Thameswey Central Milton Keynes (TCMK) was set up in 2005 to build and operate a low carbon Combined heat and power (CHP) energy station. Thameswey supplies nearly 20,000 MWh of low carbon electricity per year to local homes and businesses. 

Thameswey has been reliably providing reserve energy to National Grid through Flexitricity since 2011. Along with providing ShortTerm Operating Reserve (STOR) and triad management, Thameswey has played a key role in supporting Western Power Distribution (WPD) with Project FALCON.

The two gas CHP units, each capable of providing 3MW of capacity, at Thameswey are remotely operated in response to a national or local requirement. The fully managed service optimises revenue through tight management controls and intelligent arbitraging between services.

Triad management at Thameswey is complementary to its STOR participation. During the November to February triad season, Flexitricity remotely starts generation during likely triad periods. This lowers site consumption and reduces the triad charges on the site’s electricity bills.

Through Flexitricity, Thameswey has been able to participate in WPD’s project FALCON (Flexible Approaches for Low Carbon Optimised Networks), an initiative to support the UK’s move to a low carbon economy. The aim being to test innovative, low carbon solutions for the growing problem of network constraints. As an experienced DSR provider, Thameswey generated electricity when called upon by Western Power Distribution. By doing so, Western Power Distribution were able to defer network infrastructure upgrades and reduce costs while Thameswey earned revenue.

Thameswey are set to implement Flexitricity’s new negative reserve service, Footroom. This service provision helps National Grid balance the system and make use of excess wind energy during times of low system demand. Thameswey has also committed to participation within the Capacity Market, and will earn CM revenue from 2018 onwards.