Orkney Smart Grid

An innovative new Active Network Management (ANM) approach was devised to make better use of the existing network by instructing generators to control their output, in real time, to match the available network capacity. It allows the power flows at several points on the network to be monitored, and power flows from multiple new renewable generators to be controlled. The technology is based around a central controller, which collects data from ‘pinch points’ geographically distributed around the network. The central controller identifies when power flows are approaching the limits of the network power rating and sends instructions to generators to reduce their output in time before problems occur. The system is designed to be fail safe to protect the network if generators do not respond correctly to control signals within specified time limits.