Designing the Future Energy Network: The Future Grid Challenge
Superconducting power transmission cables may form part of a solution to the challenges currently facing our energy distribution network. These are real-life challenges that are being faced today - and that the next generation of researchers will most likely have to face too - use this workshop to introduce them to a problem they may one day have to solve!
Below is the workshop pack which is also available in pdf form complete with maps, powerpoint slides and other resources - contact J.Spurrell@soton.ac.uk if you would like a FREE copy.
Below is the workshop pack which is also available in pdf form complete with maps, powerpoint slides and other resources - contact J.Spurrell@soton.ac.uk if you would like a FREE copy.
Information for workshop organisers
Content outline
·
Introduction
o
Workshop Overview
o
Time Requirements
o
Resource Requirements
o
Workshop Organisation
·
Information to Give to Participants
o
Overview of Current Electricity Network
o
Challenges the Network Will Face
o
Variables to Investigate
·
Solutions Currently Being Investigated
o
Microgrids
o
Supergrids
o
Smartgrids
·
Grid/Network Design
·
Presentation
Introduction
Workshop overview
The Future Grid Workshop is designed to engage students in
the current research being carried out designing the future energy network. It
presents the challenges such a network will face and some of the potential
solutions being considered and encourages the students to come up with
solutions of their own.
Time requirements
The workshop can be tailored to the time available. A very
short version as part of a longer lesson/demonstration would last around 20-25
minutes under the following scheme: brief introduction, 10-15 minutes of
planning time for the students, 5-10 minutes for groups to describe their
solution. However, it can also be expanded into an ongoing project lasting much
longer, for example, a term.
Resource requirements
Included in this workshop pack are the following resources
with which to run the workshop:
-
Map of the UK to print (A3 is best) and laminate
(for re-use)
-
Map of UK population density
-
Map of UK high voltage (HV) electricity
transmission
-
Map of UK rivers and canals
-
Maps of UK natural energy sources (renewable
atlas booklet, key maps picked out as one booklet, key maps picked out on one
A4 page)
-
UK 2020 energy targets
-
Powerpoint slides and graphics for use in
introducing the workshop
-
Energy source, substation and consumer icons
sheets for printing
All maps and images are freely available on the internet and
links are given where possible.
Additional suggested materials (dependent on chosen format
for delivering the workshop and for the students to present their work)
include:
-
Bluetac/similar
-
Scissors
-
Whiteboard/non-permanent markers
A basic overview of the information to give the students is
included. See also Appendix B for links for suggested further reading for both
workshop organisers and participants.
Workshop organisation
Group size - 4-6 students
Short workshop - Each group designs and presents
their own grid solution.
Longer workshops – Either: each group designs and
presents their own grid solution; or each group researches and presents an
aspect of grid design, which can be followed either by all groups combining to
design one grid solution together or each group taking on board the information
presented by others and then designing their own grid solution.
The workshop is designed to use the UK as a case study.
However, students could choose instead to design a grid for a different country
or, indeed, to design either a larger scale grid (e.g. European, global) or a
smaller scale grid (e.g. regional or based on a community).
The workshop is designed to take the format:
·
Introduce students to the subject and concepts
·
Students plan their solution to the problem
·
Students present their solution
Information to give to Participants
Overview of current electricity network
Currently electricity is generated, transmitted at high
voltage on the National Grid throughout the country, transformed to a lower
voltage for regional distribution and received by consumers at a lower voltage
still (see Appendix A for details).
Challenges the network will face
Electricity demand will increase steeply in the following
years due to:
-
Increased population
-
Increased demand per member of population (i.e.
more electronic gadgets per person)
-
Electrification of:
o
Transport
o
Heating
o
Cooking
What’s more, space for transmission infrastructure will be
restricted by population growth. Therefore the future grid will need both a higher
capacity and a reduced physical size.
