UK university ‘smart energy living laboratory’ to digitise substations, with up to 10MW storage

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Keele University in Staffordshire, west England, has the largest campus of any university in the UK, with 12,000 students and staff and 350 mixed-use buildings. Image: Keele University.

Keele University, which is near the border between Wales and England, is to become a living laboratory for emerging low carbon and smart energy technologies in what is thought to be the largest scheme of its type in Europe and North America.

Siemens has been appointed to deliver the Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) which will turn the university’s private utilities network into a national test bed for new smart energy technologies and services in partnership with business and industry.

As well as the installation of at least 5MW of renewables, with the university targeting solar and wind power initially with an upcoming tender, the project at the West Midlands-based university campus will see the digitalisation of 24 substations, the installation of over 1,500 smart meters and 500 home controllers, and anywhere between 5-10MW of energy storage.

The project is made possible by the university’s origins following the second world war when the founders of the institution bought the original property from the US military, who had used it as an army base during the conflict.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

For the full version of this story, visit Clean Energy News.

3 November 2026
Málaga, Spain
Understanding technology and supplier selection for Europe’s utility-scale PV market in 2027. PV ModuleTech Europe 2026 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of PV module, inverter and battery supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, supply chain traceability, quality assurance, factory auditing, system reliability, and supplier bankability.

Read Next

September 7, 2026
Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved plans to require bidders in a renewable energy auction to include energy storage.
September 7, 2026
Blueleaf Energy and Universal Peak have closed financing for a 100MW/400MWh battery storage project, which was one of four winning bids in a Malaysian government tender.
September 3, 2026
Bulgaria now has a world-leading amount of battery storage capacity relative to energy system despite a period of political turnover, although those assets are now cannibalising the revenues which attracted investment in the first place.
September 2, 2026
The Italian government has declared an AI data centre in development by Energy Vault, featuring hybrid energy storage technologies, to be of strategic national interest.
August 14, 2026
Squadron Energy has completed a refinancing of its Australian renewable energy portfolio, securing total debt commitments of more than AU$2.7 billion (US$1.76 billion).