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C A S E S T U D Y BATTERY STORAGE Electricity North West's (ENW's) partnership with Centrica demonstrates how the company is using innova on and technology. The project involved suppor ng the comple on of Centrica's 49MW ba ery storage project in Roosecote, Cumbria – one of Europe's largest ba ery storage facili es. The works, which began in 2016, facilitated the refurbishment of Centrica's 132kV switchgear at ENW's Roosecote substa on. "We were able to provide and manage a complex sequence of 132kV busbar and circuit outages to achieve the required safety and working clearances whilst also ensuring the essen al work didn't impact network resilience throughout the project," says ENW's engineering and technical director, Steve Cox. The work was completed in December 2018 and the ba ery, which consists of more than 100,000 cells, will have the capacity to store power for about 50,000 homes. New technology in isola on is insufficient. Innova ve solu ons must be integrated into exis ng systems. Robo om says: "The fundamental missing link in the piece is that this co-ordina on task is not the responsibility of any of the exis ng par es. "This is a subset of a core problem that requires coherent systems thinking to drive and underpin resilient architectures, and then the systema c deployment of the right technologies and commercial/regulatory solu ons." Nadine Buddoo is a Utility Week correspondent This is an abridged version of the research. For a full copy of this report and to find out more about U lity Week Live, visit: h ps://www.u lityweeklive.co.uk/ ELECTRIC VEHICLES A er the publica on of the NIC's Na onal Infrastructure Assessment, Ofgem issued a consulta on examining how to make the most of the opportuni es presented by electric vehicles (EVs). NIC chief execu ve Philip Graham welcomed the move but s ll believes there is more work to be done. "If we are to create a truly na onal, visible charging network to support the switch from petrol and diesel, there will be an important role for Ofgem in enabling investment and ensuring that the benefits to the electricity system are realised, for example through smart charging technologies," he says. But the barriers currently facing EV take-up go beyond the role of the regulator. Consumer awareness is an issue, with more work needed to encourage UK drivers to consider moving to an EV. Recent research conducted by Electricity North West (ENW) revealed that just 2 per cent of Bri sh drivers own an electric car, and almost half (48 per cent) stated that the ini al cost of EVs is pu ng them off, despite lower running costs. The survey of 3,400 UK consumers also highlighted that just 6 per cent intend to buy or lease one as their next car. "This means there is a lot of work to do in raising awareness and encouraging people to transi on to an electric vehicle," says ENW engineering and technical director Steve Cox. While it is o en argued that the stress of millions of motorists charging their EVs at the same me will require major investment in new electricity infrastructure, Cox disagrees. "The solu on lies in a smarter power network and not looking to reinforce the network in the conven onal and costly way, but by encouraging more energy efficiency, flexibility and a smarter way of using electricity," he says. For the water sector, the need for further investment is often a barrier to innovation. II P R E S E N T S IN ASSOCIATION WITH 28 | 1ST - 7TH MARCH 2019 | UTILITY WEEK There is a lot of work to do in raising awareness and encouraging people to transition to an electric vehicle. II