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Fuel Cells Bulletin October 2012
FEATURE
a proportion of the energy output being held latency and ensures maximum responsiveness Solar and wind are intermittent resources,
outside of this mechanism to enable trades on and security of the system. The wireless mesh with a lot of energy when the sun is
the Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) and platform has one of the most sophisticated shining or the wind is blowing, and little or
bilateral markets. authentication and encryption systems nothing when they are not. Total oversight
available. of this generation capacity will provide a
The control systems need to monitor the mechanism for balancing the loads using
The heart is smart performance and outputs of the generation storage and demand-side management, thus
At the heart of the EcoIsland project is assets, and provide real-time assessments reducing the need for ‘spinning reserve’ and
a smart grid infrastructure developed of the demand side of the market, with avoiding costly re-enforcement issues. The
in collaboration with global partners links to the houses and SMEs and the active management of loads and generators
Cable&Wireless Worldwide, Silver Spring loads being managed by the utility SSE, connected to the grid can also help alleviate
Networks, Toshiba, and IBM. as the Distribution Network Operator. issues such as voltage, frequency, and reactive
Cable&Wireless and Silver Spring The systems also need to provide a level of power control during faults.
Networks are providing technology for forecasting for assets, and reflect an accurate The net result of all the smart grid
the IPv6 communications platform, that profile of the energy market by assimilating technology will mean a more stable and
is a combination C&WW network and the patterns of the trades that are balanced grid network, with less of the
radiofrequency wireless mesh that connects undertaken. Finally, they need to provide a generated capacity needing to be constrained
houses, SMEs, and the component parts of control mechanism for curtailment events, by the network operator, and thereby
the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) resources. The and a feedback loop to the plant and maximising the value of generation from
communications platform provides two-way machinery across the Island. assets and producing a higher output per
control, and data can be sent back to the As a by-product of this, the systems MW installed. In addition, it should help
central hub for processing. The platform is provide very accurate output information and migrate home and SME demands away from
resilient, self-healing, and capable of remote alarms. The data will be accessible via central peak times which, following the introduction
upgrades to ensure that it is future-proof. control screens in the main trading centre, of time-sensitive tariffs, will result in reduced
The asset and telemetry data are routed but there will also be the option of displaying energy bills.
to the EcoHUB data centre for processing. summary data in a real-time dashboard
Initially this is likely to be a small server format on public display.
application at St Cross Business Park in One of the hidden benefits of this
Hydrogen energy
Newport, but as the need for larger-scale data system will be to provide SSE with a fully EcoIsland will also use renewably produced
processing emerges, there are plans to establish integrated load management system, that hydrogen for transportation fuelling and
a larger, ‘green’ data centre. The proximity of can interface with its existing system to as energy storage. In the summer the
the processing systems to the generation and help balance the load and provide frequency Technology Strategy Board, which acts as
demand-side assets is critical, as this reduces response for the mix of generation assets. the UK government’s innovation agency,
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October 2012 Fuel Cells Bulletin
FEATURE
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Fuel Cells Bulletin October 2012
FEATURE
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October 2012 Fuel Cells Bulletin