ANSIS: Active Network, Synthetic Inertia and Storage

TSB have funded a feasibility study by Nova Innovation into the integration of energy storage with renewable energy supply and local demand at a site with limited grid capacity. The objectives of the study are to maximise the utilisation of local renewable resources and to meet local demand within the constraints of the local grid. The solution will benefit the network operator and the project owner and provide a model that can be adopted by other renewable generators across the UK and worldwide. The technology developed also has wider applications - for example, in maximising the efficiency and control of variable frequency drives.

The project involves: detailed design of an electrical control system; selection and sizing of appropriate storage technology; design, build and and test of the integrated system. The technology will be assessed in a real-world tidal power project - the world's first combined energy storage and tidal power system. This model has considerable scope for expansion, given the remote location of the global marine energy resource.