DESNZ – Distributed Energy Storage Ltd

More Retailers Plan to Bring Plug-in Solar Panels to UK Homes.

His Majesty’s Government has published another press release about plug-in solar panels! On this occasion all the Government’s bullet points are of interest to the team here at Distributed Energy Storage Ltd:

● B&Q and Currys join government plans to bring plug-in solar to UK homes
● Rooftop solar panels are already saving families up to £480 a year
● Government launches consultation for industry views on ensuring consumer safety

Below the bullets we discover that:

More families are set to save money on bills as flagship retailers Currys, B&Q, Amazon and Lidl join government plans to bring plug-in solar panels to UK homes.
At a roundtable of some of the biggest retailers in the country, with a combined total of almost four thousand stores and significant online presence, Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey discussed the crucial role of plug-in solar in the clean energy revolution.
Those in attendance included Amazon, Asda, B&Q, Currys, Screwfix and Wickes, who discussed the technology and how it can offer a cheaper route for people to save money on bills.
This follows rule changes announced by the government earlier this year that will allow UK homeowners to self-install plug-in solar panels in the coming months and builds on savings of up to £480 consumers can already make from rooftop panels.
Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey said:
“Plug-in panels can be transformative for renters or those on lower incomes, so I welcome the conversation today with household names such as B&Q and Currys showing a huge amount of support for getting the panels in people’s homes.
This easy to install tech can cut people’s bills and help make the UK less reliant on global fossil fuel markets.”

This time around the accompanying short video is hosted by Katie White OBE MP, Minister for Climate in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, instead of Martin:

More information about the “consultation for industry views on ensuring consumer safety” can be found in a separate Government announcement:

We are proposing changes to the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 (PSSR). The aim is to allow consumers to connect plug-in solar systems (without batteries) directly to a standard mains socket, provided products meet defined safety requirements. This would represent a new, accessible route for households to generate clean electricity, helping reduce energy bills, and supporting wider clean power objectives.

Alongside regulatory changes, DESNZ is also proposing an interim product specification to ensure that only safe and compliant products can be placed on the UK market during a transitional period, while enduring standards are developed.

Regen Recommends Plug-in Batteries

According to the Regen “About” page:

Regen provides independent, evidence-led insight and advice in support of our mission to transform the UK’s energy system for a net zero future. We focus on analysing the systemic challenges of decarbonising power, heat and transport. We know that a transformation of this scale will require engaging the whole of society in a just transition.

The consultancy has just published a new article, pointing out that “Plug-in solar is coming. Plug-in batteries should follow.“

Plug-in batteries could significantly reduce household electricity bills, particularly for renters, flat dwellers and low-income households, who are largely excluded from installing traditional home battery systems today. The government has already announced regulation changes to make plug-in solar panels available as part of its response to the rise in energy costs caused by the US war with Iran. In this blog, Regen argues they should go one step further and make standalone plug-in batteries available too.

Rooftop solar and home battery systems are a well-established pillar of the government’s net zero and energy security strategy. But to date, systems that can be plugged into a regular wall socket have not been legal in Great Britain. This is in stark contrast to mainland Europe, where plug-in systems are commonplace and can be bought off the shelf from Ikea or Lidl.

Plug-in solar has been available for almost a decade in Germany, where there are now more than a million systems in place. In March this year, the UK government announced regulation changes to make plug-in solar panels available ‘within months’, as part of its response to the rise in energy costs caused by the US war in Iran. However, the announcement was noticeably quiet on plug-in batteries.

A plug-in battery is a portable energy storage unit that can be plugged into a standard wall socket without any modification to the household wiring. It charges by drawing electricity through the socket – typically during the off-peak period of a time-of-use tariff – and discharges back through the same socket to offset household demand at times when electricity is more expensive.

Unlike traditional domestic battery systems, which must be hardwired into the home’s electrical system by a qualified electrician, plug-in batteries can be bought off the shelf and plugged into a wall socket like any other household appliance:

Please read the entire article, but here’s the Regen team’s conclusion:

It’s clear that plug-in batteries could be transformational for households in Great Britain that to date have been excluded from the benefits of home batteries. It’s positive that the government has announced plug-in solar, but it has left plug-in batteries in a grey area.
Regen suggests that DESNZ should now:

● Commit to a date by which plug-in batteries will be legally available for use in Great Britain
● Commission a rapid safety study for plug-in batteries, and work with the IET and BSI to update BS 7671 (the UK wiring regulations) accordingly
● Sponsor a new product safety standard through BSI for battery fire safety in portable in-home devices (distinct from the PAS 63100 framework written for installed systems).

