For the first time in the UK, reactive power services to National Grid ESO were provided (by Lightsource BP) during nighttime hours using solar farm generated power! The historic date was November 4, 2019. The company used solar inverters at one of their solar power plants to provide reactive power services.
What is reactive power? It is the capacity to maintain voltage levels on electricity transmission systems. The ability allows more energy to be carried down existing infrastructure and increases capacity without having to upgrade infrastructure. By reducing or increasing voltage levels, solar inverters are adept at providing reactive power. They can deliver the voltage charge required at the grid supply point.
This achievement was one phase of a project called ‘Potential Power’ run by National Grid ESO and UK Power Networks (UKPN). It was a trial run. The project overall is their way of seeing if the creation of a new reactive power market for distributed energy resources (DERs) in the South East will work.
The trial came after three years of testing and development. To ensure the reliability of the network and safety, UKPN’s control engineers coordinated the experiment. The project has shown that reactive power has the potential to provide up to 4GW of power capacity in the southeast. Furthermore, it could save energy customers more than £400 million by 2050!
Kareen Boutonnat, Lightsource BP Chief Operating Officer, said:
The success of this trial clearly demonstrates that innovation is key in addressing the future growth of the energy sector. With electricity demand increasing so rapidly we have to be in a constant state of evolution in order to solve the problems of the future.
Right now, we have proven that solar plants can play a larger role across the electricity network – even at night. However, it is only the beginning and as our team continues to develop and support this project, we will remain focused on pushing the boundaries and forging partnerships to remain a leading innovator across our sector.
Dr. Biljana Stojkovska, National Grid Electricity System Operator, Power Potential Project lead added:
As we move towards our 2025 ambition of being able to operate the GB electricity system carbon-free we are seeing more renewable generation come online – such as wind and solar – which in turn requires finding new ways of managing system characteristics like voltage.
This innovative trial, which forms part of our Power Potential project, is an exciting first step. We look forward to seeing it progress over the coming months as we explore new reactive power markets for distributed energy resources, and their potential to cut costs for energy consumers.
This news is the first of many to come where night-time grid support service gets its electricity from a solar power plant.
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