Project Summary
• This project explores technical innovations to increase the pool of available renewable, storage and demand side response (DSR) resources via integrated, faster and more efficient connection to the network considering resources' natural diversity and the dispatchable flexibility services they may provide.
• This approach will rely on a combination of better use of existing and enhanced network data to enable NPg and NGESO to identify congestion, track the status and capabilities of its connection queue and a streamlined process for identifying solutions to actively manage the queue to bring innovative and flexible resources on stream.
Innovation Justification
• The increase in new connections is leading to GSP interface constraints. Traditional solutions require costly, and delaying, reinforcement or constrained
connections, meaning that renewable resources cannot provide the export they are capable of and the market for flexible demand is reduced.
• Although there have been changes such as the use of ANM to manage capacity on the networks, this project seeks to explore the extent of the issue and whether diversity between network users and the actual outputs that can be achieved by RES means that there is more capacity available than 'on paper'. If there are congestion issues, then the project also seeks to explore the benefits delivered by new or existing customers providing flexibility to the network, and potential provision of improved connection offers.
• Currently, the network companies do not make full use of the potential (but as yet unquantified) diversity of their customers when planning and quoting for large connections, particularly generation and storage. This project will enable NPg to explore the extent that diversity and flexibility data on actual network capacity can enable faster connections, including for those with innovative approaches that could be deployed to manage constraints.
• We expect this project to provide five strands of benefits against the counterfactual, which would be continue with the current approach, which results in long connection delays and costly reinforcement:
o Financial benefit through a reduction in network reinforcement
Direct benefit for customers who are already connected on ANM contracts, who may be able to export more than previously identified
o Direct benefit for customers who are progressed up the queue, enabling them to start generating more quickly
o Wider sustainability benefits through faster deployment of RES and LCTs.
o Increase in available generation will reduce the need for general demand reduction to address any winter power shortages.
• Investigating network diversity benefits from a trial-based approach, as the potential range of benefits and negative impacts is currently unknown and actual implementation would impact on all customers. Should the project provide evidence that diversity and flexibility can work in tandem to reduce the connection queue (noting this would require the project to progress through all SIF stages) the approach would become part of NPg's BAU toolkit for managing constraints and any ongoing benefits would accrue to customers. In addition, the knowledge would be shared with the other network companies, enabling additional customer benefits
Project Benefits
1. Financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the network
• Currently, network reinforcement would be sized to accommodate, at a minimum, capacity requirements of new connections. Using a data-driven approach to identify network capacity will reduce or delay the reinforcement needed by unlocking flexibility from the connection stage and prioritising connection of the most flexible assets.
• This would be measured through a cost-benefit analysis that compares the counterfactual against the different use cases to be defined in the Discovery Phase. Note that this would take place during an Alpha phase when the modelling would occur.
• The cost saving for reinforcement avoidance would be in millions of pounds.
3. Financial - cost savings per annum for users of network services
• This would be a simple translation of network reinforcement savings to customer bills, based on the current charging methodology that assigns costs to different voltage levels on the basis of the network use factors and assumptions of downstream-only flows.
5. Environmental - carbon reduction -- indirect CO2 savings per annum against a business-as-usual counterfactual
• Existing users would benefit from faster connections, allowing them to export, carry out industry, etc, sooner than would otherwise be the case.
• Already connected RES may be able to increase their export (offsetting conventional generation) and new customers may be able to connect without being under a non-firm connection agreement
• More flexible use of network assets could also enable faster connection of LCTs.
• Timescales for connection of renewable generation would be reduced by several years.
• We envisioned CO2 saving would be hundreds to thousands of tonnes through this innovative approach.
6. Revenues - improved access to revenues for users of network services
• This will be informed by the stakeholder engagement to identify the current impact of connection delays on customers -- both from investment and revenue delay perspectives.
• Customers would be able to provide flexibility services that they might otherwise have been unable to do under an ANM scheme.
• We will measure this as part of our CBA that assesses different use cases
assuming different mixes of diversified generation, etc.
• As part of this stage, we will also measure the impact on non-flexible customers who may be pushed further down the connection queue in favour of flexible assets, as this will have implications for the acceptability of the project to different customer types.
