Member Article

DINO - future-proofing constrained local energy networks

Energy Day at COP27 (November 15) will shine a light on renewables, smart grids, energy efficiency and energy storage, and the challenges associated with managing the transition to greater electrification. To assess the impact of heat pumps, battery storage and EV chargers on local power networks, Energy Assets Networks collaborated with Evergreen Smart Power on Project DINO. This two-year study demonstrated how innovative load management technology can safeguard network capacity without the need for costly reinforcement…even on constrained sites.

A government-funded project has demonstrated how innovative load management technology can help constrained local energy networks cope with projected demand for power from heat pumps, battery storage and EV charging in newbuild housing developments.

The Project DINO load management model, developed by Evergreen Smart Power, extrapolated real-world consumption data supplied by Energy Assets Networks to predict the impact of greater electrification on final mile networks.

The study proved how Evergreen’s DINO cloud platform could successfully communicate with electrical network assets, as well as EVs, batteries and heat pumps, to balance supply with demand without the need for costly reinforcement.

Project DINO involved:

• Developing hardware to monitor network condition and allow remote control of key domestic loads.

• Designing a prototype load management system that balances domestic load between houses.

• Applying the load management system to a case-study of a new-build housing estate, which involved communicating with Energy Assets Networks’ smart cabinet substations.

The project outcome is important because there are plans to ban gas boilers in newbuild homes in Scotland in 2024 and in England one year later, which will increase demand for domestic electric heat and other lower carbon technologies.

Modelling demand to help balancing local network capacity

“As we look to Net Zero, the direction of travel for local energy networks is clearly towards electrification, and this has implications for capacity nationally and for resilience at a local level, particularly on sites where supply is constrained,” said Symon Gray, Head of Electricity Networks at Energy Assets.

“If we are to avoid costly reinforcement – or risk supply curtailment or blackouts – we need to be able to balance networks successfully as demand for electricity grows. Partnering with Evergreen on this important modelling exercise enabled us to use real world data from an existing housing development in Scotland to predict the impact of heat pumps, EV charging and other low carbon technologies, such as domestic batteries, on capacity.

“Critically, it shows that the technology exists to manage even constrained networks in an increasingly electrified housing environment.”

Andy McKay, MD, Evergreen Smart Power, confirmed the results. “Project DINO was an important demonstration of the power of Evergreen’s Virtual Power Plant platform at managing domestic assets on a local network. The work that Evergreen and our partners completed through this project provided the insights that we need to move on to trialling real-world installations in a constrained network.”

The platform takes account of user heating and charge preferences, weather forecasts, and electricity prices, to manage electrical loads between neighbouring properties in a way that ensures minimal stress on network assets.

Optimising the benefit of low carbon technologies

“Project DINO is just one project that we’re involved in looking at how best to optimise capacity in step with growing demand for electricity in newbuild residential developments,” said Symon Gray.

“We’re also partnering with Cala Homes and E.ON on a housing scheme that’s integrating on-site renewables generation.”

“Taken together, these projects are great examples of how the energy industry is alive with innovation, whether for load management, district heating schemes, vehicle-to-grid generation, battery storage, EV charge point infrastructure or hydrogen demonstration projects. And we’re delighted to be at the heart of many of these future-focused developments.”

Project DINO was co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, and was carried out between April 2020 and June 2022.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Colin Bridgman .