Latest news with #powergrid
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Spanish Regulator Revises Rules for Power Grid Voltage Control
Spain's markets regulator approved a revision of rules aimed at keeping voltage on the country's power grid stable, many of which were 25 years old. The new rules adjust how voltage is controlled on the grid and will treat all types of generation sources in the same way, the regulator, known as CNMC, said in a statement Thursday.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Spain's Blackout Report Comes Up Short, With Much Still Unknown
Spain's most-detailed account yet of the missteps leading to April's nationwide blackout failed to fully explain why the power grid was so unstable in the first place. Over 182 pages with redactions to obfuscate information like the names of companies and power stations, the government laid blame at the grid operator for failing to ensure enough backup generation, and on unnamed plant operators for not fulfilling their commitments for the day.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Spain's power cut shows the risks of gas-free Britain
Britain's National Energy System Operator (Neso) has set an ambition to run the power grid without gas by the end of this year. It's just a trial period but Neso has said it is a glimpse of what the future holds. It has already boasted of running '95pc carbon-free', although this has only been possible because of a quirk of carbon accounting rules that designates the burning of wood at an industrial scale as zero carbon. That is despite the carbon dioxide emissions from so-called wood-pellet biomass being higher than for the coal it replaced. Go figure. Whether Neso's ambition to be totally gas-free will be possible even with the dodgy carbon accounting rules is unclear. In the summer months, gas power stations are often turned up by the system operator in order to stabilise the grid – not through the power they provide so much as the way they work. Gas power stations generate electricity through turbines, which generate something called inertia. This is important to control voltage across the network. The basis of our power grid is alternating current, linked to the speed of turbine rotation. But the way we generate out electricity is changing. The energy transition has seen a major deployment of wind and solar farms. These typically produce direct current, which is different to the alternating current our grid uses. It is converted to alternating current using electronic devices. Not only do wind and solar not produce the alternating current required by the grid, they also lack inertia. As we replace conventional generation with renewables, we reduce the amount of inertia on the grid. This makes it less resilient to faults, which can disrupt the frequency. Why? Because conventional gas or coal generators are big, heavy machines that resist changes to their speed of rotation. They act as a brake, slowing changes in grid frequency.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Expects Improved Buffer for Electricity Supplies This Winter
The UK's power grid is expecting to have a bigger buffer to guard against potential shortages this winter, reducing the need for backup supplies to help keep the lights on. The National Energy System Operator expects margins to be 10.9%, the biggest buffer of spare capacity since 2019, supported by an increase in batteries connected to the grid, higher availability of gas power generation and the addition of a power link to Ireland, according to a report published Wednesday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Q&A: ABB Electrification Service on securing grid resilience for businesses
The vulnerability of power grids is growing worldwide, leading businesses to reevaluate their use of centralised power. With operational continuity front of mind, there is increasing exploration into strategies such as prosumerism and distributed energy resources (DERs) alongside energy storage solutions. ABB Electrification Service's global head of strategy, Matthew Wise, explains how businesses are navigating today's shifting power landscape. Matthew Wise (MW): Of course, the major outages in Spain and Portugal and Heathrow Airport remain front of mind as they highlight two different elements of grid vulnerability. The substation at Heathrow was commissioned in the 1960s with two transformers. While transformers can last a long time in good condition, this draws attention to the fact that there is an enormous amount of ageing grid infrastructure out there. Equipment needs to be kept updated at a high level of maintenance with ongoing service interventions and continuous asset health monitoring. The blackout in Spain and Portugal highlights the need for dynamic, smart and digitally enabled systems as it was caused by a dramatic frequency drop. As grids get more complex through local generation coming online, digital solutions can help manage this as we move away from a large, centralised, high-inertia and fossil fuel-driven power station model towards more DERs. MW: What we are seeing now is companies increasingly looking at their energy systems as a critical operational piece on the same level as – or even more so than – digital transformation upgrades, which build up internal capabilities. This is a significant shift in mindset. Data centres have been a catalyst. Power outages are the number one source of downtime, with the average cost of an incident for data centres just tipping over $1m. So, this is financially critical and businesses are taking it more seriously amongst volatile energy markets. Solutions are needed to ensure business continuity regardless of energy system evolution. MW: We believe in battery energy storage systems (BESS) for commercial and industrial installations. BESS are being used to bring stability and inertia to the grid. There are enormous projects in development, such as the Edwards and Sanborn facility in California, which is going from strength to strength. The beauty of battery solutions is that they address a range of energy challenges in concert. An on-site battery can kick in with uninterrupted power to support operations and avoid unplanned downtime. Batteries can also help businesses manage energy price volatility as they can be charged when energy is cheap and discharged when it is expensive. They help to stabilise the grid within ancillary services markets as well. MW: It can be risky for businesses to delve into optimising batteries as understanding energy markets is difficult. For example, manufacturing facilities tend to have a limited level of awareness or engagement with building resilient power systems as part of their operational day-to-day work. A lot of help is needed with not just installing and integrating batteries within existing power systems but also 24/7 management. If there isn't in-house expertise, investing in a trusted partner will offer returns as they can bring the battery technology itself, the digital services and software, energy trading capabilities and uptime guarantees to derisk BESS. MW: Being an active market participant can generate value streams as energy pricing can be optimised while bringing the benefit of resilience. In terms of BESS, battery cell prices will continue to drop as the technology scales up, making the business case even stronger. As we see more and more countries and regulatory areas becoming increasingly deregulated, thereby enabling market participation from prosumers, we see more opportunity. If a business does play around with DERs, they have to get it right on the operations and maintenance side with digital systems. If there is no visibility of ongoing asset performance and health, then difficult situations can arise, such as committing to providing capacity to power grids for frequency regulation and then being fined if the business cannot do this. Services are evolving in this space for partners to manage batteries and other power solutions to minimise risk. As such, the prosumer space is getting more sophisticated through new digital technologies and business models. MW: It is an exciting time, but it is also easy to forget how critical power systems are. Things are only going to get more sophisticated and complex. A local microgrid can include batteries, solar, electric vehicle charging, heat pumps and more, and it comes down to the challenge of optimisation. Who knows how far AI is going to take us in enabling the next level of optimisation as we move towards these more complex microgrids. Electricity will surpass hydrocarbons to become the biggest energy source by 2040. So, electrification is going ahead at full speed and the loads will be much higher, and with it increased pressures on legacy assets. Digital solutions and derisking through partnership will not only help businesses navigate these increasing complexities but also unlock economic opportunity. "Q&A: ABB Electrification Service on securing grid resilience for businesses " was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. 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