City of dreaming wires: Siemens and Oxford Uni to explore virtual power network

The Innovate UK funded feasibility study will focus on the University of Oxford estate which consumes about £1m of energy each month. Unlike some universities, its facilities are spread across the city, with each of its 400 buildings controlling its own energy usage. This leads to inefficiencies and reduces the ability to implement estate-wide carbon reduction measures. Indeed, the University of Oxford has the fourth highest emissions of all UK universities and has a target to reduce its CO₂ by 2020.

The current system uses a private wire network, where each building connects to a privately-owned micro-grid. A so-called Virtual Private Wire Network (VPWN) would help businesses connect multi-site assets, for example battery storage and on-site generation capabilities with demand behind a single metering point. It would also mean renewable technology and storage could be more easily integrated across an estate in the future.