New contracts for hydro on Islay will support power network
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has placed its first economicallyviable Constraint Managed Zone (CMZ) contracts on the Isle of Islay.
These are for a total of 6MW worth of services to support network outage and will be supplied by hydro power drawn from a reservoir on the island during ‘adverse network conditions’.
Cost-effective
The support provided through the contracts will also deliver cost-effective alternatives to traditional temporary generation services for the homes, businesses and communities SSEN serves and reduce reliance upon fossil fuel.
‘Services to support periods of network outage are particularly important for our Highland and island customers who can experience harsh weather conditions. We are delighted to be increasing the resilience of our service through these contracts,’ said Stewart Reid, the company’s head of future networks.
CMZ contracts are a central part of a ‘flexibility first’ commitment, where options such as renewables and energy storage are considered when addressing network issues prior to investing in the more traditional methods; this provides opportunities for smart energy technology to compete with traditional forms of network management.
SSEN is looking at more of these contracts across the region and intends to secure 20MWs of contracted services before January 2020, with the aim of doubling this to over 40MW by the end of March 2020.