NINES enters next phase

THE FIRST six houses in Shetland have been fitted with new-generation storage and immersion heaters, part of a £34 million smarter-grid pilot project.

The Northern Isles New Energy Solutions (NINES) project, owned and managed by Scottish & Southern Energy, aims to run the local electricity network more effectively to allow more renewable energy on to the grid.

The next phase of the ground-breaking project was announced on Tuesday to coincide with the visit of Ed Davey, the secretary of state for energy and climate change.

It is hoped that during 2013 a further 750 homes will be fitted with new storage heaters to consume power according to the availability of wind, and thus control the constraints of the electricity network via an active network management (ANM) scheme, developed by Glasgow-based Smarter Grid Solutions.

NINES project manager Stewart Reid said: “The next generation storage and immersion heaters are the first low-carbon technology we are trialling as part of NINES.

“Other energy storage technologies will also be trialled, and this new ANM scheme will allow us to explore how to accommodate large numbers of low-carbon technologies within our existing electricity network. The ultimate aim is to find a sustainable way to run Shetland’s electricity network.”

In future phases of the project, the scheme will integrate energy storage, industrial demand, new wind generation, and other controlled resources, to reduce reliance on the diesel-fuelled Lerwick Power Station and increase the use of renewable energy.

This initial trial will test the scope for large-scale demand side management, and the results will provide a blueprint for incorporating domestic demand side management into future smart grids.