Project Summary
SIF BLADE meets the aim of SIF Round 2 Challenge 3 – improving system resilience and robustness. SIF BLADE will increase the
UK’s energy system robustness supporting efficient roll out of new infrastructure, by investigating and demonstrating how novel lowcost, low-carbon technologies can allow offshore wind farms (OWFs) to restore the onshore grid following a black out. Proving this
concept will enable accelerated roll out of OWFs to replace existing fossil fuel generators, whilst reducing any resilience issues that
this may cause.
Doing so requires significant network innovation. Innovation is required to:
· investigate and develop the ability of technology suppliers to provide the necessary novel equipment, by defining intelligent
requirements for the equipment from the network perspective;
· develop a black start methodology of restoring the onshore network from offshore wind, including how the OWF can be energised;
how in turn the energised OWF can be used to energise the onshore network; and how the restoration can be spread throughout the
onshore network, all whilst maintaining robustness of the newly energised system;
· understand the business case and market needs for black start services from OWFs;
· understand the roles and responsibilities of a wide, cross-industry range of stakeholders, from transmission system operators
(TSOs) to transmission owners (TOs) to OWF operators to technology suppliers.
Due to this cross-industry nature of the network innovation, SIF BLADE needs cooperation between network companies, generators
(OWF operators) and technical experts. The partnership brings together all these necessary stakeholders through SPEN, SSEN,
NHVDCC, Strathclyde and Carbon Trust (representing the nine OWA developers, EnBW, Equinor, Ørsted, RWE, ScottishPower
Renewables, Shell, SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies and Vattenfall), with NationGrid ESO (NGESO), Siemens Gamesa Renewable
Energy (SGRE), Siemens Energy (SE) and EDF Renewables (EDFR) as project advisers. These leading organisations will provide
an unparalleled consortium for the development of black start services from offshore wind.
Regarding users of the solutions developed in SIF BLADE:
· TOs will use the solutions to ensure their networks remain resilient whilst decarbonising, by being able to restore their networks
from offshore wind;
· TSOs will use the solutions developed in SIF BLADE to create markets and procure restoration services in the future;
· OWF operators will use the solutions to provide restoration services to the offshore and onshore network, and hence enable more
wind capacity onto the network;
· ultimately, consumers will benefit from the solutions by having a more resilient, low-cost, low-carbon grid serving their needs.
Innovation Justification
SIF BLADE is applying to Innovation Challenge 3: Improving energy systemresilience and robustness, with a specific scope of strengthening UK's energysystem robustness to support efficient roll out of new infrastructure. SIF BLADEwill do so by investigating and demonstrating how novel low-cost, low-carbontechnologies can allow OWFs to restore the onshore grid following a black out.Proving this concept will enable accelerated roll out of OWFs to replace existingfossil fuel generators, whilst reducing any resilience issues that this may cause.
Discovery Phase has highlighted the scale of the challenge in bringing restorationservices from OWFs to commercial reality. This challenge is not an incrementalinnovation; it is a step change in thinking and capability for OWFs, TOs and SOs.SIF BLADE needs to assess and demonstrate:
the technical requirements and capabilities of OWFs to provide restorationservices
the cost of providing these capabilities and the benefit they bring to the system
the business model (including market arrangements and how to work with theOFTO regime)
Alpha Phase will work towards addressing all of these aspects.
SIF BLADE is intentionally a large, collaborative, cross-industry initiative. We haveworked in the open by having a large consortium consisting of 10 OWFdevelopers, 2 networks, 2 technology suppliers and 1 SO. We have beencontacting potential additional partners in parallel and we have 1 additional OWFdeveloper and 1 additional SO joining for Alpha.
Regarding the technical state of the art, in 2020, a demonstration of black startwas carried out at Dersalloch onshore windfarm. In comparison to this SIFBLADE, is focused on offshore windfarms, which have different technicalchallenges (but also benefits) due to their size, location and voltage level. Further,Dersalloch trial relied on diesel generators, and SIF BLADE shall be investigatingalternatives to diesel generators.
Regarding the commercial state of the art, in 2022, ESO launched an electricityservice restoration tender for wind (including offshore). This is a commerciallysensitive tender, and the work ongoing is not available to share by ESO. FromDiscovery, we know some OWF developers have shown interest in this tender,and some have not. But all OWF developers are suffering from a lack of clarity inthe tender process: what are the requirements on OWFs and what will therevenues be. Without clarity, OWF developers are struggling to engage. SIFBLADE sits independent of and parallel to this tender process, to complement it bybuilding industry-wide understanding on the capabilities and potential costs-and-benefits of OWFs providing restoration services.
