- New climate-tech startup OakTree Power has secured over 20% of market share in the latest Capacity Market T-1 auction through its carbon neutral Demand Side Response (DSR) scheme
- The Capacity Market – designed to ensure there is enough capacity available to meet consumer demand in the UK – was first laid out by the government as “a key element” of its low carbon Electricity Market Reform
- The achievement is expected to put pressure on the government amidst decision to award capacity contracts to heavy-polluting power stations
Leading climate-tech startup OakTree Power has reported a sixfold capacity increase in six months, securing 20.8% market share of the latest Capacity Market T-1 auction. This level of capacity – achieved through the startup’s carbon neutral Demand Side Response (DSR) scheme – has been driven by an oversubscription to the startup’s clean energy programme, which led to secondary trades with other suppliers. The delivery year for T-1 will run from October 2022 to September 2023, during which the startup’s capacity will be called upon to maintain security of electricity supply across the UK.
The milestone comes at a time of national energy supply issues, in which contracts have been redistributed to old peaking coal plans to tackle anticipated blackouts this winter. However, the recent success of OakTree Power and its portfolio size for this Capacity Market delivery year is a clear indicator of the scalability and benefits of Green DSR in tackling the energy crisis. As for subscribed companies, which include a number of high profile and industry heavy-weights with years of experience, the achievement will ensure a stable, durable source of revenue through the expanded DSR scheme.
Chantel Scheepers, CEO of OakTree Power, said: “We’re immensely proud of this achievement, as it bears testament to our leading position as a climate technology pioneer and proves that clean energy technologies have a huge role to play a key role in the energy crisis. We expect this milestone sends an alarming signal to the government to stop handing out contracts to old, heavy-polluting peaking power plants and make DSR mandatory.
The UK’s electricity network has been designed around centralised fossil power stations, yet our decentralised clean energy programme has made a major statement today by ensuring security of electricity supply for the country. With the EU estimating that 500GW of flexibility such as DSR would be needed by 2023, this milestone must be succeeded by real commitment and actionable reforms to cut reliance on fossil fuel power plants.”
OakTree Power has established this level of capacity through the development of an AI-powered climate technology solution that identifies and modulates properties’ non-essential electricity consumption. This flexible load is then offered to grid operators to help balance electricity networks during times of peak electricity demand. The solution is already being deployed by several FTSE 250 clients and can be adopted by commercial and industrial buildings, such as offices, and industrial facilities.