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NETWORK / 19 / OCTOBER 2016 1 2 3 Photovoltaic systems have the potential to increase thermal loading and cause voltage issues on low-voltage distribution networks, but the installation of residential energy storage alongside PV systems could alleviate some of these issues. Northern Powergrid will be investigating whether the impact of storage is su cient to amend design poli- cies to allow the connection of more PV than would otherwise be the case. Northern Powergrid will install up to 40 storage devices to develop su cient data to determine if design engineers should take into account stor- age when considering an application to retro• t signi• - cant amounts of PV on social housing schemes. It will also explore their ability to reduce evening peak load. The Moixa storage units will be installed at commu- nity bene• t society Energise Barnsley on two LV feeders fed from a single distribution sub- station. One feeder has 42% PV penetration and the other 20%. If the project proves suc- cessful and it is possible to avoid the replacement of a single transformer, the sav- ings would be in the region of £59,000. If each DNO saved reinforcement costs on just two schemes per year, this would equate to £1.4 million per year. UK Power Networks is also investigating the impact of solar PV systems combined with domestic storage on distribution network operators, both the bene• ts but also addi- tional requirements. The technology is still in its infancy, with only 850,000 solar PV systems installed in the UK since 2010, of which only a tiny fraction have accompany- ing storage. UKPN says the impacts are not well characterised and understood, and bar- riers to successful deployment may exist, such as current policies regarding noti• ca- tion or permission may need to be updated. UKPN will undertake a • eld trial of up to 60 sites with monitoring equipment of up to three di" erent types of domestic energy storage system with four key objectives; to determine the minimum requirements from DNOs for the installation of domestic stor- age; de• ne typical load pro• les for model- ling the long-term e" ects on distribution networks; improve DNOs' understanding of the residential energy solutions market; and gain insights into customer and DNO value propositions from aggregated storage. The project should produce policy recom- mendations about noti• cation and permis- sions and load pro• les for properties with solar PV and storage to inform business planning load growth forecast model and low voltage modelling tools. Western Power Distribution has identi- • ed that the network reinforcement work that is o— en necessary to facilitate the con- nection of low-carbon technologies is too expensive and time consuming, delaying customers connecting to the network. But uncertainties in volume, location and type of LV connection means it is not always pos- sible or e cient for WPD to plan ahead on reinforcement. In this project, WPD aims to use indus- trial and commercial storage to facilitate alternative connection options, while pro- viding industrial and commerical customers with incentives through power consump- tion reduction. Beyond this, the project will provide improvements in cost e ciency, customer service, reliability, and the envi- ronment, while exploring the full range of grid services. One of the main outcomes will be the dra— ing of new technical policies for storage connections. WPD will select a suitable storage part- ner through a tendering process and run trials at four separate WPD depots that have installed solar PV and wind genera- tion. WPD will be conducting the trials of the 50kW/210kWh energy storage systems internally to minimise the risk from the tri- als, which will test di" erent con• gurations of the application of storage. These include but are not limited to peak shaving, load shi— ing, transmission and distribution sup- port, phase balancing, reverse power ™ ow mitigation and emergency backup. The pro- ject may simulate a range of Transmission System services such as STOR, response services, constraint management, reactive power, energy contracts, Enhanced Fre- quency response and any future services. Distributed storage & solar study (DS3) Northern Powergrid – launched Domestic energy storage & control UKPN – launched Industrial & commercial storage WPD – launched B AT T E R Y S T O R A G E Moixa trial • £500,000 • 18 months • 1MW/1MWh Lead-acid battery £38m-£59m The potential consumer saving at- tributable to solar PV with storage by 2020 according to National Grid's 2015 System Operability Frame- work. WPD's Solar Storage project is investigating the practicalities of this, as is National Grid Electric- ity Transmission's newly launched DESESRT project.