Currently, the solutions we are investigating are TRL 4; IRL 2; CRL 2. By the endof Alpha, we are aiming for TRL 5; IRL 2; CRL 4. By the end of Beta, we areaiming for TRL: 7; IRL 7; CRL 7.
The scale and ambition of this project is large. This is reflected by the ambitiousaims to enable a step change in capability of OWFs and onshore networks. It isalso reflected by the large cross-industry consortium. For these reasons, the workcannot be conducted elsewhere in the price control. It is a highly strategic, highlyinnovative project that fits well within SIF's structure.
Details on counterfactuals will be developed further in Alpha. However, otherpossible solutions to low-carbon restoration include smaller scale distributionsystem renewables (e.g. onshore wind and hydro). These have been studied inDistributed Restart and show potential, but suffer from not connecting to thetransmission system and only having small capacities. Offshore wind has thebenefit of large capacity and being transmission system connected.
Impacts and Benefits
Financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the network AND cost savingsper annum on energy bills for consumers
Baseline: high-carbon assets dominate restoration market, but will need to beretired to meet net-zero goals, leaving a hole to be filled by low-carbon assets.Some feasibility has been show for small-scale distributed renewable sources toprovide restoration services, but these suffer from being small capacity. ESOexpects that OWFs may need to provide ~24% of restoration services by 2050.
Benefit: The high-level CBA in the PMT indicates an NPV of ~£200M at a costof ~£144M to have 24% of GB system restoration services provided by OWFs.At this stage, there are several assumptions behind these figures, and moredetailed CBA will be conducted in Alpha. SIF BLADE will accelerate and enableOWFs to provide restoration services, thus allowing ESO's future restorationpredictions to be met. If SIF BLADE proves OWFs cannot provide restorationservices, then this is a key data point to ESO to make other resiliency plansurgently. See Appendix Q3 for more information in this regard.
Metrics: quantify (£) costs and benefits of OWFs providing restoration services.
Environmental - carbon reduction -- direct CO2 savings per annum
Baseline: high-carbon assets dominate restoration market.
Benefit: SIF BLADE will accelerate and enable OWFs to provide restorationservices, thus offering ESO an alternative source of restoration that is lowcarbon, which will allow ESO to cease procuring high-carbon assets forrestoration.
Metrics: quantify (weight of CO2) benefits of OWFs providing restorationservices.
Revenues - improved access to revenues for users of network services ANDcreation of new revenue streams
Baseline: Currently zero windfarms (onshore or offshore) provide restorationservices, and hence zero windfarms gain revenues from restoration servicecontracts with ESO. ESO has launched an electricity system restoration tenderfor wind. However, from consultations in Discovery, many OWF developers donot feel able to participate due to lack of clarity around technical requirementsand potential revenues. It is unclear how successful that tender will be due tomarket and technology immaturity.
Benefit: SIF BLADE will create industry-wide understanding on the technicalrequirements for windfarms to provide black start, the technology specificationsthat will enable OWFs to meet those requirements, the cost of those technologyspecifications, and the potential revenue achievable by providing restorationservices. This in turn will give clarity to all parties. It will allow ESO to setsuitable markets and allow OWF developers to gain revenues from ESO forrestoration services.
Metrics: increased number of participants in future ESO restoration windtenders; (world) first restoration contract awarded to one or more OWFs.
New to market -- products
Baseline: Currently commercially implemented wind turbines do not self-start(they are started by energy from the grid). Also, they are not able to support orgrow an energy island (they rely on exporting energy to a strong, alreadyexisting grid).
Benefit: SIF BLADE is seeking to accelerate self-starting wind turbines tomarket. These can start without external energy sources, by having batterieswithin them. SIF BLADE is also seeking to accelerate wind turbines to marketthat can create and support small energy islands in the energy network ("gridforming" turbines), which do not need to rely on a strong national grid.
Metrics: first self-starting and grid forming turbines installed offshore.
New to market -- services
Baseline: OWFs do not provide restoration services.
Benefit: SIF BLADE is seeking to demonstrate the world's first OWF providingrestoration services, which will allow for such capability to become BAU.
Metrics: first OWF with restoration capability, followed by BAU roll-out nationallyand internationally.
