Green energy firm cuts demand at peak times
A SMALL business that considers itself the UK’s largest ‘virtual power plant’ will be capable of powering Birmingham and Leeds in three years, it has said.
Limejump collates supply from small generators, such as farmers with solar panels or producing biogas. But it also pays users to reduce consumption at busy times.
It was launched last year by two former analysts at energy giant Centrica, Erik Nygard and Ning Zhang.
The business, based in Waterloo, central London, was set up to allow firms to profit from the National Grid’s schemes to manage supply and demand.
Nygard said: ‘At Centrica we realised that customers couldn’t access that market. It was managed in bundles by the big energy guys.
‘If at half time in a match everyone in England flicks on their kettle, demand goes through the roof. Now the National Grid can come to us and say “can you help us by having your businesses turn down demand?”.’
Firms and individuals are paid by Limejump to cut energy consumption for short periods. Nygard said: ‘If businesses or households understand they are part of something new and know they can get paid they will enable a green society.’
Nygard said of the customers supplying energy: ‘Farmers often have food waste that can generate electricity. We have 50 or 60 individual generators. It’s exactly the same as the Uber taxi service. It uses excess capacity everywhere.’
Nygard believes the Big Six energy suppliers could be interested in acquiring his firm in future, but said: ‘We want to go head to head.’
Limejump recently raised £1.4million from the Angel CoFund and JamJar, the investment company created by the founders of Innocent Drinks.
Passion Capital, the venture capital firm led by Eileen Burbidge, the new chair of Tech City UK, is also an investor.
Nygard said: ‘It’s good for us because we are trying to disrupt the energy market with tech, and these are tech backers.’
The Federation of Small Businesses has said power companies are letting down small firms by failing to advise them on how to cut their energy consumption.