Greater Manchester Local Energy Market
Manchester
Our Story
The Greater Manchester Local Energy Market is an innovative project led by Greater Manchester Combined Authority with 11 partners from community, technology, energy suppliers and network operators.
We will create a more efficient and cost-effective energy market for residents and businesses, exploring opportunities including the production of green hydrogen and use of heat networks to reduce carbon emissions and increase network capacity.
The programme came about due to a small number of key drivers, to support delivery of the region’s five-year environment plan and our ambition to be carbon neutral by 2038. These included providing a region-wide informed view of where the region produces local energy, how we heat our buildings, how we retrofit our buildings, and support the transition away from combustion engines.
Our Solution
Local Area Energy Plans provide an informed view – from the perspective of residents, businesses and network operators – of where Greater Manchester needs to: generate renewable energy; retrofit buildings; place Electric Vehicle charging hubs; and the impact this whole system approach may have on electricity network/grid operators.
An energy trading platform, the Market Maker, will support the region in maximising the benefit of its intermittent energy generation capabilities. The Market Maker will control the recruitment and onboarding of consumers to benefit from revised tariffs and will support the trading of energy between consumers in Greater Manchester. It will also enable network flexibility and unlock new revenue streams.
Value sharing Propositions (Energy Tariffs) will be designed to establish new tariffs that can be used by domestic and non-domestic customers for heat and mobility. Value Sharing Propositions are designed and linked to Local Area Energy plans, supporting targeting and maximising use of local assets.
The Local Energy Market is the first project in the country that will provide local area energy plans for ten Local Authority areas, supporting the energy needs of 1.2m homes and 2.7m residents. The project’s ability to provide such an informed position supports people in all walks of life to make informed decisions.
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