Demonstrating the Control of Aggregated Domestic Battery Energy Storage Systems for LV Network Efficiency

Abstract

The LV Connect and Manage project, delivered by Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Nortech Management Limited, has demonstrated an Active Network Management (ANM) solution to facilitate the timely connection of Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) whilst traditional network reinforcement takes place. The results presented in this paper prove that LV ANM can be used as a short or long-term alternative to network reinforcement by demonstrating the automated control of the power output of battery storage systems in domestic properties, in response to the power flows monitored at the distribution transformer. In this way, the LV Connect and Manage solution acts as a platform for the control of aggregated distributed energy resources (DERs) and, for the first time in the UK, this has been demonstrated in live operation. This work paves the way for energy efficiencies and local markets to be introduced into the LV network (whereby peer-to-peer trading is facilitated and local demand is met by local generation and storage, rather than being sourced from remote generation).