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The Power Systems research team at Imperial made pivotal contributions in the design of power transmission networks, the equipment within these networks, and non-conventional electricity systems. Since 2008, the impact of their research has been to:
I1) influence government policies by contributing to House of Common Select Committee (2010);
I2) support the Fundamental Review of Supply Quality and Security Standards;
I3) assist National Grid in defining new investment affecting £3bn worth of network assets now approved by the regulator (2013);
I4) provide tools to develop the first offshore networks design standards in 2008, saving an estimated £500m by 2013 to date and a projected overall saving of £1-2bn by 2020;
I5) advance Alstom's design concept for next generation HVDC converter stations for offshore wind connection from TRL 1 in 2009 to TRL 4 in 2013 supported by 3 new patents;
I6) enable UK Power Network to plan network investment of £1.18bn and make savings of £130m (2013) through applying new technologies and demand response;
I7) facilitate a scheme for off-grid energy kiosks for electrification in rural Africa yielding social gains and a business opportunity.
Prof Irving and Prof Sterling of the Institute of Power Systems at Brunel University collaborated with National Grid (NG) to develop and deploy a Sparse Dual Revised Simplex (SDRS), optimisation engine for real-time power allocation of all generators that were controlled by the NG. Since 2005-6 NG has been using the algorithms to aid in operation of their Balancing Mechanism, which provides a means of adjusting the level of production or consumption of individual generators or demands in the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA). The algorithms enable the Balancing Mechanism (BM) to efficiently adjust outputs of generators in real time in order to balance the demand for electricity at minimum cost. Therefore, providing economic balancing of the transmission system at a scale of 2-3% of the £5bn annual electricity market (approximately £100M-200M per annum), hence about £800 million has been optimally traded in total in the BM since 2008. It is also important to acknowledge the reliability of the algorithms and SDRS optimisation engine from 2006 to present day, as periods of software outage carry high operational costs. The algorithms developed at Brunel continue to have very significant real world impact in terms of financial volume and its reach, such that every transmission scale power generator in the UK participates in the balancing mechanism and by implication every electricity-user benefits.
The Leicester Variwave project, in relation to electrostatic dust precipitation, utilises a novel high voltage, high frequency, high power transformer within the power supply, which has enabled cuts in industrial emissions of ~50 per cent and considerable cost savings. Most new-build power stations and many other industrial sites now use technology based on that developed in Leicester. As well as fly ash and dust, the technology has the ability to trap sub-micron particulates thought to be partly responsible for the increase in the number of asthma cases during the past few decades. The MD of [text removed for publication] states `Through publications made by ...Leicester ...we were interested to learn how the team designed their high voltage transformer, and how that transformer operated with the high frequency, high power switched-mode electronics. They achieved that `Holy Grail' combination [of high voltage, frequency, high power] in a 70 kW switched-mode power supply (SMPS) running at 20 KHz and at 50 kV. The publication in the IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery was very helpful, and enabled us to choose the direction when pushing the design boundaries in developing our own high power, high voltage technology for electrostatic precipitators'. Dr Devine, a key member of the Leicester team between 1995 and 2000, was employed by [text removed for publication] in 2001 purely on the basis of his knowledge of Variwave. [text removed for publication] now have 200 units in operation. In 2002 Dr Devine was head-hunted for his knowledge of Variwave and moved to [text removed for publication], who also developed commercial units. The uptake of the technology has been growing steadily since 2001. Exemplar data from one company on the associated reduction in emissions shows 195 switched mode power units installed in boiler plants worldwide by 2004 gave a reduction of around 60%. A 60% reduction in emissions is equivalent to a reduction from 40 mg.m-3 to 16 mg.m-3 of flue gas particulates. Since 2004 to date there are now estimated to be at least 5000 units installed worldwide.
This addresses improvements in the design of hydraulic transmission systems, for vehicular and renewable energy generation systems, by replacing the mechanical gearboxes to reduce their significant energy losses. This ERPE design of novel digitally controlled hydraulic transmission systems has culminated in the licensing, manufacture and production of high efficiency hydraulic gearboxes, now registered as the Digital Displacement® (DD®) patented technology.
