National Grid innovates on advanced power flow controllers in Britain

National Grid is partnering with technology provider Smart Wires to develop a tool to coordinate the dispatch of advanced power flow control devices.

The project, which is being supported from Ofgem’s Network Innovation Alliance, is aimed to make better use of advanced power flow controllers and other so-called ‘grid enhancing technologies’ to reduce network congestion and maximise the potential of the existing infrastructure.

In particular advanced power flow controllers are able to help resolve bottlenecks by re-routing power across circuits to where capacity is available in real-time to free up the flow.

“This project will give us better insight to fully exploit the potential of grid enhancing technologies on our network, and boost the volume of clean power our circuits can carry around the country,” commented Gary Stockdale, net zero innovation manager at National Grid Electricity Transmission.

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“Having already rolled out Smart Wires devices at several of our substations, we’re pleased to be continuing our partnership with them to explore innovative ways to make best use of the technology for the benefit of consumers.”

In a previous innovation project in 2019 to investigate the benefits of power flow controllers in which Irish TSO Eirgrid also participated, National Grid installed Smart Wires’ SmartValves technology at three substations in northern England – Harker, Penwortham and Saltholme – to operate across five circuits, with a further installation in planning at South Shields.

With reduced constraint costs and avoided expenditure on new infrastructure build, an estimated £390 million (US$488 million) could be saved over a seven-year period, with over 2GW of north-south power flow capacity being unlocked.

In the project, which is expected to be completed by October 2025, it also is intended to investigate how to incorporate other grid enhancing technologies such as dynamic line rating within the developed tool.

Currently National Grid is trialling dynamic line rating technology from LineVision on a circuit near Merseyside in northern England, with line sensors and weather data analytics helping to increase the power carrying limit of the line.

Hêdd Roberts, General Manager for Europe and APAC at Smart Wires, anticipates that the project should “optimise the deployment of grid enhancing technologies, paving the way for a more efficient and sustainable grid in the UK and abroad”.

With National Grid’s ‘Great Grid Upgrade’ getting under way, the project also should ensure the maximum value is extracted from these new transmission developments.