With the government commitment to cutting £300 from household energy bills looking increasingly out of reach, introducing a new product to the market that delivers meaningful bill savings at no cost to the Treasury should be one of the easier calls to make.

Hear, hear!

Plug-in solar panels to be in UK shops within months

British Summer Time has just begun, and in anticipation of the auspicious event His Majesty’s Government issued a long overdue press release last week. The initial bullet points of greatest interest to the team here at DES Ltd. read as follows:

‘Plug-in’ solar panels to be in shops within months, offering households chance to significantly cut energy bills
New rules introduced today to ensure majority of new homes in England will come with solar panels fitted as standard

Regarding the first bullet, the Government has this to say:

Today, the government is driving forward with the rollout of “plug-in” solar panels (low-cost panels that families can put on their balconies or outdoor space) to be available in shops within months and save people money on their bills.
Retailers like Lidl and Iceland, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, are working with government to enable them to be brought to the UK market.
Plug-in solar is already widely used by households across Europe, with Germany seeing around half a million new devices plugged in per year. The free solar power can be used directly through a mains socket like any other device, without an installation cost, thereby reducing the amount of electricity taken from the grid and cutting energy bills.
The easy-to-install technology could save many households significant amounts on their energy bills and help make the UK less reliant on global fossil fuel markets.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has even produced a YouTube short video. Michael Shanks MP, Minister for Energy, explains that:

This doesn’t replace the grid, but it’s a smart source of extra power for your home, and it’s about time we had them here in the UK! Last year alone, in Germany, more than half a million of these were plugged in.

When do you suppose it will be possible to actually purchase such “easy-to-install technology” in “the middle of Lidl” in the UK? The moment cannot come soon enough!

Moving on to our second bullet, the press release adds:

The government has taken decisive action in response to the conflict in the Middle East to fight for consumers and businesses on the cost of living, and is speeding up plans for more clean, homegrown energy that the UK controls to ensure energy sovereignty and security.
This is alongside new rules coming into force today implementing the Future Homes Standard, which includes common-sense measures to ensure the majority of new homes are built cheaper to run, with solar panels and clean heating as standard.

Isn’t it a shame that David Cameron’s Conservative Government pulled the plug on the previous Labour Government’s “Zero Carbon Homes” initiative way back in 2015?

The SOLCER “Zero Carbon” House pictured in 2015

UK Government publishes Onshore Wind Taskforce strategy

In a policy paper announced earlier today His Majesty’s Government has published the final report of its Onshore Wind Taskforce. According to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero:

It sets out more than 40 steps government and industry will take to help deliver up to 29GW of onshore wind by 2030. That includes driving ambitious reforms to planning, grid connections, and routes to market, while building the supply chains and skilled workforce we need.
As part of this, we will consult on how permitted development rights can support the rollout of small-scale onshore wind and repowering. Great British Energy, our publicly owned energy company, will invest in and develop renewables projects. And we will work with the Ministry of Defence to take a mission-driven approach to addressing issues relating to wind turbines and defence infrastructure, which have slowed down deployment in the past.

According to the Executive Summary of the report:

Under this Government we removed the defacto ban on onshore wind in England, and are delivering radical action to unlock 27-29GW of onshore wind by 2030 across GB. That’s around 10-12GW more than would have been deployed under historic growth rates, with England contributing around 2GW by 2030.
Onshore wind is among the cheapest sources of new electricity generation to build and operate at scale. Scaling up home-grown renewables, like we’re doing for onshore wind, reduces the UK’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel prices, which protects consumer energy bills against future price shocks.

In the depths of the report Action Item 14 mentions energy storage:

The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) will support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure across England, Scotland and Wales, land and sea between 2030 to 2050. It will do this by assessing and identifying the optimal locations, quantities and types of energy infrastructure required for generation and storage, including onshore wind, to meet our future energy demand with the clean, affordable and secure supply that we need.

Lisa the LEAF cannot contain her excitement at the news!

She cannot wait to drive up to Westminster to explain to Ed et al. the potential benefits of rolling out mobile distributed energy storage in conjunction with the promised renewable energy generation. In other words, lots and lots of bidirectional electric vehicles connected to an even greater number of bidirectional EV charging stations!

Many of which could be installed in car parks, under a canopy of solar PV panels. Here’s one the Netherlands invented earlier: