Electricity Networks Accelerate Potential Connection Dates Of Over 200 Clean Energy Projects
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
This is the sub-heading.
7.8GW of clean energy projects, more than double the output of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, have had their connection offer dates brought forward by up to 10 years through the Technical Limits programme, which is allowing projects to connect to lower voltage distribution networks prior to reinforcement of the high voltage transmission network.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Networks have so far sent offers to 203 projects totalling 7.8GW with an average connection acceleration of 6.5 years. In total 393 projects are eligible for the programme with the further 190 projects able to receive accelerated offers once they have progressed through the connection offer process. Last month a solar farm near Bridgwater in Somerset became the first project to be energised under this scheme. Horsey Levels solar farm, which will provide clean energy for 10,000 homes annually, connected to National Grid’s electricity distribution network significantly ahead of its original planned connection date. This initial acceleration has been delivered in the first phase of the Technical Limits programme, with further phases and analysis planned.
Technical Limits, a collaborative project from National Grid Electricity Transmission, Energy Networks Association, the Electricity System Operator and the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) forms part of the ongoing collaborative industry efforts, together with Ofgem and government, to speed up and reform connections to the grid. Scottish Transmission and Distribution network owners have been involved in developing the Technical Limits programme and are in the process of rolling out the programme in their license areas also.
Note.
- National Grid seem to measure large amounts of power, with respect to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which will have an output of 3.26 GW.
- The Technical Limits programme seems to be a sensible idea.
- Was the idea thought up by National Grid or is it an idea borrowed from another country?
- If it allows another 7.8 GW of clean electricity projects to be connected an average of 6.5 years earlier, then there can’t be much wrong with the idea.
- Horsey Levels solar farm is to the East of the M5, just to the North of Bridgwater.
I shall be following the roll-out of National Grid’s Technical Limits programme, as more clean power projects are connected to the grid.
National Grid And Innovation
This is another post about innovation at National Grid.
Others include.
- £9.2m Electricity Research Project To Save 39,000 Tonnes Of C02 Gets Go-Ahead, which talks about modifying transmission lines to carry more electricity. This means, that theoretically, we’ll need less and smaller transmission lines.
- £400k For National Grid Innovation Projects As Part Of Ofgem Fund To Help Shape Britain’s Net Zero Transition, which talks about Ofgem grants to fund innovation.
- National Grid Fast-Tracks Overhead Line Upgrade Project To Help Accelerate Connection Dates Of 175 Clean Energy Projects, which describes acceleration of projects.
- National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks, which also describes acceleration of projects.
- National Grid Goes Carbon-Free With Hydrogen-Powered Substation Trial, which describes work to use hydrogen as back-up power for substations.
- University Of Manchester And National Grid Team Up To Develop SF6-Free Retrofill Solution For Electricity Network, which describes a project to remove SF6 from the grid. SF6 is a greenhouse gas.
- National Grid Installs LineVision Sensors To Expand The Capacity Of Existing Power Lines, which describes an interesting idea from the United States.
- National Grid ESO And Reactive Technologies Launch Flagship Inertia System To Measure Grid Stability, which describes an innovative Spanish way to measure grid stability.
Note.
- I have included projects, that accelerate connection of new projects to the grid.
- Does National Grid benefit from operating grids in the UK and US, as it gets offered the best technology from both sides of the Pond?
National Grid seem to be big innovators.
The Anonymous Widower 
It was no brainer to chuck entities off the list that had no firm plan to progress who were blocking others that already had planning and finance in place. Hopefully this is the start of more common sense and proper planning being applied to how we find a deliverable route to achieving net zero.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | May 5, 2024 |
I also suspect that the Technical Limits programme, makes it easier to add smaller schemes to the electricity network.
My last house in Suffolk was at the end of a feeder link from a main grid substation. There was a transformer about five metres up a couple of poles, that fed our house and farm and about six houses.
One night, my late wife and myself, went to bed about ten as we had a power cut. Perhaps about two we were woken by the noise of a truck outside. An hour or so later, we were awakened by the lights in the bedroom coming on.
When I got up at about six, I went and had a walk round.
Eastern Electricity had backed a large articulated truck alongside the transformer and had run a pair of jump leads between the truck and the transformer.
A generator in the truck, which was probably about 2.5 MW was quietly powering the feeder between the transformer and the substation.
It worked very well for about a week, until the problem was fixed. The engineer living in a flat in the generator, didn’t even ask for water for his kettle.
So does the Technical Limits programme take advantage of existing properties of the local distribution network to attach small solar farms and rooftop wind turbines, so they can feed in electricity.
Is it a bigger system, than the one that allows my solar panels to feed in to the grid?
Comment by AnonW | May 5, 2024 |
If the standard transmission lines as changed from alternating current to direct current this would al most double the capacity.
Comment by Ben Oldfield | May 6, 2024 |
I got the impression, that some underground links are DC, when I saw a National Grid presentation on Thursday.
Comment by AnonW | May 6, 2024 |