The Aberdeenshire Council Smart Solar and Storage contract received another accolade at the recent Solar & Storage LIVE Awards in Birmingham.

The project won the Alan Clark Award for local community energy in the UK for 2022. This award honours those who have made a positive impact on local communities by using or combining solar, storage, or electric vehicles.

As part of the project, Emtec Energy delivered a total of 1.6MWp of Solar PV across 500 council properties, equipping each of them with a 7.2kWh battery. In addition to generating free electricity, smart devices and battery units are installed to help tenants manage their energy consumption.

Due to the nature of the Grid within Inverurie and MacDuff, the system was initially refused connection to the network. Aberdeenshire were then able to turn this adversity into an opportunity by installing the systems under a flexible connection, aggregating each property to allow them to deliver Firm Frequency Response services to National Grid.

It is an excellent example of how modern-day households, particularly those where tenants need as much help with costs as possible, are benefitting from combined solar and storage, with the additional benefit of educating them on how to effectively reduce their household load and preserve their energy conservation.

Many congratulations to Aberdeenshire Council, staff at Emtec Energy as well as SMS plc, Power Circle, Faithful+Gould, and the many other stakeholders that were involved for the duration of the contract.
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