UK grocery chain tests smart-grid system

UK grocery chain Sainsbury’s is trying out new technology to monitor one of its stores’ impact on the national electricity grid.

The new store in Hythe, Kent, will feature a system that activates a biofuel generator during times of peak demand on the grid. The technology is aimed at reducing the need to fire up fossil-fuel-driven reserve power stations and limiting extra carbon emissions.

The first of its kind, the store’s biofuel generator will be powered by waste oil and fat from Sainsbury’s stores to act as an auxiliary power source. Additional technology in the new store will reduce strain on the grid further by deactivating or reducing heating, ventilation and lighting systems at peak times.

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