacity for vital local electricity networks.
 
Knaresborough through KCEL has been chosen to be part of the first trial, and are looking for residents connected to the Knaresborough Windsor sub-station to participate in this exciting initiative.
The Knaresborough trial will focus on testing the role of an anchor renewable generation site (Gracious Street Methodist Church which has a large solar array and battery storage) in sharing excess renewable energy with the surrounding community, with a focus on engaging residents on the same network who live in local authority flats and maybe experiencing fuel poverty.

 

Knaresborough is a market town of around 16,000 residents, located near Harrogate but maintaining a strong and distinct local identity. The town includes a mix of private and local authority housing, businesses clustered around the high street and market square, light industry on its periphery, and a river where a hydro scheme is currently being developed.
This trial will explore how the local cell operates electrically and socially, testing interventions designed to improve energy efficiency, maximise local renewable usage, and deliver tangible benefits to the community.
 
Knaresborough Windsor was selected as the preferred substation due to strong local support, particularly from COGS, which has recently installed a large LCT system. The church has expressed a clear desire to share surplus renewable energy with the local community, especially households experiencing fuel poverty.
 
The trial will explore the feasibility of transferring surplus energy from COGS to local the houses and flats, allowing low-carbon energy to be used internally within the substation rather than being exported to the wider National PowerGrid network.

Key features of the test cell include:

• Anchor Asset. COGS is the most significant generator in the cell and serves as the primary anchor asset, both in energy capacity and community leadership.

• Fair Transition. COGS aims to share its surplus energy with vulnerable residents, contributing to reduced energy bills and tackling fuel poverty.

• Intra-Feeder Energy Sharing. The trial will test controlled energy transfers to assess technical feasibility and the impact on substation peak limits.

• Public EV Charging Integration. The trial will include the public EV chargers located in Chapel Street car park, enabling excess solar energy to power vehicles and reduce transport emissions.

• EV Charger Management. These chargers serve residents without off-street parking. The trial will explore the potential to throttle charging rates in response to SMPnet peak-limit signals, particularly during overnight charging windows (e.g. post-5pm), subject to agreement with the charge point operator (EVCPO).

• Network Benefits and Participant Rewards. The trial will monitor how energy sharing and controlled demand response can reduce pressure on the local network and deliver value to participating residents.

 
The purpose of the Knaresborough Community Trial will be to test the effectiveness of the CDSO cell model to:
 

1. Deliver social and financial value to participants,

2. Create network headroom.

  
Key innovations being tested include:
 

• Optimising Local Grid Efficiency - The CDSO optimises local grid flows, maximising efficiency and delivering headroom to the distribution network on an ongoing basis. This approach is a novel way to manage LV network power flows in a dynamic and continuous way rather than tapping into explicit flexibility markets.

• Self-flex behaviour change – the new app will be tested to encourage local residents including the tenants benefitting from the church’s excess power to turn up demand in response to cheap energy signals and turn down demand to shave peaks

• Engagement will be tested using existing networks and contacts, focus on the flats using local knowledge, and using feedback to improve engagement during the trial

• A variety of inducements will be trialled to determine the most effective.

The trial will allow the community to determine to what extent such an endeavour improves community cohesiveness in the neighbourhood