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.

A consortium (Condor) has been assembled to manage several communities, including Knaresborough, and the local team involved are Knaresborough Community Energy Limited (KCEL), a community benefit organisation.

 

Our goal is to include everyone, across distinctively diverse trial communities including homes, businesses and other energy users connected to the same physical distribution cell. We want to understand how people want to interact with the energy system and tackle the societal challenges of changing consumer behaviours, so that they become more flexible.

 

We will be sharing learning and key findings from the project with other UK electricity network operators, local authorities, interested stakeholders and the communities involved, so that they can benefit from and participate in the community DSO approach.

 

The Knaresborough trial will focus on testing the role of an anchor renewable generation site (a church with 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.

KCEL, a partner in the Condor consortium, will lead community engagement and coordination.

The trial will run until late 2026 and does not involve any changes to the participants' electricity supplier. In fact participants can continue with their current supplier, or change to a new one, and this will have no impact upon the trial.

The Knaresborough Windsor sub-station has been selected and approximately 100 properties linked to 2 feeders (out of 3) are involved in the trial.