Technology & Operations
Power
Council’s ‘pioneer’ subsidy free solar farm goes live
Renewable energy company Gridserve has completed and handed over a subsidy free 34.7 MW solar farm in York to Warrington Borough Council, a project that it says is the UK's most advanced solar farm to date.
Technology & Operations
Lithium-ion batteries in spotlight over cobalt claim
A lawsuit brought by the families of 14 child miners killed or injured in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo has put the spotlight on the sustainability and ethics of mining cobalt, a mineral widely used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
Gas
Pumping up affordable low carbon power
Graham Wright, chairman of the Heat Pump Association, on the important role heat pumps could play in the low carbon heat mix, and the need to increase the rate of installations to meet net-zero.
Gas
Why hydrogen-based fuels will be a net-zero essential
Matti Rautkivi, director of strategy and business development at Wärtsilä Energy Business, explains why the Finnish company is backing several innovators in the field of hydrogen-based fuels - and why the UK government should do so as well.
Heat
WPD sets out digital strategy for zero carbon
Western Power Distribution (WPD) has published a new digitalisation commitment describing how it will make innovative use of new technologies and an "open data" policy to deliver lower carbon energy solutions for customers.
Gas
Worry-free DGA monitor commissioning from Vaisala
At Vaisala, as well as supplying world-class measurement equipment for monitoring transformer oil, we are also here to make sure our customers can get the most out of their monitoring equipment, and help take the stress out of getting it up and running.
Gas
AMT transformers to cut power losses in Northern Powergrid trial
Northern Powergrid is trialling a new type of transformer that can dramatically reduce power losses, becoming the UK's first distribution network operator (DNO) to trial the equipment.
Heat
Vehicle-to-grid tech in homes could shrink bills by £300
The final report from a research project that looked at how much UK households could save if they stored and shared electricity in EV batteries has calculated that a figure of £300 a year is possible.
Gas
SSEN wins £9.5m for low-carbon emergency power study
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has secured over £9.5m of funding from Ofgem's Network Innovation Competition (NIC), for a project examining new solutions for network resilience in a low carbon world.
Power
UKPN and Innovate UK map 66 routes to ‘V2G’ future
A project led by UK Power Networks and Innovate UK has mapped 66 "vehicle-to-grid" energy storage trials around the world, including the UK, the US, Japan, Korea and Namibia.
Gas
Ofgem backs H21 hydrogen project with £6.8m grant
H21, the programme from the UK gas industry to work towards converting the network to carry 100% hydrogen, has been awarded £6.8m in Ofgem innovation funding to support a second phase of research and development.
Technology & Operations
Costain webinar highlights five ways to crack innovation
Optimising assets, reducing risk and maximising return on investment - the "to do list" of major companies in the energy and water sectors becomes ever longer.
Heat
Liverpool plugs in district heat for new science campus
A combined heat and power (CHP) energy centre buried below a 14 storey car park in Liverpool is set to become a key source of low carbon energy for a £1bn new life science campus.
Gas
Consumers back hydrogen for heating but fear cost hikes
The majority of the UK public would support hydrogen blending as a stop-gap to decarbonise domestic heating supply, but a potential increase in energy bills is a significant concern, the latest research from Newcastle University has revealed.
Gas
Chinese university develops state-of-the-art software tool for Integrated Energy System planning
New cloud-based software for Integrated Energy System (IES) planning and analysis has been developed by researchers at Southeast University (SEU) in China, led by Dr Suyang Zhou and Professor Wei Gu.
Power
ENW buys electric diggers to dig the road to zero carbon
Electricity North West is turning its streetworks operations a darker shade of green by purchasing two innovative JCB electric mini diggers, following a successful trial period.
Power
Northern Powergrid goes Dutch in 100 MW auction
Distribution Network Operator (DNO) Northern Powergrid has announced plans for a flexibility auction - covering generation, storage and demand-side response - using an e-auction platform and a "dynamic purchasing" methodology.
