Future-proofing wind power: The innovative grid stability technology underpinning the net zero transition

Lucy Kent, Principal Project Manager, Grid Integration, Statkraft UK. 

Wind energy has now overtaken gas as the number one source of electricity in the UK, with onshore wind generation due to double by 2030 – but this requires the GB’s electricity grid system to rapidly adapt to accommodate a changing generation mix. Wind Energy Week 2024 presents an opportunity to highlight the lesser known but vital technologies maintaining ‘grid stability’, enabling more renewables to operate on the grid long-term.

Replacing fossil-based grid stability

In traditional power plants running on coal, gas or thermal, energy from turbines is converted into electricity using generators, for use by homes and businesses. These large turbines store kinetic energy, and as a result significant inertia, automatically providing rapid power responses during sudden interruptions in the electricity network. This response is similar to a bicycle that continues to roll along after the cyclist has stopped pedalling. When power interruptions occur, such as when a generator trips or a power line is cut, frequency deviations can have major implications for grid stability – and in the worst case, cause a blackout. In short, inertia is vital in keeping the GB lights on.

Renewables, such as wind and solar farms, as well as interconnectors and grid-forming Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), generate power without the inherent inertia to respond to occasional or unexpected rapid changes in electricity frequency. Alongside the growth in renewables, to ensure grid stability is maintained, the GB grid must adapt.

Solutions to allow more renewables to operate on the grid 

To meet this stability challenge, in 2019 the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG ESO) launched its ‘Stability Pathfinder’ programme to procure new stability provision at strategic locations across the GB grid. In response, Statkraft developed Greener Grid Parks (GGPs) to provide stability, resilience and security to GB’s electricity network. 

Our operational GGP sites at Keith, in Scotland and Lister Drive, near Liverpool, feature synchronous compensators. Mirroring the function of turbines in fossil fuel power plants, these compensators include flywheels (up to 200 tonnes in size) that store and release carbon-free kinetic energy. These synchronous machines and flywheels demand a small amount of electrical power to maintain rotational speed and inertia. By utilising synchronous compensators, BESS, or a combination of both at our GGPs, we are able to supply power to the grid instantaneously in the event of a drop in frequency, without the need for fossil fuel power plants. Without solutions such as GGPs, NG ESO is forced to pause renewable generation and reinitiate fossil fuel plants to provide a minimum level of inertia. GGPs enable the integration of more renewables while maintaining the stability of our electricity grid.

We are currently constructing GGPs in Neilston, South of Glasgow, and in Thornton, East Yorkshire, with two further GGPs beginning construction later this year in Swansea and Coylton in Ayrshire, Scotland. Learn more about Statkraft’s full range of GGPs in development here.

 Statkraft has a goal of an emission-free, renewables-based power grid that can simultaneously deliver a stable and secure energy supply to households, business and industry.

Our GGPs support our drive to deliver more wind and other renewable power – and achieve net zero.