For those concerned about the ability of the grid to cope with additional demand upon it in the drive to Net Zero the announcement below should give confidence at least that WPD have all this in hand. Particularly as it deems generation to be sourced from a single central point.
WPD launches new strategy to deal with net zero grid demand
Western Power Distribution
(WPD) has announced a new low carbon heating strategy, to accommodate
for the 628,000 heat pumps it expects to be connected to its network
between 2023 and 2028.
It has released this new strategy to help customers connect to low
carbon heating technologies quickly and more affordably – to help with
the government’s goal of having 600,000 heat pump connections by 2028.
By this point, WPD has pledged to invest £6.7 billion into its
network – to boost network capacity and deal with forthcoming net zero
demands.
Various connections are going to be required for different customers,
in order for WPD to deal with the impacts on new demands of its
networks, the company has stated.
It has claimed it will work to ensure all its electrical systems can
support district heating networks – with the grid having energy input at
one central point, rather than through individual houses.
East coast, lat 51.97. 8.26kw SSE, 23° pitch + 0.59kw WSW vertical. Nissan Leaf plus Zappi charger and 2 x ASHP's. Three Givenergy 8.2 kWh batts & 3.0 kW ac inverter. Still waiting for V2H. CoCharger Host, Interest in Ripple Energy & Abundance.
Not a huge battery, but great to see flow batts being deployed on a large scale. Hopefully they prove to be viable increasing the range of battery technologies available.
Bushveld Minerals Limited, through its 84%-owned energy subsidiary Bushveld Energy Limited,has completed the development and achieved financial closure for a 3.5 MW solar PV plus 1 MW / 4 MWh Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) hybrid mini-grid project at Vametco mine, which will operate as a funded independent power producer (“IPP”).
Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)
Floating windfarms could be built off the coasts of Cornwall and Pembrokeshire after the Queen’s property manager identified a clutch of sites in the Celtic Sea that could host them.
The crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, has published five “areas of search” that will be narrowed into development plots to host wind power generation.
Once the project development areas have been agreed, they will be offered to businesses through a tender process, which is due to be launched in mid-2023.
The crown estate hopes these areas will deliver 4 gigawatts of floating offshore wind power by 2035, fuelling almost 4m homes.
Only a thought, but I checked the maths (I do that sometimes), and the 4m homes figure works at 3,500kWh pa each if the farm operates at a 40% capacity factor. I wonder if over time the 'number of homes' metric will change as demand goes up for heatpumps and BEV's? At the moment I suspect additional demand is balanced by efficiency gains.
Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)
Just like buses, the post below on Oxford's Energy Superhub project also features a Flow battery as part of a Hybrid battery system.
There has been an awful lot of effort put into renewable schemes within the Oxford area over a number of years leading up to this. They are certainly working hard to show that it is possible to have energy generated and used locally thus reducing stresses on the Grid. Unfortunately there are not sufficiently strong winds locally to power wind turbines so they have had to rely on other options, solar, Sandford Hydro and of course now, battery's too.
Wärtsilä supplies battery to Pivot Power as part of cutting-edge Energy Superhub Oxford project
The technology group Wärtsilä has supplied a 50 MW / 50 MWh lithium-ion
battery to Pivot Power, part of EDF Renewables, who have developed a
cutting-edge hybrid battery site in Oxford, UK. The hybrid battery
system, which was officially launched today at the opening of Energy
Superhub Oxford (ESO), will play an essential role in the UK’s shift to
renewables.
The hybrid battery combines Wärtsilä’s 50 MW / 50 MWh lithium-ion
battery with Invinity’s 2 MW / 5 MWh vanadium-flow battery. The system
will be controlled and dispatched by Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform and optimised by Habitat’s AI-enabled battery trading system, with the project being owned and developed by Pivot Power.
