Utility Week

40 | FEBRUARY 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Analysis Navigating National Grid's Virtual Energy System National Grid's pioneering Virtual Energy System uses digital twin technology to recreate the entire GB energy ecosystem in all its complexity. Stuart Stone finds out why everyone is so excited. A s recently reported by Utility Week, National Grid Electricity System Oper- ator (ESO) is building a Virtual Energy System, a digital replica of the entire energy system in Great Britain that will be used both to generate new ideas and insights and to game a range of system scenarios. During the project's unveiling last November at COP26, ESO explained that the replica will work in parallel with physical assets, providing an accessible, unified, real- time view of every corner of the energy sys- tem, initially developing an open framework, with agreed access, operations and security protocols. The Virtual Energy System will be gradu- ally populated by digital twins – virtual models designed to accurately reflect physi- cal objects – thereby providing access to real-time data on the status and operation of corresponding network assets. According to Carolina Tortora, head of digital transformation and innovation strat- egy at ESO and the Virtual Energy System's director, the project pairs well with the some- what fragmented energy sector's ongoing, tech-driven, transformation. "At present, the energy system in Great Britain is owned, developed, and managed by many different companies and actors responsible for their individual compo- nent pieces – it originates from the days of the industrial revolution and is undergo- ing significant transition to decarbonisa- tion, decentralisation, and digitalisation," she tells Utility Week Innovate. "And it's this last point – about digitalisation – that offers great potential. "The future energy system will become more complex and interconnected as con- sumers assume roles as generators them- selves, with the ability to offer grid balancing services via their electric vehicles. "For the energy industry of tomorrow to adapt to these changes, having a digital rep- lica with access to more data and informa- tion will make it easier." Modelling complex problems with greater insight Ultimately, given the Virtual Energy System comprises many smaller twins that represent different components of the energy system, industry-wide collaboration is integral to the programme's success. "This will be achieved by ensuring that every player works on the same clear and purpose-built compatibility principles that will anchor all the use-cases together," Tortora says. While the digital twin technology behind these component parts is nothing new – and has already been widely applied within the energy industry and beyond – connect- ing different virtual landscapes to build an overarching system view breaks new digital ground, according to Tortora. "We know that other countries have cre- ated high-level models of energy systems by a single company or entity, but we are pro- posing that the GB Virtual Energy System is created collaboratively by all energy actors," she explains. As such, Tortora stresses that ultimately the Virtual Energy System won't simply be "the ESO's tool" but a resource available for the entire industry to support future innova- tion and problem solving. "It will be managed and maintained as an evolving virtual asset that matures over time as more components are added," she explains. "This is a new way of creating a distributed virtual asset that will provide aggregated benefits, as companies can start to model complex problems, with greater insight from system players up and down the energy value chain." Influence from overseas, F1 and the Covid response National Grid has not only sought to harness technological advances and real-time data developments which have already trans- formed many aspects of the energy industry, but learn from a multitude of commercial digital twin projects spanning sectors such as manufacturing and healthcare. "Applying this approach to the energy industry offers us the potential to test, model and make more accurate forecasts – support- ing commercial decision making and provid- ing us with intelligence when making energy

• Cover