Distributors in the UK are looking at electrical energy storage to understand how the technology might benefit customers by managing peak demand, increasing grid efficiency and integrating renewable energy sources.
However, the technology is expensive and there are relatively few deployed and working installations. There is a knowledge and confidence gap in the industry, so real-world results are critically important.
As part of the Customer-Led Network Revolution (CLNR) project, I am lucky to be at the forefront of one of these real-life trials as we try to understand how, when and where electrical energy storage can bring value to customers and how it could be integrated into an overall smart grid solution.
This particular trial involves six batteries of varying sizes that have been installed and commissioned on live networks in Northern Powergrid’s distribution areas. Each battery is at a different strategic point on the network. The largest has a capacity of 5MWh, making it the largest installed and working energy storage battery in Europe.
The electricity stored by the batteries can be released when there is an increase in demand, typically during the early evening peak.
We’ve put a lot of thought into choosing the right sites for the batteries to cover a variety of locations; from rural Northumberland to densely populated Darlington. One of the smaller batteries, in Maltby, South Yorkshire, will support 300 residential homes that have a high concentration of customers with solar panels. This will give us an understanding of how this kind of technology can assist with the integration of renewable energy sources.
The trial sites form a representative sample of the UK’s electricity network, and the findings could be replicated across 80 per cent of the UK’s electricity distribution networks.
The six batteries – and other technologies – will be monitored and controlled by a sophisticated active network management system called GUS (Grand Unified Scheme). GUS works out where the constraints on the network are, calculates how to ease those restrictions, and sends out real-time commands based on real-time information about the network.
The results from our trials will be released later this year, and I am looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring.