An energy ecosystem described as ‘next era energy management’ has gone live at Nottingham City Council’s fleet depot, providing a blueprint for vehicle operators.

The depot features two second-life battery energy storage systems, along with 40 V2G chargers with three solar arrays

The Eastcroft Depot, located just outside the city centre, houses two E-Stor battery energy storage systems, made by Connected Energy from second-life Renault batteries, along with 40 vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bi-directional chargers with three solar arrays.

The project shows how a fleet depot can intelligently manage the energy demands caused by vehicle electrification, showcasing solutions to extreme energy challenges from physical supply restrictions, rural locations or legacy buildings.

Connected Energy CEO Matthew Lumsden said that insufficient energy supply and unmanageable peak charges were set to become a growing problem for EV and fleet managers installing charge points – which the new depot can overcome by combining a range of technologies together.

“The energy ecosystem for Nottingham City Council overcomes all these challenges and shows a path ahead that others can follow,” he stated.

The site’s solar arrays have a combined generation of 138kWp and will enable the site to create and use its own clean energy which is then stored in the Connected Energy E-Stor systems. This is all managed by a software solution, developed by Hangar19, which will communicate across all the technologies, giving the site the flexibility to make the best possible use of its own energy and provide services to the grid.

Not only will it help the depot manage energy demands but it will also help to control costs.

Steve Cornes, principal energy projects officer, explained: “As the city council fleet transitions to electric, including large vehicles such as refuse lorries, we will be using the battery energy storage system to prop up the grid. By using intelligently managed BESS and V2G, on-site solar energy can be maximised and the depot will effectively be able to isolate itself from the grid. The systems will allow us to ensure production costs of electricity will be negligible, allowing us to peak shave so that we can avoid high electricity tariffs and give us the opportunity to trade electricity back to the grid.”

The council, which runs 243 vehicles, is using the installation as part of Nottingham’s ambition to become the first carbon-neutral city in the country by 2028 – and it provides a valuable blueprint for others to follow.

“Our main aim is to reduce the carbon intensity of the operations on site. Projects such as this are critical as we work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2028 and this will demonstrate what is possible – both for the city council itself but for similar buildings throughout the UK.”

Connected Energy’s Matthew Lumsden said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Nottingham City Council to supply our E-Stor battery storage systems, and are proud to collaborate with so many other suppliers of new technological solutions to complete this installation together. Together we are addressing the biggest challenge of our age, climate change and energy security, making this an energy ecosystem of a new era.”

Connected Energy also offers a ‘Battery Storage as a Service’ route, developed to manage costs for solutions such as Nottingham’s. The subscription-style service combines all capital and operating costs into one simple monthly payment, removing the need to use upfront capital, while users of the service are also able to receive grid payments directly.