Having started as Technology Manager for ABB’s Power Grids business in September 2018, Darren Jones explains how adopting new technologies and innovative approaches can help Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in their transition to become Distribution System Operators (DSOs).
The biggest single trend in the UK’s electricity market today is the DNO to DSO transition. All of the UK’s operators have published their own innovation strategies and have explored different approaches to technology. However, having providing funding for projects under schemes like the Network Innovation Allowance and the Network Innovation Competition, Ofgem is piling on the pressure for operators to adopt new ways of working and react to opportunities available due to new technology.
It’s my job to work with DNOs to understand their challenges and then figure out how we can apply technology solutions to overcome those challenges. It’s important not to reinvent the wheel and borrow ideas that are proven to work from other areas and other territories.
With this in mind, I use the network provided by ABB’s global innovation team to learn about how people in other countries are solving similar problems to those we face in the UK, as well as updating them about the UK’s innovation projects.
Potential for power electronics
One technology that I’m particularly excited about right now is power electronics. They’re used widely for HVDC links and long-distance transmission lines but we’re only just now starting to see their introduction in distribution grids.
For example, we are delivering a Static Frequency Converter (SFC) for Western Power Distribution in Devon. The SFC’s role is to connect two neighbouring distribution network groups that may be incompatible due to a phase difference. As a result, the back-to-back system will allow WPD to increase capacity without making a significant upgrade to its network.
With funding from the UK’s Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCNF), the SFC will unlock up to 344 MW in Devon, with similar schemes potentially being able to release 1.5 GW of capacity by 2050.
An alternative to HV substations
SFCs also have great potential to meet demand for new connections without the long lead time, expense and logistical headaches that a traditional grid connection may require.
Fast-charging stations for electric vehicles are one area that could benefit. A lack of high-power charging stations is holding back the large-scale adoption of electric vehicles. This is presenting a challenge for local authorities, which often have the funds, sites and infrastructure for electric bus charging points. Councils are under growing pressure to improve air quality and replace ageing fleets of diesel buses with clean, zero-emission electric buses.
However, new grid connections are not straightforward, especially in busy city centres, where laying a cable would be costly and time-consuming.
Power electronics solutions like SFC offer an alternative. Network Rail is leading the way for electric mobility in the UK in this regard. It has ordered an SFC from ABB to upgrade to the power supply for the East Coast Main Line in Doncaster.
The installation will support the launch of new rolling stock, which will draw three times the power that was previously available.
To supply this power, Network Rail placed an order for an SFC to adapt the feed from Northern Powergrid’s network, with an estimated total cost saving of 60 percent compared with building a new high-voltage grid connection.
Similar arrangements could help local authorities to fast-track grid connections for bus depots in crowded city centres, providing power for clean, zero-emission buses and alleviating the risk of public health problems caused by particulates from engines.
Drive towards digital technology
The other big area of technology to focus on is digitalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’ve already seen from the consumer sector how many shops on the high street have struggled in the face of competition from online retailers.
When it comes to the DNO to DSO transition, it’s likely that the equivalent for the energy sector will be greater use of local energy resources. In turn, this will rely on multi-lateral trading down to the level of commercial and domestic customers trading energy generation and storage locally. In turn, we can only achieve this with digital monitoring and communication, as well as trading through distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Autonomous grids
In terms of blue sky thinking, we also need to look ahead to the potential of autonomous grids, a term that describes electricity networks that look after themselves without any human intervention.
Broadly speaking, today’s networks are managed by teams of operators in control centres, who monitor screens, react to faults and arrange to redirect energy from other parts of the network when needed.
As energy trading increases, and more renewable energy is connected, we will eventually come to the point where no human could react fast enough to keep up with changes on the network.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning and we’re already making progress in this area with solutions like the ABB Ability Network Manager control software for distribution systems. Ultimately, they will help us to deliver balancing, flexibility and reaction to events.
