NEWS
Microsoft will to build Dublin power station to service huge data centre
renewable energy sources, the batteries will also be able to provide extra power to the network at times of peak demand as part of the Capacity Market. “This is a milestone for E.ON
E.ON completes ‘UK‐ first’ battery installation at Blackburn Meadows Biomass Power Plant
Microsoft will build its own power station in Dublin to provide electricity to one of its huge data centres because the local transmission network hasn't been upgraded quickly enough to meet a surge in demand. EirGrid, the semi-State company that controls the country's electricity transmission network, has warned that more temporary power generation may be required in Dublin until a huge upgrade of the system in the capital is completed. Microsoft, co-founded by Bill Gates, intends to install 16 gas-powered generators at a site in Clondalkin, in the west of the capital. The power generation compound is designed to provide up to 18MW of electricity to just one of its huge data centres at the site. This electricity output would be enough to power the equivalent of about 18,000 homes. The Grange Castle Business Park in Clondalkin is already home to other data centres operated by Microsoft, and internet giant Google and other companies. The concentration of data centres there, and their relatively rapid evolution, has placed enormous strain on the local electricity network. The Electricity Supply Board said that one large data
centre can consume as much electricity as a large regional town such as Drogheda and that the growth in electricity demand because of new and planned data centres is ‘unprecedented". Microsoft has four operational data centres in Grange
Castle. Last year, it secured planning permission to build four more on the site that will probably cost in the region of €900m to build. EirGrid confirmed that the infrastructure in and around
the Grange Castle Business Park is now struggling to meet the data centre power demand. "Space at Grange Castle Business Park is in high demand from international business customers," an EirGrid spokesman commented. "To accommodate this growth, further power is required to meet both current electricity needs and to plan for future electricity demand." He said that in the next few weeks, EirGrid is embarking
on a major project to reinforce the electricity transmission system in the west of Dublin. Called the 'West Dublin Project', the scheme will see
tens of millions of euros spent to construct a new substa- tion to meet the energy demand from data centres in the area. But it won't be completed until 2019. A ESB Networks spokesman confirmed that there are currently five large substations in Dublin, and apart from the new Grange Castle substation, another new facility is being built at Belcamp, north of the city. Microsoft and other companies including Amazon, Google and Facebook have invested billions of euro in data centres in Ireland over the past number of years. But last year, the head of Microsoft Ireland, Cathriona Hallahan, raised concerns with the Government regarding the security of energy supply in Ireland to facilitate the continued deployment of such facilities in the country. The data centre operations are mainly used by Microsoft as cloud computing hubs.
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turbines (six from the Gamma series and four from the Delta series) reaching a 125m tip height. These turbines are specially designed for strong wind conditions of the type prevailing at the site. Also included is a 20-year premium service contract. The turbines are to be commissioned at the site in County Tyrone in summer 2018. Nordex
T
has already gained considerable experience in this region, being one of the leading suppliers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland having already installed total wind power capacity of 750 MW there. NTR is a Dublin, Ireland based investor and asset owner in sustainable infrastructure that
has, through its associated companies and funds, invested in circa 1.9GW of wind investments to date. It wants to widen its onshore wind portfolio by 250 - 300 MW in the next investment period. NTR had previously acquired the, under construction, Coollegrean Wind Farm in the Republic of Ireland, which features seven Nordex N90/2500 turbines.
SEPTEMBER‐OCTOBER 2017 UK POWER NEWS
he Nordex Group has been awarded a contract for supply of turbines for the Castlecraig wind farm by a new customer NTR plc. The project comprises ten N100
E.ON has completed the installation and grid connec- tion of its 10MW battery at the Blackburn Meadows biomass plant near Sheffield. This is a new energy storage project that will help keep power supplies stable and support the range of power generation sources feeding into the UK’s national grid. The 10 megawatt lithium-ion battery is housed in four 40ft long shipping containers. It has the same power as roughly 100 family cars and holds the same amount of energy as 500,000 mobile phone batteries. The Blackburn Meadows bat- tery was successful in National Grid’s Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender to deliver technologies capable of responding in less than one second at times of either an over or under-
supply of energy to the grid. Power supply and demand on the UK grid have to be matched closely in real-time to maintain a safe frequency so that household electrical appliances function properly. Balancing the grid is now becoming more challenging because the growing & diverse range of renewable generation sources make the electricity system less stable and more prone to changes in frequency. Battery systems now work
by immediately discharging power to the network when the frequency falls – either when supply drops or when demand increases – bringing the frequency back up. The battery is also available to take power off the network if supply is greater than demand. As well as helping to make more efficient use of
in the new energy world and an important recognition of the enormous potential for battery solutions in the UK,” David Topping, Director of Business Heat and Power Solutions at E.ON, tells UKPN. “Having undergone success-
ful grid testing by National Grid we are the first EFR operator to complete the installation and bring our system online. The success of this project, three months ahead of plan, is tribute to the excellent work done by colleagues across E.ON as well as our contractors.” Leon Walker, Commercial Development Manager at National Grid, added: "Using battery storage is a significant development for managing the national grid. It's an ultra- fast way of keeping electricity supply and demand balanced. “Over four years we
estimate that this service will save the system operator around £200m. This is good news for consumers who benefit from our key cost efficiencies, and paves the way for battery technology to establish itself as an important component of our energy system.”
Nordex wins contract to supply turbines for Castlecraig wind farm
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