Nottingham City Council is developing an intelligent energy management system (iEMS) as part of an effort to maximise the use of renewable energy and cut carbon emissions from its vehicle fleet.
As part of its CleanMobilEngergy project, it is planning a pilot to run from its Eastcroft Depot that will involve the use of solar panels to generate electricity, a large lithium-Ion batter for energy storage and a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) that can be charged at the site.
A data management system based on OpenRemote’s open source IoT platform will control the distribution of power between all the system components.
It will include a dashboard to enable the council’s energy managers to monitor the performance of each component and compare it with key performance indicators on factors such as local energy, self-consumption and cost savings. There will also be functions to forecast solar power generation, consumption and electricity pricing for the next 24 hours, and the define optimal charging and discharging cycles for EV batteries.
A mobile app will give managers and maintenance crew the ability to evaluate system performance and send them notifications of any malfunctions of unusual behaviour.
The iEMS will also enable fleet managers to define minimum mileage and obtain insights on day-to-day operations.
Maximise renewables
Laura Chippendale, energy projects manager for the council, said: “Our aim is to maximise the use of locally generated renewable energy and cut carbon emissions. Thanks to OpenRemote’s advanced IoT solution, the city’s fleet of electric vehicles can be charged with 100% renewable energy offered at an optimum price.
“The iEMS will increase the economic value of renewable energy and significantly reduced CO2 emissions.”
Nottingham is involved in the CleanMobilEnergy project with a number of other European cities. It is aimed at developing an iEMS to integrate the use of renewable energy and EVs.
Front image from iStock PlargueDoctor
Image in text from iStock sdecoret
