Keeping networks safe
It was almost like the beginning of a James Bond film.
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Technology focus
IEC 61850 and the revolution in substation communications
The days of substations filled with copper cable are coming to an end. Smart grids need smart communications, and peer-to-peer communication within and between substations is set to quickly become business as usual for UK power networks. Facilitating this transition is IEC 61850, a standard launched in 2004 and updated in 2011, which provides a new approach to automation and communication in substations.
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How materials science will underpin the future energy network
Dr Elizabeth Gibson
(reader in energy materials, Newcastle University)
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Heat Interface Units: efficiency and performance expectations
If we want heat networks to play an important part in the energy landscape, then the onus is on network technology and service providers to make sure that there are clear and consistent standards for the performance that should be expected from the most critical elements of the system.
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Finding fault: bringing fresh intelligence to LV network management
Keeping the lights on has never been more challenging. And with customers increasingly reliant on supply continuity, the threats of interruptions and consequent penalties are major preoccupations for every distribution network operator (DNO).
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Energy Potential: emerging applications of energy storage
Energy storage is at a tipping point. The major barriers to widespread deployment – a multitude of regulatory legacies – are set to be addressed this year, and the first real source of revenue in the form of National Grid’s enhanced frequency response is currently being procured.
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Electricity storage: a new business case perspective
Energy storage and electricity storage in particular is an area of utility development that has been on the radar now for a number of years, and on a journey that still has some distance to run. With pumped hydro as the single exception, it is probably fair to say that 20 years ago the use of storage as part of the electricity system in an operational distribution network operator (DNO) environment was probably not conceived in any shape or form, and even 10 years ago business as usual network deployment would have seemed like moons away.
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Delivering electricity to the grid
The last turbines at the Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, located in the Irish Sea around 19 kilometres off the coast of Cumbria, were installed in April. The extension is situated next to the existing wind farm and comprises of 87 new turbines, spread across 145km2, which will be capable of generating 659MW of energy a year when fully operational: enough to power more than half a million homes.
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Cybersecurity: making smart homes secure
But vulnerable devices present security risks, leading the UK government to propose new mandatory cybersecurity measures.
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Costain webinar highlights five ways to crack innovation
With the likelihood of more change from regulators and policy makers arriving after the General Election, the capacity of organisations to respond is becoming stretched.
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