The other main challenge that will be faced by the grid of
the future is in fact one of data transfer collaboration and cross-network
communication. (See ‘Smartgrids’ in the section ‘Solutions Currently Being Investigated’.)
Variables to investigate
Energy sources:
·
What are the likely to be?
·
Where are they likely to be situated?
·
Large-scale production away from load-centres
(fossil fuel plants, nuclear, offshore wind farms) vs small-scale, local
production (solar panels feeding the buildings on which they sit, small-scale
wind turbines, ground-source heat pumps).
Load-centres/energy consumers:
·
Where are they likely to be?
·
How does this compare to the energy sources?
·
Consumption patterns e.g. peaks and troughs in
energy usage throughout the day/month/season:
o
What are they?
o
How are they caused?
o
What are their effects?
Transmission lines:
·
Conventional conductors (copper, aluminium
alloys) vs others e.g. superconductors, graphene, carbon nanotubes,
ultraconductive copper
·
Overhead vs underground (or ground level?)
·
AC vs DC
·
High vs low voltage
Transmission organisation:
·
Conventional nationwide transmission + regional
distribution vs supergrids, microgrids, other designs
·
Are substations required e.g. to change voltage?
If so, where would they be situated?
Additional technology:
·
Smart devices that monitor grid usage
Other considerations:
·
Social impact
·
Economic impact
·
Use of energy storage
·
Anything else you think of!
Solutions Currently being investigated
NB:- The information here is centred around those solutions
that make use of superconductivity as that is my field of research. However,
other solutions are obviously worth investigating!
Microgrids
The loss problem of transmission (and of step-up/step-down
transformers) exists because energy generation rarely takes place on or near
the point of consumption. However, with the development of generation
techniques that can be incorporated into or very close to a populated
environment, such solar panels and small-scale wind turbines, electricity can
be taken directly from the point of generation to the consumer, bypassing
national-scale grids.
If the majority of generation within a micro-grid is based
on renewable energy sources which provide non-constant power (such as wind and
solar) then energy storage also becomes a significant component of such a
system.
As micro-grids aim to reduce transmission distances and keep
generation close to consumption regions, the transmission infrastructure will
be in close proximity to populated areas. The reduced spacial requirements of a
high-current-density conductor and the increased safety of low voltage
transmission, as well as the increased efficiency, make superconducting cables
an attractive option.
Supergrids
It is likely that fuels such as fossil fuels (while the
resources remain) and hydrogen will continue to be part of the future energy
economy. As such, the issue of transmission from source to point of use,
typical of such geographically limited energy sources (unlike, for example, domestic
solar generation), will therefore continue to exist.
A solution to the combined transmission problems of both
electricity and fuels has been given the name `SuperGrid' and consists of a
very long superconducting cable or `SuperCable' (e.g. East to West coasts of
the USA) cooled by liquid hydrogen, liquid methane or Liquid Natural Gas (LNG).
Electricity and fuels could then be tapped off at various strategic points
along the cable for distribution or immediate use.
Smart grids
As it stands, a combination of fairly constant generation
sources are managed in such a way to match the very un-constant but reasonably
predictable demand. A more efficient solution would be to manage both
generation and load in such a way that they are both reasonably constant.
As generation is becoming less constant with the increase in
use of renewable sources, this becomes an even greater challenge. However, with
the development of automated communication technology it also becomes more and
more feasible. The introduction of `smart' devices which actively monitor grid
load and generation allowing them to adapt their behaviour to draw power during
usage troughs and refrain from doing so during peaks, automates the balancing
of grid supply and demand.
