POWER July 2021 - 26

SMART GRID AWARD
Road to Success Paved
with Innovative Projects
Courtesy: Wärtsilä Energy
Wärtsilä Energy, known for its experience in energy storage, and Pivot Power-working
on ambitious decarbonization projects-have teamed on a multi-application
way to serve the future of transportation in the UK, while supporting the country's
net-zero emissions goal.
Darrell Proctor
G
overnments across the globe are
pushing industries to decarbonize,
as part of a plan for major
reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions in the fight against climate
change. The UK has a goal for net-zero
GHG emissions by 2050. As in other
countries, the target has spurred innovation
in the power generation sector,
with researchers and engineers working
to find ways to produce cleaner
electricity without sacrificing reliability
and resiliency-all while recognizing
such initiatives should be part of a larger
business strategy.
Wärtsilä,
the
Finnish
is
technology
group, and Pivot Power, part of EDF
Renewables that
focused on battery
storage and power infrastructure
for electric vehicle (EV) charging, have
teamed up on projects that provide
a model for cleaner generation while
also furthering the electrification of
transportation in the UK. Pivot Power
sought a solution to develop its superhub
model, combining battery storage
with high-volume power connections
for rapid EV charging across the UK. It
specifically needed to deliver flexibility
and reliability, and support the integration
of renewable energy into the UK's
power grid. It partnered with Wärtsilä,
citing that company's experience in
energy storage and complex multi-application
systems. The pairing resulted
in deployment of Wärtsilä's GridSolv
solution, which is incorporated with the
company's GEMS software.
" The projects support the UK's commitment
to reach net-zero emissions by
26
2050 by supporting the growth of transmission-connected
power networks for
rapid EV charging and mitigating the
need for more fossil-fuel generation
plants to accommodate peak demand, "
said Andrew Tang, vice president for
Wärtsilä Energy Storage & Optimization.
" The projects provide needed flexibility
and reliability to support a higher
share of renewables integration by providing
balancing services for the UK utility,
National Grid, including frequency
response, electricity market trading,
and reactive power. "
GEMS " dynamically adjusts according
to the demands of the markets
across multiple revenue streams, " according
to Wärtsilä, which allows Pivot
Power " to both manage and optimize
a fleet of large-scale energy storage
systems and renewable assets under
a single portfolio. " The companies said
the storage projects, fast-tracked for
deployment last year, " have created an
infrastructure that can scale to accommodate
projected growth in, and the
switch to electric vehicles throughout,
the UK. "
" At Pivot Power, we are committed
to enabling a clean electric future and
accelerating the expansion of electric
vehicles across the UK, " said Adrien
Lebrun, engineering director for Pivot
Power. " These Wärtsilä energy storage
systems allow us to harness cuttingedge
technology to future-proof our investments
in a changing energy market,
supporting our long-term goal to reduce
the UK's carbon footprint and bring us
closer to net zero. "
The groups' collaboration on two projwww.powermag.com
ects
in the UK, designed to promote a
first-ever national network of grid-scale
batteries and EV charging infrastructure,
could be a blueprint for similar rollouts in
other countries. The project's innovation
makes the installations POWER's choice
for its Smart Grid Award.
More Projects Planned
Pivot Power is looking to develop superhubs
at up to 40 sites across the UK
with a total of up to 2 GW of grid-scale
energy storage and high-volume power
connections, which will be directly connected
to the UK high-voltage transmission
system. The projects both now and
in the future are optimally located to both
leverage interconnection availability and
proximity to strategic load networks.
Tang told POWER, " In addition, by
coupling large-scale energy storage optimization
and intelligence with forecasted
load demand, the projects will enable a
smoother transition to decarbonize both
the energy and transportation sectors. "
Forecasts for the number of EVs on
the world's roads have varied widely,
owing to political winds, the will of
automakers, incentives for buyers to
make vehicles more affordable, and
how rapidly charging infrastructure can
be deployed. National Grid in the UK
has projected there could be more than
10 million EVs on the nation's roads by
2030, rising to as many as 36 million
by 2040. The UK has mandated that all
new vehicles sold in the country must
be electric from 2030.
Energy companies are looking for
ways to develop innovative business
models to meet the charging demand
POWER | July 2021
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POWER July 2021

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