WARWICK, UK — According to the company the new technology would allow for faster installation, minimize costs, and would help avoid disruptions to local communities and the environment.
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) have announced that they will be expanding the use of transformational power flow control technology, following the successful installations of the world’s first large scale use on its UK network earlier this year.
As owner of the the cables and substations that form the electricity transmission system in England and Wales NGET will be using innovative new technology to make the most of its existing network, avoiding the need to build new infrastructure and contributing to the UK’s net zero ambitions.
According to the company, the current changes in the power industry such as switching to renewables in energy production and transport are altering the power flows across the UK. This can cause problems such as circuits becoming unequally loaded, causing overloads of some circuits and limits the capacity of the entire network.
NGET intends to remove such bottlenecks and unlock the unused capacity on the existing network by using modular power flow control technology.
According to the company, the modular nature of the technology allows it to be easily added to already existing projects, as well as for installed devices to be moved between sites depending on the capability required on each circuit at any point in time.
The technology would also allow for scaling up or down the project size, meaning that potentially expanding the project would be possible within the existing site footprint. This would allow for faster installation timeframes, minimize additional site works and costs, and avoid disruptions to local communities and the environment.
“At NGET we’re committed to finding new ways to make the most of our existing network, delivering a cleaner, fairer and more affordable energy system that serves everyone,” said Zac Richardson, Director of New Infrastructure.
“By expanding the initial projects in line with the evolving needs of our network, we’re looking at delivering a further 500 MW of capacity – enough to power more than 300,000 homes – enabling us to release extra capacity quickly and without the need for new, costly infrastructure projects,” Richardson said further.
“We are delighted to collaborate with NGET and our project partner Omexom on this portfolio of projects which leverages the true flexibility, re-deployability and scalability of our technology to help decarbonise the UK electricity grid,” added Michael Walsh, Chief Commercial Officer at Smart Wires.
The expansion of projects is scheduled to be completed some time in 2022.
Source: Smart Wires