This novel technology enabled the formation of the spin-out company Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd., with 30 staff in 2008, which was acquired by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., in 2010, enabling the growth to 50 employees today.
Our work has facilitated the creation of a variety of innovative control strategies for First Hydro Company (FHC), owner of Europe's largest pump storage plant. FHC's two plants are both supported by the simulation platform developed as part of our research and responsible for balancing load variation on the National Grid. Critically, FHC's business model relies on their ability to provide ancillary services within a short time. Our research produced a comprehensive plant model, and was used to enhance the dynamic response of the Dinorwig station; this resulted in improvement in National Grid stability and has provided competitive advantages to FHC since 2008.
Research by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) on high-reliability micro-inverters for use in solar power systems was commercialised by DoEng spin-out company Enecsys Limited. Since 2008, Enecsys has attracted GBP34M in private investment, increased its number of employees from 7 to 75 people across three offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, and shipped more than 150,000 micro-inverter units. Its revenue in financial year 2012/13 was USD11.7M. Solar power installers have confirmed that Enecsys' products, in comparison with traditional string inverters, are: easier, cheaper and safer to install; more reliable; and able to extract more energy from an array of solar panels. Enecsys products are also changing the market for solar power with simple plug-in solutions that home owners buy from retailers and install themselves.
Collaborations funded through EPSRC Interact and RCUK UK-China Science Bridge resulted in QUB's advanced control research having important economic and environmental impact in China, Pakistan, Vietnam. This includes the creation of new core modules for the Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co (SAIC) SUPMAX Distributed Control System series of products now in use for whole plant monitoring and control to maximise energy efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions. These products have since 2008 increased SAIC's revenue by over $50M p.a. Related networked monitoring technologies have been successfully deployed in Baosteel's hot-rolling production lines and in the Nantong Water Treatment Company that treats 20,000 tonnes of industrial waste water daily.
Research at Bath has developed a new network charging methodology, known as "Long Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) pricing for electricity distribution systems". The methodology enables the calculation of location-specific annual network charges for electricity generators and suppliers. It has replaced the flat-rate charging approach used by the industry for the previous 25 years. Bath's work on LRIC has led to: 1) major impact on government policy, because in 2008 the UK regulator Ofgem required Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to adopt LRIC as an industry standard, using the evidence provided by Bath that LRIC's uptake can lead to efficiency savings over the next 20 years of about £200 million for DNOs, and 2) major impact on industrial practice, because the subsequent industrial adoption of LRIC over 80% of the UK distribution area has enabled the DNOs to promote efficient use of the existing infrastructure. Further, LRIC's adoption in the UK has triggered a wide review of transmission and distribution pricing in countries including Brazil, Ireland, India and China. It also led to the establishment of the IEEE International Working Group on Network Charging, chaired by Li (Bath). Many of LRIC's key researchers at Bath have subsequently taken key roles in network planning and pricing in UK and international industry.
The supply of electrical energy to centres of demand is an increasingly important issue as our power generation sources decarbonise. Without innovation in our use of high voltage cables, security of supply to our major cities cannot be guaranteed. Our research has:
The energy regulator, Ofgem, drew on research from the University of Birmingham when it instructed the electricity industry to re-design transmission charges that recover £1.6 billion per year. This instruction, issued in May 2012, was the culmination of Project TransmiT which Ofgem launched in September 2010. As part of TransmiT, Ofgem commissioned three teams of academics to consider whether changes to transmission prices were desirable and, if so, to recommend changes. One of these teams was from the Universities of Birmingham and Strathclyde. The changes introduced by Ofgem — which aimed to send more accurate signals of the cost of dealing with low-carbon electricity — were those recommended by the Birmingham and Strathclyde team. As a consequence, the research has fundamentally shaped a significant change to the future of electricity pricing in Great Britain, affecting the costs incurred by the industry and the payments made by every consumer in the country.