ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE COVER STORY Meeting government targets
The Customer-Led Network Revolution (CLNR) is set to be at the forefront of research into how electricity distribution networks can rise to the challenge of reducing the UK’s carbon emissions
T
he UK government has targets to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by
2050, and key to achieving this will be the adoption of renewable energies and the electrification of heating and transport. The CLNR will play a fundamental role in ensuring that electricity distribution networks meet this challenge as uptake of such technologies increases. Whilst the UK is able to facilitate the
increased uptake of low carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps, this presents network operators with new challenges. These low carbon electricity dependent technologies and widespread micro- generation, through solar PV for example, are placing greater demand on the existing electricity network. The CLNR project is assessing the
potential for novel network technology, new commercial arrangements and customer flexibility solutions to find the most cost effective ways to help meet future UK energy challenges and accelerate the transition to a lower carbon economy.
TECHNOLOGIES ON TRIAL One of the CLNR project’s most innovative network technology trials is testing electrical energy storage. Six storage batteries of varying capacities have been connected to live networks across a combination of rural and urban locations in the North East and Yorkshire, to find out to what extent this technology can help manage peaks in demand for electricity. Three of these devices have a capacity of 100kWh, two are 200kWh and the biggest has a capacity of 5MWh, making it one of the largest currently in operation in Europe. Ian Lloyd, network technology project
manager at Northern Powergrid, explained, “We’ve deliberately sited the batteries at a number of different points on our network to understand how the technology works across different types of networks, with different types of construction and with different types of customers - those in off-gas rural areas who rely on electricity for heating and
8 JUNE 2014 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
lighting for example. “The largest of the devices has been
installed in Darlington, which is helping us to balance the energy demands of 14,000 different homes and businesses in and around the town. We’ve also installed one of the smaller batteries to help support about 300 homes in Maltby, South Yorkshire, where there is a large proportion of customers with solar PV technology.” This combination of locations was
chosen because they offer a representative sample of 80% of the UK’s total electricity distribution network. These real world results are applicable to other networks across the UK and means that the learning gained from these trials will provide understanding of how this technology can be effectively implemented as part of an overall smart grid solution. Lloyd continued, “This energy storage
trial is unique for two reasons - the size of our largest battery is one of the largest in use in Europe, and for the first time we will be monitoring the devices and networks they are on through a complex Active Network Management (ANM) control system, which has been developed for the project, called GUS (Grand Unified Scheme). This allows us to view in real time when and where we need to release the ‘stored’ energy, as well as enabling autonomous control of the other network technologies that we are currently trialling. “The GUS system signals a significant change in how the future network can
Left: six storage batteries of varying capacities have been connected to live networks across a combination of rural and urban locations in the North East and Yorkshire
Above: the CLNR project is assessing the potential for novel network technology, new commercial
arrangements and customer flexibility solutions to find the most cost effective ways to help meet future UK energy challenges
and needs to work - it demonstrates that the grid can operate in a more effective and smarter way, bringing together data from all of the network technologies we are trialling, including energy storage, and demand side response in a coordinated manner to create a truly integrated smart grid. “With the challenges presented by low
carbon technologies and micro- generation, ensuring the network is fit for the future is crucial. We are trying to build a ‘smarter powergrid’ to ensure that we can meet carbon reduction targets cost effectively and give customers more choice over the way they use and generate electricity. We’re not sure to what extent the network will need to develop to accommodate new technologies and consumers’ energy use in the future, but we do know that it is essential to be prepared for a variety of eventualities. “Energy storage is one solution that will
allow us to cope with unexpected demands on the network and be more flexible - ultimately assisting continuity and quality of supply as the network continually evolves and the pressures on it change.”
SUMMARY Throughout 2014 all six devices will be monitored to understand the role that energy storage technology could play as part of innovative smart grid solutions that can help minimise the need for conventional network reinforcement, improve network efficiency and support the uptake of low carbon technologies. Crucially, the trials are taking place on
real life networks that are not under strain, so customers will not notice any difference to their power supply. It also means that the real world findings and results are authentic, and that data shared with the industry can be used to bring about practical solutions.
CLNR
www.networkrevolution.co.uk T: 01244 320 677
Enter 205 / ELECTRICALENGINEERING
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