West Midlands Regional Energy System Operator (RESO) project

The West Midlands RESO project was a £2.62 million 2-year evidence based design project which started in January 2020. RESO has developed a detailed design for a new local energy system based on the city of Coventry. The project was part-funded by Innovate UK through their Prospering from the Energy Revolution Programme and was awarded a Category 1 PASS at the Stagegate Review in 2021. It was the first Category 1 Pass was awarded to any project throughout the full duration of the PFER programme.

The project supports greater local input into energy decisions which takes into account heat, power and transport. The aim is to provide cleaner power, a reduction in bills, support for inward investment and provide economic growth opportunities.

This city level, whole systems approach is unique in its ambition to deliver a cross energy vector infrastructure, with real-time demand optimisation. This complements Coventry's existing assets in the decarbonisation area including the district heating scheme, the Very Light Railway and our all-electric bus plans.

Cllr Jim O Boyle talks about the West Midlands Regional Energy System Operator (RESO) project

Video transcript

The RESO project brings together a wealth of experience from local government, commercial and technical industries, infrastructure providers, industry leads, and leading universities in the area.

The project team

Logo	Name and description
	West Midlands Combined Authority Energy Capital is the smart energy innovation partnership that sits within the West Midlands Combined Authority and will be leading the WM RESO project. This work builds on existing working groups established in multiple Energy Innovation Zones (EIZs) across the region which is led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Find out more about Energy Capital by visiting the Energy Capital website
	Coventry City Council Coventry has a long-standing history for developing technology and industry and this project, is leading the way for Coventry to become the first Regional Energy System Operator in the UK. The Council’s role is to seek the views of the City to ensure the design of the smart local energy system meets the needs of the local community. The Council aims to align the ambitious plans to support carbon reduction targets, sustainability goals, economic development, as well as securing a reduction in bills for the community. Find out more about Coventry City Council by visiting the Coventry City Council website
	Places in common Places in common brings together communities to drive change and for influence policy to ensure the community is at the heart of decision making. Places in common aims to demonstrate how the RESO approach can be applied to the wider region by replicating the benefits for those in the East Birmingham and North Solihull areas. Find out more about Places in common by visiting the Places in common website
	University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham is a top 100 world university and is renowned for it’s leading research. The University of Birmingham’s Energy Systems and Policy Analysis Group are leading on data foundation and insight for RESO. It will build a detailed understanding of current and future multi-vector energy supply, consumption and distribution patterns and relevant assets for the city of Coventry. It will identify all data requirements for the ongoing management of the West Midlands RESO ensuring well informed decision making for the future of Coventry. Find out more about the University of Birmingham by visiting the University of Birmingham website
	Electron Electron is a leading Entech company with experience in designing and building digital infrastructure. Electron will deliver the design for a local market trading framework supporting secure and efficient real-time optimisation of energy (gas and electricity) and transport assets in Coventry and wider West Midlands. Find out more about Electron by visiting the Electron website
	Enzen Enzen, are a global energy infrastructure consultancy bringing international best practice and commercial technical expertise to the team. Enzen will deliver the engineering design for a smart local energy system as well as lead on the investment case and responsible for the overall management of the project. Find out more about Enzen by visiting the Enzen website
	University of Warwick The University of Warwick is one of the UK’s top 10 universities. With two major building projects nominated in the RIBA regional awards, and many incorporating renewable energy systems, the journey net-zero journey is set. The RESO project scales up this proven campus-scale smart energy system design and applies it to City of Coventry. Their project has already demonstrated \>32% energy cost reductions for the equivalent of 10,000 homes. Find out more about the University of Warwick by visiting the University of Warwick website
	Camirus Camirus works in partnership with public and private sector organisations to accelerate the transition to a clean, cost-effective energy system.  Camirus is leading governance and organisation and will design an institutional model for the project. This will align the local infrastructure to the standards, codes and regulatory models which will enable the framework for long term decision making for the City. Find out more about Camirus by visiting the Camirus website
	Transport for West Midlands Transport for West Midlands is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services in the West Midlands metropolitan county in England. TfWM works in partnership with 7 local authorities serving a population of 2.8m. Find out more about Transport for West Midlands by visiting the Transport for West Midlands website
	Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution is the electricity distribution network operator for the Midlands, South West and Wales. They deliver electricity to over 7.9 million customers over a 55,500 square kilometres service area and employ over 6,500 staff. Find out more about Western power Distribution by visiting the Western Power Distribution website
	Cadent Gas Cadent Gas is the UK’s largest natural gas distribution network. Through a network of 80,000 miles of pipes, Cadent transports gas to 11 million customers. Cadent also manage the National Gas Emergency Service on behalf of the gas industry supporting 1.43 million emergency gas calls in 2018. Find out more about Cadent by visiting the Cadent website