Greater real-time visibility of our transmission and distribution networks creates value for ourselves, NGESO, service providers, and ultimately the energy consumers who pay for the services required to balance the transmission system. During our discovery project we will determine the minimum viable product with NGESO as a primary user and with our technology and academic partners we will explore the art of the possible and then set out how we aim to achieve, and validate, our big idea to develop a digital twin that spans transmission and distribution.

The objectives for our discovery project are:

1.     Establish the minimum viable product and the highest value use cases.

2.     Determine the art of the possible based on available technology and data availability,

3.     Outline an architecture for an interoperable digital twin considering best practice,

4.     Develop a strategy to verify accuracy of our digital twin.

Project partners:

SPEN

•       SPT (Lead) is the transmission network operator for central and southern Scotland and will be the lead organisation responsible for the delivery of the discovery phase. SPT will provide overall project management and governance as well as contributing to each of the work packages.

•       SPD is the distribution network operator for central and southern Scotland, which is the predominant adjoining distribution network to SPT and therefore a key contributor and stakeholder to the digital twin. SPD will contribute information on existing and future digital systems that will contribute to the digital twin.

NGESO

•       NGESO along with SPEN will be a user of the digital twin and will be critical in ensuring the interoperability and repeatability of the solution across all transmission and distribution networks. Within the discovery phase NGESO will contribute to the requirements gathering work package to help define the digital twin MVP.

University of Strathclyde (UoS)

•       UoS conducts extensive research council, European Commission and industry- funded research, all closely related to the proposed work. UoS will lead the activities associated with the development of required specifications for the network digital twin to meet the system balancing requirements and conduct comprehensive testing and validation of the network digital twin for the targeted application.

Digital Catapult

•       Digital Catapult, the UK's leading advanced digital technology R&D centre, will perform the integration role across the consortium partners, coordinating between academic experimentation and industrial roll out. The Digital Catapult will lead the Data and Architecture work package.

Problem Bring Solved

This project has the potential to develop a standard approach to Digital Twins for power systems that can be rolled out across the UK enabling access to the £17bn whole system flexibility market.

The problem our innovation is aiming to solve is the absence of visualisation and simulation of the electricity transmission and distribution networks as a complete system in real-time. This absence leads to an inability to determine the full impacts and efficacy of using distribution connected assets to balance the national energy transmission system (NETS).

Balancing the NETS today is primarily achieved by instructing large generation assets connected to the transmission network to flex their output to follow demand. The growth in intermittent renewable generation connected to the transmission system required to achieve net zero is going to diminish the overall flexibility of the large generation assets connected at transmission. However, the electrification of heat and transport is a major component of the UK's strategy to achieve net zero targets. Due to the energy storage capability of electric heating and transportation this will increase the flexibility on the demand side. In addition, we are still seeing the continued proliferation of other distributed energy resources such as solar panels and wind turbines as well as standalone batteries, i.e. not as part of an electric vehicle.

To achieve net-zero and balance the NETS, the amount of transmission system balancing services provided by assets connected to distribution networks needs to grow significantly. NGESO's wider access programme is paving the way for this to happen from a markets perspective. This is very positive for consumers as they have more opportunity to participate in these markets and it is also beneficial to the operations of the markets themselves to have more choice of who can provide a service.

To continue this trajectory safely and securely and realise the benefits to consumers, the energy system and network (T+D) operators need full visibility of how using distribution connected assets to balance the NETS is going to impact their respective operations. There is an opportunity for SP Energy Networks as a Transmission and Distribution network operator to take on the challenge of providing an innovative solution that delivers this visibility by developing an open and interoperable digital twin of our transmission and distribution networks. SP Transmission is perfectly placed to coordinate this programme with a history of working collaboratively with NGESO, SPD and wider 3rd parties.