Gas
Seven tower blocks replace gas with GSHP technology
Residents in seven tower blocks in Sunderland will become green heat pioneers at the conclusion of a new project to install low carbon ground source heat pumps in 364 homes in place of gas boilers.
Power
“The further you go from shore, the more HVDC stacks up”
Grant McKay, ABB's marketing and sales manager for HVDC in northern Europe, discusses ABB's recent UK first: a contract to use HVDC convertor technology to link two forthcoming 1.2 GW North Sea offshore wind farms to the mainland transmission network.
Heat
UKPN unveils flexibility tender across 115 sites
UK Power Networks (UKPN) has launched what is believed to be the UK's largest ever tender for flexibility services and storage, highlighting 115 sites where renewables could boost network capacity and reduce costs for customers.
Power
ABB to connect offshore wind with HVDC in UK first
ABB has been selected by energy companies SSE Renewables and Equinor to use its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter systems to connect the world's largest offshore wind farms to the UK transmission network.
Power
Siemens launches new IoT apps and protection relay
Siemens is launching two new products at the European Utility Week show in Paris - a new suite of grid diagnostic apps that exploits Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and a new protection relay device, the Reyrolle 5.
Heat
‘Low cost’ substation monitor passes DNO field trials
Western Power Distribution and 42 Technology, an innovation and product development consultancy, have announced the completion of six months of field trials for FuseOhm, a device that monitors performance parameters in electricity substations.
Customers
Networks specialist joins free UW asset data webinar
Dan Wilson, asset data manager and Network Management System Data Lead at Electricity North West, will join the line up on Utility Week's forthcoming webinar on using AI technology to improve asset data.
Technology & Operations
First live trades on Cornwall’s local energy market platform
Centrica has announced a key milestone in its mission to build a cloud-enabled local energy market (LEM) for Cornwall, after both Western Power Distribution - in its role as a Distribution System Operator (DSO) - and the National Grid ESO procured flexibility through the online portal.
Gas
“Awards help us to understand the art of the possible”
Paul Jordan, business lead for the Innovator Support Platform at the Energy Systems Catapult, will be joining the Network Awards 2020 judging panel. We asked him how he sees the role of awards events amid the wider challenges the sector faces.
Gas
ESC launches modelling tool for 2050 scenario planning
The Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) has launched a new software modelling tool that can weigh up different scenarios on how national, regional and local energy networks in the UK can use storage and flexibility technologies to decarbonise at least cost.
Gas
Cadent to pipe bio-gas to HGV refuelling stations
An alternative fuel company has announced plans to offer HGV fleet operators biomethane gas - piped through the gas network - as an alternative to diesel that can achieve net zero emissions.
Heat
The road to a low carbon future
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks' (SSEN) EV readiness manager, Richard Hartshorn, discusses the distribution network operator's role in the transition to a low carbon world for drivers, tourists and consumers.
Gas
An alternative route to Black Start
Electricity interconnectors are increasingly adding flexibility to the high voltage network in Great Britain. But can their convertor capacity also offer a Black Start service to the grid? Oluwole Daniel Adeuyi and colleagues at the National HVDC Centre, operated by Scottish Hydro Electricity, discuss its recent scenario planning around an interconnector Black Start.
Heat
Humber plan for 2040 zero carbon cluster centres on Drax
Plans to develop a zero carbon "industrial cluster" in the Humber region based on a hydrogen production facility at Yorkshire's Drax plant plus carbon capture and storage (CCUS) under the North Sea have been outlined in a new report by the Zero Carbon Humber partnership.
Downloads
Protect electrical equipment from insulation failure
Insulation faults are a major cause leading to the eventual failure of electrical equipment. Partial discharge (PD) is a very reliable indicator of developing insulation faults. Regular PD testing allows users to detect and analyze PD activity
Downloads
How E.ON. is helping the City of London become a zero emissions city
Discover Citigen. Deep in the heart of our bustling capital
Downloads
The Innovation Factor: Managing the transition to smart communication technologies in the electricity distribution sector white paper
The transition from legacy communications systems to new technologies can seem daunting for organisations in the electricity sector. But with market dynamics changing rapidly