Project Summary
The Winser report makes recommendations concerning faster delivery of new transmission infrastructure including standardisation and automation of route design for new transmission lines. This Project, in direct alignment with the Winser report, will examine the problems that need to be solved to address the recommendations concerning the process of route design and the automation of route design, accelerating the pace of network development to meet net zero goals. The Discovery Phase of this Project will identify and prioritise innovations for route design.
Innovation Justification
We introduced this problem at the Energy Networks Association (ENA) base camp in 2023 and have spent time consulting with various stakeholders. The networks are using state-of-the-art routing software, and there have been recent improvements in the efficiency of new route designs. However, each network approaches the problem differently and uses different tools and technologies.
The consultation revealed that we should expand on the problem described to reflect the overall complexity of the issue. We have determined the key questions to answer in Discovery Phase:
- What is the current practice in the three networks?
- What state-of-the-art tools and software are used and developed by UK networks and other networks worldwide?
- Where are the inefficiencies in the route design process?
- What gaps are there, and what new processes, methods and tools are needed to fill these gaps?
- What would be a best practice approach to the problem?
- What activities (if any) should be prioritised to address the recommendations of the Winser Report?
- How should we innovate to address the gaps?
A Discovery Phase is required to understand the challenges and how innovation could address the gaps.
In Discovery we will:
- Survey the understanding of current practices and related problems across networks.
- Conduct a Market Survey, reviewing state-of-the-art local and international automated route-finding tools & methodologies.
- Identify the transformative innovations required in the Alpha Phase to develop the solutions to the problems.
This Discovery Phase could spin off one or more Alpha projects. The Alpha Phase project(s) would then develop detailed statement(s) of requirements for developing innovative methods, processes or tools for development in subsequent Beta Phase(s). TRL/CRL will be assessed at the end of Discovery.
This Project is best funded through an initial Discovery Phase, which will describe the problem and thoroughly explore the AR1 and AR2 recommendations of the Winser report. This approach aligns well with the stage-gate structure of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), which supports collaborative efforts across all three Transmission Owners and NESO. In contrast, NIA projects or BAU-type funding would not facilitate the level of collaboration needed at this stage.
The counterfactual is that the networks continue with current practices, processes, and methods and that we are too slow to address gaps. This leads to delays in the planning of new infrastructure, further delaying the delivery of a net-zero energy system.
Impacts and Benefits
As the Winser report sets out, “National Grid Electricity System Operator (NESO) estimates that even with optimal reinforcement of the grid, annual constraint costs could rise from around £0.5-1 billion per year in 2022 to a peak of £2-4 billion per year around 2030”. Avoiding constraint costs requires the electricity grid to rapidly expand to accommodate new energy developments. A key aspect necessary to accelerate the build-out of new infrastructure is streamlining planning consent and encouraging community acceptability of new infrastructure. Identifying corridor routes during the design stage can take time and resources as multiple options need to be investigated and many data sources interpreted to find the most suitable corridor routes. Tools that can automate this process have started to be used by Transmission Owners (TOs) in the design process.
Standardising the route design process across all of the TOs and NESO, using Electricity Transmission Design Principles (ETDP), could improve community confidence that the best route has been selected. Therefore, the value is significant even if this Project can contribute only a part of the solution to reducing constraint costs.
Since the Discovery Phase will explore the problem landscape, it is not possible to quantify the benefits. Part of the purpose of SIF Discovery is to understand and better quantify the benefits. Qualitatively, the benefits that this Project could deliver are:
- An evidence-based approach to addressing the critical key recommendations in the Winser Report.
- Increased efficiency of route planning – reducing the costs to customers and consumers in the design, planning and consenting of new infrastructure.
- Improved confidence in the route planning process for key stakeholders, including customers and community stakeholders.
- Reduce the time taken for public consultation and consenting new routes, thereby reducing the cost and speeding up the ability to utilise wind generation, rather than manage constraints via carbon-intensive replacement such as gas power stations.
Overall, these benefits could combine to reduce the risk of delays to consenting and associated risk with delayed construction of new infrastructure, thereby reducing the risk of delaying the delivery of a net-zero energy system for the UK. The benefits are likely to be:
- Reduced CO2 emissions through the early connection of green energy.
- Reduced constraint costs.
- Improve stakeholder confidence in route design.
A cost-benefit analysis will be set out in any Alpha Phase application for relevant innovation project(s) identified during the Discovery Phase.