For example, a ‘smart’ washing machine:
·
Load the device when you get home from work and
set it to be finished by the time you get up the next day
·
The device monitors grid usage and waits for a
trough (e.g. around 2am when the majority of people are asleep as opposed to
7.30pm when everyone turns on their lights/ovens/kettles after Eastenders has
finished)
·
If there is an unexpected peak (e.g. people are
still up watching an international event such as the Olympics Opening Ceremony)
the washing machine can pause the cycle and continue when the peak has finished
·
When you get up the washing cycle is complete
Grid/network design
For an overall UK grid solution:
·
Decide on the energy sources you would
expect/prefer to see powering the UK in the future
·
Use the maps provided (or other resources) to
stick (e.g. with bluetac) the energy source icons to the map to show where they
will be situated
·
Use the maps provided (or other resources) to
stick (e.g. with bluetac) the energy consumer icons to the map to show where
they will be situated
·
Draw on the map the designed network connecting
the sources and consumers
o
Colour code/mark conductor types
o
Include substations/storage points etc. if
necessary
·
Highlight any extra features such as combined
fuel transmission/transport
Presentation
The simplest form of presentation is for each group to talk
through selected features of their design using the map as a visual aid.
However, you may choose the final presentation to take any form such as a
poster (including the map), presentation or report.
APPENDIX A: Current UK Electricity Grid System
The current UK electricity network takes the following form,
flowing more or less from North to South:
·
Electricity generated (largely in Scotland and
the North East) at 11-22kV
·
Step-up transformation to 275 kV (9,800 km-long
circuit) or 400 kV (11,500 km-long circuit) for high voltage transmission.
Transmission networks managed by the National Grid but owned by:
o
SHETL (Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission
Ltd.), part of SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc): north of Perth including
the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland
o
SP (Scottish Power) Transmission: the rest of
Scotland
o
The National Grid: the rest of the UK
·
Step-down transformation to 132 kV (5,250
km-long circuit) for regional distribution. Each area is managed by one of six
distribution companies listed in the table below.
·
Step-down transformation to 230 V (50 Hz) for
domestic use. Load centres are:
o
Birmingham
o
London
o
Merseyside
o
North-East England
Distribution Company
|
Region Covered
|
ENW (Electricity North West)
|
North-West England
|
Northern Power Grid
|
North-East
England, Yorkshire
|
SP (Scottish Power) Energy Networks
|
Scotland South, Merseyside, North Wales
|
SSE Power Distribution
|
Scotland
North, Southern England
|
UK Power Networks
|
South-East England, London, East Anglia
|
WPD (Western Power Distribution)
|
South Wales,
West Midlands, East Midlands, South-West England
|
APPENDIX B: Suggested Further Reading
Cryogenics and superconductivity
This is a great website for both organisers and participants
as it not only explains these concepts well but involves lots of exciting
videos – it’s worth a proper explore: http://www.supraconductivite.fr/en/index.php?p=applications-accelerateurs-more#supra-intro
‘The Race to Absolute Zero’, documentary on cryogenics: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/absolute-zero/
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) superconducting cable
joined to grid in 2006 and still transmitting power in 2011: http://www.nexans.com/eservice/Corporate-en/navigatepub_142508_-3663/LIPA_and_American_Superconductor_Bring_the_Largest.html
; http://www.nexans.com/eservice/Corporate-en/navigatepub_142482_-16156/World_s_first_transmission_voltage_superconductor_.html
Timeline of development in cryogenics: http://www.cryogenicsociety.org/resources/cryo_central/history_of_cryogenics/
Superconducting theory: http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/su/Superconductivity
; http://superconductors.org/oxtheory.htm
; http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/su/Superconductivity
Electrical power transmission
Overview of worldwide electricity networks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country
Overview of the current UK National Grid set-up (additional
information to that in Appendix A): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grid_%28Great_Britain%29
HVDC power transmission: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current
; http://new.abb.com/systems/hvdc/why-hvdc
; http://www.cleanpowerconnector.com/project-description/hvdc-technology
Smartgrids: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid
General science and engineering
This is a great site that breaks down many science and
engineering concepts into well-explained, manageable chunks: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
‘Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics’ by Stan
Gibilisco: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/687620.Teach_Yourself_Electricity_and_Electronics
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