SP Energy Networks will run trials to assess whether offshore wind farms could be used to restart Britain’s electricity system in the event of a national power outage.
The trials are part of the BLADE project, a three-year programme supported by funding from Ofgem through its Strategic Innovation Fund. BLADE brings together Scotland’s two transmission companies, SP Energy Networks and SSEN Transmission, three international transmission operators, offshore wind developers, equipment suppliers and research organisations, including SSE Renewables and Ørsted.
The project will use laboratory-based simulations to test how offshore wind assets interact with transmission networks during system restoration scenarios.
According to SP Energy Networks, the project is examining how offshore wind can contribute to restoring the grid after a power loss. Britain’s existing grid restart arrangements primarily rely on hydro generators, and offshore wind does not currently form part of these processes.
SP Energy Networks said the work will focus on technical challenges such as system control, protection and coordination, with the aim of informing future approaches to restoring the electricity system used by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The project follows earlier UK initiatives examining how renewable generation could support grid restoration. In 2020, ScottishPower Renewables carried out a grid restart test using an onshore wind farm at Dersalloch in Scotland. More recently, the Distributed ReStart project explored how multiple renewable and distributed energy resources could be coordinated to restore sections of the network following a simulated power loss.
“Electricity drives every part of modern life and alongside ensuring we have a secure, resilient and robust grid, we also must evolve and diversify the technology to restart it in the rare event of a national power outage”, said Eddie Mulholland , Director of Processes and Technology, SP Energy Networks.
“The UK has one of the biggest offshore wind markets in the world and being able to harness that power to restart the grid offers the system operator more options in the event of any emergency. This project will help advance Britain’s electricity network even further and reinforce security of supply.”