In-depth interview: Prolific North

“There’s a broken energy market”: How renewable energy tech firm UrbanChain is tackling fuel poverty and climate change, by Rachael Hesno

As profits for fossil fuel companies continue to soar into the billions, consumers are still struggling under the pressure of mounting energy bills.

It’s not just households feeling the pinch. There’s an increasing urgency for renewable energy solutions, as the consequences of climate change loom and the government’s net zero ambitions fade with the announcement to approve hundreds of new oil and gas licences.

UrbanChain, a female founded energy tech company based in Manchester, firmly believes it’s found the key to change a “broken” energy market in the UK.

“There’s currently a broken cycle. Renewable energy is linked to the wholesale market which is not viable,” Dr Somayeh Taheri, CEO and founder of UrbanChain, tells Prolific North.

“Government subsidy comes in, then that subsidy tends to play a big part of our bill. In addition to the wholesale market price fluctuation, consumers suffer without energy.”

Claiming to be the only trading platform for renewable energy in the UK, the company’s mission is to help make energy greener and more affordable through its peer-to-peer energy exchange system.

The exchange system connects generators of renewable energy with consumers, who might be private businesses, local authorities, social housing associations, hospitals or schools.

By “decoupling” renewable energy from the wholesale market it cuts through layers of bureaucracy, meaning renewable energy generators no longer need to sell to intermediaries, and those intermediaries don’t need to sell to the wholesale market, reducing costly bills.

“This is what causes a monopoly in the energy space. It means that the wholesale market is defining the price you can offer for renewable energy, meaning consumers are exposed to high prices as that’s the time the market is buying back energy.”

To read the full feature in Prolific North click here