West Midlands Regional Energy System Operator (RESO) project - Print version

Achieving net zero in Coventry

The West Midlands Regional Energy System Operator (RESO) project looks to explore the advantages of a new kind of energy system operating at a city scale. The new system will include local low carbon energy generation, storage and management and will integrate future mobility assets such as electric vehicles into its overall envelope.

The RESO project team is a group of leading-edge partners, led by Energy Capital part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), including Coventry City Council, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, ENZEN Global Ltd, Electron Ltd, Camirus Ltd, Western Power Distribution (WPD), Cadent Gas, and Places in Common. The total project value is £2.62 million, of which £1.54 million is directly grant funded by Innovate UK. This forms part of a wider investment in the West Midlands to become global leaders in smart energy. For more information, visit the West Midlands Combined Authority [https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/innovation-investment-will-position-the-west-midlands-as-a-global-leader-in-smart-energy/] website.

Video - RESO project - Accelerating net zero in Coventry

How does a smart local energy system work?

Traditional energy systems use large power stations and have a one-way energy flow. A local smart energy system moves away from this approach and takes advantage of the large detailed data flows supported by superfast digital networks. This allows thousands of small energy interactions between all the components to balance and optimise local energy flows.

A place based approach to local energy system design avoids the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades as the energy flows can be managed at a local level. The RESO project demonstrated that by developing a local energy system and market place, the new design could provide the city with a low carbon sustainable future allowing full empowerment of local stakeholders. The proposed design will help the area benefit from reduced energy prices as well as local jobs and future development investment which will contribute directly to the local economy.

The outputs

The modelling showed that a more localised smart energy system could generate a net present value of £720m for the region. This is derived from more local opportunities a market could bring which could help balance the grid, ensuring value is captured and distributed at a local level. This benefits citizens by helping to lower bills, create jobs, and generate local economic benefits.

There are a number of key enablers such as local data, collaboration, regulatory change and governance that would unlock the opportunities that a RESO offers. Coventry City Council is now investigating how to apply the RESO insights strategically to support the transition and realise the benefits that RESO has suggested.

An insight report titled 'The RESO Effect: A Smarter Fairer Energy Future' from the Energy Systems Catapult has been developed and can be found on the Energy Capital Website [https://energy-capital-tfwm.hub.arcgis.com/pages/coventry-eiz]

About us

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 [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory-record/42369/cllr-jim-o-boyle-talks-about-the-west-midlands-regional-energy-system-operator-reso-project-operator_reso_project]

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 [https://energy-capital-tfwm.hub.arcgis.com/]
	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 [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/]
	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 [https://placesincommon.co.uk/]
	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 [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx]
	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 [https://electron.net/]
	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 [https://www.enzen.com/global/]
	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 [https://warwick.ac.uk/]
	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 [https://camirus.co.uk/]
	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 [https://www.tfwm.org.uk/]
	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 [https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/]
	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 [https://cadentgas.com/home]