Optimising regional clusters of smart local energy systems

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Transformation of the national electricity network is being explored through a series of projects funded by the Low CarbonNetworks Fund (LCNF). Simultaneously Innovate-UK and others are investing in a variety of projects to develop distributedenergy assets (generation, storage and demand management) at community and individual building level. Development ofa new overall control system architecture is the missing link which will allow the full economic value of both of these sets ofinvestment to be realised.This project will investigate the feasibility of a technology solution designed to optimise a number of smart communityelectricity networks across a locality. The technology is a control solution (supported by storage) designed to fit within anovel distributed control architecture for energy networks. It applies networked ICT solutions at substation level and usesintelligent predictive algorithms adapted from those used in telecommunications network management. The solution builds on existing work to develop community control algorithms for individual 'smart grids' (for example covering individualbusiness parks or housing developments) and aims to provide a robust and secure 'middleware' integration layer betweenthese local 'bottom-up' control systems and the existing distribution network operators and national control system. This isestimated to release benefits to individual households of up to £300 per year.The fundamental proposition of this project is that a technical solution is feasible which will enable the shift to this newoverall architecture. This solution takes the form of an integrated package of control and communications technologiesinstalled on electricity distribution networks (with appropriate management algorithms and almost certainly supported byaccess to local storage)- largely at substation level but working in a co-ordinated way across a locality (sub-region or city)and analogous to the way telecommunications networks are managed. Such a solution will enable more flexible trading andregulatory arrangements between local smart grids and hence support the realisation of the full economic value of demandsideinnovations.The solution will provide a distributed control capability that optimises and manages multiple local smart grids, withoutimposing additional costs on system users that exceed the benefits generated. Analogous to the technical infrastructurethat supports the internet, the solution will provide a resilient control infrastructure able to accommodate many and variedtypes of local smart grid.The key distinction between our proposed solution and centralised control systems is that individual sub-systems (i.e., localsmart grids and substations) will communicate with each other and optimise outcomes locally before having to engageupwards with the national system. Our solution will develop the algorithms and define the supporting package of control,protection and storage technologies to make this possible in a way which satisfies the needs of both the DNOs and nationalsystem operator (and potentially replaces existing SCADA control systems).Similar (but centralised) solutions currently exist for the electricity networks at national level but are prohibitively expensive(an initial estimate is that it would cost £40k per substation simply to mimic national management algorithms locally).This project will explore the technical feasibility of developing a packaged solution at substation level that costs less than£5000 per substation to deliver at least the same functionality, but with considerably increased flexibility and resilience. Theprimary advantage of effective distributed control and management in this context is that it will make it significantly easier toinnovate on the demand side, enabling local optimisation and more varied smart grid approaches to develop locally.