S&C Electric Europe, Samsung SDI and Younicos have collaborated on a project to launch the Smarter Network Storage project and deploy the technology onto a UK substation. The fully automated 6MW/10MWh Smarter Network Storage (SNS) project will investigate the ability of energy storage to cost effectively deliver the UK’s Carbon Plan, saving over £6 million on traditional network reinforcement methods.
S&C Electric Europe, drawing on its experience of deploying energy storage projects in the UK and around the world, is acting as the lead supplier to the £18.7 million project. Younicos, a company based in Berlin, has contributed custom-built intelligent software architecture and components. The project will provide frequency regulation and load shifting in order to stabilise the grid more effectively than traditional thermal generators. This will in turn provide more space on the grid for renewable energy projects.
“Energy storage can play a major role in balancing the grid as it solves the problem of renewable intermittency by absorbing surplus power and releasing it when needed” said Andrew Jones, Managing Director, S&C Electric Europe. “This function simultaneously helps to securely balance capacity and supply and protects the grid from Stress Events on the grid. The introduction of energy storage in substations like the one at Leighton Buzzard can decrease the need and cost of traditional reinforcement, such as transformers and cabling.”
Ben Wilson, UK Power Networks’ Director of Strategy and Regulation and Chief Financial Officer, added that the project will enable a wide range of different services to be tested and the economics of electrical energy storage to be explored and improved. The potential benefits to the electricity system can then be assessed in a number of sustainable and flexible ways. The project will positively impact not just the local area but also nationally and internationally. The results of the trial will be vital for similar schemes in the future.
The technology will be able to provide numerous benefits to the electricity system, including absorbing energy and releasing it to meet demand. It will also help to support capacity constraints and balance the influx of low carbon technologies onto the grid. The project will investigate the capabilities and value of alternative revenue streams for storage while also deferring expensive conventional reinforcement measures such as transformers, cable and overhead lines.
Ofgem has helped to fund the project, providing £13.2 million in December 2012 under The Low Carbon Networks (LCN) Fund. This will last for four years from January 2013 to December 2016.
The employee-owned S&C Electric Company is a global concern with its headquarters in Chicago, USA.
It specialises in the development of new solutions for electricity delivery, improving efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid.
Younicos develops intelligent grid and storage solutions and has technical expertise and commercial know-how based on more than 90 MW of installed storage capacity in the field.
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