The
hybrid battery is the first of its kind in the UK, designed to fulfil
multiple energy storage needs and support the ramp-up of renewable
energy required to reach the UK’s targets of 50 GW of offshore wind and
70 GW of solar capacity by the 2030s[1].
It is also the first in the UK to be directly connected to the National
Grid’s high-voltage transmission network at the Cowley substation on
the outskirts of Oxford., with the UK’s largest flow battery providing a
unique overdrive function that allows it to be operated at higher power
levels for sustained periods of time.
The site forms one part of
the 41 million GBP Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) project. ESO integrates
energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging, low carbon heating, and
smart energy management technologies to decarbonise Oxford by 2040 and
create a blueprint for other towns and cities to achieve net zero. The
hybrid battery system is a short distance from the Redbridge Park and
Ride, where the project’s EV charging hub is located, and can provide
backup power for the EV charging infrastructure.
East coast, lat 51.97. 8.26kw SSE, 23° pitch + 0.59kw WSW vertical. Nissan Leaf plus Zappi charger and 2 x ASHP's. Three Givenergy 8.2 kWh batts & 3.0 kW ac inverter. Still waiting for V2H. CoCharger Host, Interest in Ripple Energy & Abundance.
Swedish public utility Vattenfall is about to start filling a 45m-high, 200MW-rated thermal energy storage facility with water in Berlin, Germany.
He explained that when there is a surplus of wind energy, the power-to-heat system can convert that surplus into heat to be stored in the tank, reducing any need to curtail wind production. The storage tank can also integrate heat from other industrial processes such as the city’s cleaning department or waste heat from waste water.
Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)
Wow, that's some huge tank Mart and storage facility and what a great way to use excess energy rather than curtailing as you've been advocating for years now.
From the same page I came across another article on battery storage I thought relevant and that being on how it will in future be perceived by authorities making for a simpler and less costly process when setting up such a facility as detailed below.
Germany finally gives energy storage its own legal definition
East coast, lat 51.97. 8.26kw SSE, 23° pitch + 0.59kw WSW vertical. Nissan Leaf plus Zappi charger and 2 x ASHP's. Three Givenergy 8.2 kWh batts & 3.0 kW ac inverter. Still waiting for V2H. CoCharger Host, Interest in Ripple Energy & Abundance.
A big Berlin battery is getting closer to completion. It may be storing heat, not leccy, but at 2.6GWh(t), nothing to be sniffed at.
I really don't have an issue with energy being stored as heat as most of the extra winter energy we need is in the form of heat. It does make me wonder whether heat pumps will be the future for heating or whether some other solution based on long term storage will become the solution in time.
Install 28th Nov 15, 3.3kW, (11x300LG), SolarEdge, SW. W Yorks.
Install 2: Sept 19, 600W SSE
Solax 6.3kWh battery
CfD round 4 results are out, and good news, 7GW* of offshore wind at slightly less than round 3 (£37.35, v's £39.65). These are 2012 baseline prices, so today, around £45, v's the round 3 price ~£48.
[*Edit - 7GW of offshore wind at a capacity factor of 50%, is roughly equal to 10% of current leccy demand, so a very significant figure considering the CfD's take place roughly every 2yrs. M.]
Bit disappointed with on-shore wind and PV at £42.47 (0.9GW) & £45.99 (2GW) (again 2012 baseline), hoped for 10%+ cheaper.
CfD round 4 results are out, and good news, 7GW* of offshore wind at slightly less than round 3 (£37.35, v's £39.65). These are 2012 baseline prices, so today, around £45, v's the round 3 price ~£48.
[*Edit - 7GW of offshore wind at a capacity factor of 50%, is roughly equal to 10% of current leccy demand, so a very significant figure considering the CfD's take place roughly every 2yrs. M.]
Bit disappointed with on-shore wind and PV at £42.47 (0.9GW) & £45.99 (2GW) (again 2012 baseline), hoped for 10%+ cheaper.
Thanks Martyn. Interesting that onshore wind needs more 'subsidy' than offshore.
Not sure what the volumes mean in context?
