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More grid flexibility urgently required

966255bba3691f957d9b628e305381a7-huge-electric-electricity-power-powerline-energy-1162913-667x500.jpg'Renewables have many benefits, but their intermittency does indeed carry a cost.' 


I saw that the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) have published a new report this week which looks at where those costs are and how they can be minimised.

This article from The Engineer highlights how the National Grid's plan to adapt their storage systems must also work in combination with demand side response, more flexible generation and interconnection.


What impact do you think renewables will have on the grid?
  • Hi,

    Is anybody able to advise or comment on whether the current UK Grid Code allows a utility to meet Grid Code requirements by having mixed generating technologies at 1 point of connection? E.g. a nuclear power station having gas turbines, or stored DC power conversion systems, to meet frequency response requirements?


    Thanks,


    Bob.
  • Bob


    I was on the Grid Code Review Panel for over ten years so perhaps I can comment with some  understanding. 


    I think the Grid Code is not clear on this point, but I feel sure that National Grid's initial view would be "no you cannot". But I think it might be arguable. If you have a specific example then one way forward would be to submit a paper to the Grid Code Review Panel to argue your case. 


    One historic example. Back at the beginning NG argued quite  strongly that sychonous generating units must be able to meet their reactive power obligations by themselves and it is not acceptable to have a generator with limited reactive capability plus  some static compensation to meet the requirements. But it seems that large wind farms can use some reactive compensation within the wind farm to help them meet  their reactive capability requirements at the Grid interface. So there might be some opportunity to change things. 


    Regards


    Dave Ward (F)
  • Hi Dave, and many thanks for your reply. We met when I was on loan to Horizon, with CP, not so long ago.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I can't comment on the Grid code, but I can say that the gas turbines at a nuclear power station, specifically, are there to power the emergency systems, and any synchronous operation to support the grid would be seen as potentially interfering with that purpose and hence unacceptable. They can synchronise and generate back into the system, but that is because it is the simplest way to carry out regular load testing.

    Hope this helps.
  • Around 1995 I was in Nuclear Electric and was asked to look into the possibility that the diesels  or gas turbines at any of the nucler stations could be offered into the standing reserve service that National Grid had recenty started.  The argument was that since the diesels or gas turbines have to be started and run from time to time to demonstrate their availability, then why not do that at a time that National Grid needed it, and get paid for it. (This approach has been taken since that by several water companies usign ther emergency diesels).  It did not take long to work out that there were a lot of technical difficulties of matching the requiremnts for testing with the National Grid requirements for startup at short notice for providing reserve.  As Michael Noppen has indicated threre would also have been significant difficulties with demonstrating to the nuclear regulators that this could be done without a commercial/safety conflict etc.  In the end it was fairly clear that the potential additional income from this activity was miniscule in comparison with the income from nuclear generation that was potentially put at risk.  So this proposal and anything like it was binned


    However, we did have discussions about whether one could build a small flexible plant outside but next to a nuclear plant, and claim that the two together met whatever flexibility requirements National Grid might impose.  At that time National Grid would certainly have opposed that as a way of meeting Grid Code requirements for capability.  But the question is not entirely closed. For example, how would one treat a wind farm with on-site battery storage? 


    Regards


    Dave Ward