What is Grid Forming?
As we transition to zero carbon technologies we need new tools to deliver inertia, frequency and other stability services. Grid Forming technology allows batteries and renewables to deliver the same outputs as traditional power stations.
What is Grid Forming?
With the rise of new low carbon technologies being used to provide electricity such as wind, solar and batteries, we need to think about how to produce the same properties that nuclear and gas power stations deliver to ensure the smooth running of the system.
Traditional power stations also produced other things like inertia and frequency that allow the system to run smoothly. Newer technologies such as wind power, solar parks, batteries and interconnectors don’t naturally produce these capabilities, so we need to find alternative ways to create these properties.
Grid Forming is a new control technology that helps bridge this gap, allowing renewable generation technologies such as batteries and wind to behave in the same way as traditional synchronous power stations and effectively act as shock absorbers to reduce the impact of any network disturbances that may occur.
This is important to maintain the stability of the electricity network as Great Britain begins to phase out fossil fuel electricity to deliver a clean power system by 2030.
Maintaining a safe, secure, reliable and economic electricity system sits at the heart of our responsibilities. Great Britain was the first country in the world to include Grid Forming capability in its Grid Code (which detail some of the regulations that govern the electricity system), recognising the benefit this technology could have to the network in future.
How does Grid Forming Work?
With Grid Forming, the technology transforms the way that renewables and batteries connect to the network. Instead of having a straight connection to inject power into the network, the grid forming technology installed on a wind farm, solar park or battery etc alters the current and voltage to control fluctuations. This enables technologies such as wind, solar or batteries to deliver inertia and other network characteristics that otherwise they would be unable to deliver.
By combining Grid Forming with these technologies, this means that we can procure the inertia and short circuit infeed needed to maintain the stability of the electricity network while also using cleaner generation sources.
What are the benefits of Grid Forming?
This new technique will give NESO the ability to achieve system stability without the reliance on traditional synchronous plants (e.g. gas power stations). This will help enable the operation of a zero-carbon electricity system, which we aim to achieve in 2025.
Additionally, world leading Grid Forming technology avoids the use of expensive alternatives to deliver the stability capability, which will reduce costs for consumers.