Current capacity of wind power is of order 25GW? But we already have a pipeline of projects under previous CFD rounds? Not sure how big or when for. Plus google says there is an 88GW pipeline?
Are wind farms also being built without CFD support?
Replies
WPD launches new strategy to deal with net zero grid demand
Western Power Distribution (WPD) has announced a new low carbon heating strategy, to accommodate for the 628,000 heat pumps it expects to be connected to its network between 2023 and 2028.
It has released this new strategy to help customers connect to low carbon heating technologies quickly and more affordably – to help with the government’s goal of having 600,000 heat pump connections by 2028.
By this point, WPD has pledged to invest £6.7 billion into its network – to boost network capacity and deal with forthcoming net zero demands.
Various connections are going to be required for different customers, in order for WPD to deal with the impacts on new demands of its networks, the company has stated.
It has claimed it will work to ensure all its electrical systems can support district heating networks – with the grid having energy input at one central point, rather than through individual houses.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61996520
Install 2: Sept 19, 600W SSE
Solax 6.3kWh battery
Bushveld Energy Secures Funding For 3.5 MW Solar PV + 1 MW / 4 MWh Vanadium Redox Flow Battery For Vametco Mine
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
Floating windfarms could be hosted off Cornwall and Wales, crown estate says
The crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, has published five “areas of search” that will be narrowed into development plots to host wind power generation.
Once the project development areas have been agreed, they will be offered to businesses through a tender process, which is due to be launched in mid-2023.
The crown estate hopes these areas will deliver 4 gigawatts of floating offshore wind power by 2035, fuelling almost 4m homes.
Only a thought, but I checked the maths (I do that sometimes), and the 4m homes figure works at 3,500kWh pa each if the farm operates at a 40% capacity factor. I wonder if over time the 'number of homes' metric will change as demand goes up for heatpumps and BEV's? At the moment I suspect additional demand is balanced by efficiency gains.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
Wärtsilä supplies battery to Pivot Power as part of cutting-edge Energy Superhub Oxford project
The hybrid battery combines Wärtsilä’s 50 MW / 50 MWh lithium-ion battery with Invinity’s 2 MW / 5 MWh vanadium-flow battery. The system will be controlled and dispatched by Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform and optimised by Habitat’s AI-enabled battery trading system, with the project being owned and developed by Pivot Power.
The hybrid battery is the first of its kind in the UK, designed to fulfil multiple energy storage needs and support the ramp-up of renewable energy required to reach the UK’s targets of 50 GW of offshore wind and 70 GW of solar capacity by the 2030s[1]. It is also the first in the UK to be directly connected to the National Grid’s high-voltage transmission network at the Cowley substation on the outskirts of Oxford., with the UK’s largest flow battery providing a unique overdrive function that allows it to be operated at higher power levels for sustained periods of time.
The site forms one part of the 41 million GBP Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) project. ESO integrates energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging, low carbon heating, and smart energy management technologies to decarbonise Oxford by 2040 and create a blueprint for other towns and cities to achieve net zero. The hybrid battery system is a short distance from the Redbridge Park and Ride, where the project’s EV charging hub is located, and can provide backup power for the EV charging infrastructure.
Vattenfall starts filling up 200MW thermal storage tower in Berlin
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
Germany finally gives energy storage its own legal definition
Install 2: Sept 19, 600W SSE
Solax 6.3kWh battery
[*Edit - 7GW of offshore wind at a capacity factor of 50%, is roughly equal to 10% of current leccy demand, so a very significant figure considering the CfD's take place roughly every 2yrs. M.]
Bit disappointed with on-shore wind and PV at £42.47 (0.9GW) & £45.99 (2GW) (again 2012 baseline), hoped for 10%+ cheaper.
Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 4 results
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
Not sure what the volumes mean in context?
Current capacity of wind power is of order 25GW? But we already have a pipeline of projects under previous CFD rounds? Not sure how big or when for. Plus google says there is an 88GW pipeline?
Are wind farms also being built without CFD support?