Cooling is hotting up in the UK

The cooling of buildings is currently responsible for about 20% of total electricity use worldwide. It is estimated that the electricity needed for cooling will more than triple by 2050. Despite this concerning outlook, little attention has been paid to cooling demand in policy and research in the United Kingdom (UK). The demand for space cooling in the UK’s domestic and non-domestic buildings is currently small—about 10% of total electricity use. However, this has the potential to increase as the climate warms and expectations of comfort grow. This paper reviews UK cooling demand and how this has been considered in energy policy. Following a thorough review of the existing literature using a cooling decarbonisation framework (Avoid, Improve and Shift), it is clear there is a limited understanding of the future UK cooling demand for domestic buildings in a warmer future as well as how policy makers and households should act. More importantly, this sector appears under-represented in the UK research and policy landscape compared to heating despite obvious technological crossovers associated with electrification. Several policy and research recommendations have been made based on these findings

Open access simulation toolbox for the grid connection of offshore wind farms using multi-terminal HVDC networks

Decarbonisation of the European electricity system can become dauntingly costly due to transmission and distribution network issues arising from the integration of intermittent renewable generation sources. It is expected that wind energy will be the principal renewable source by 2050 and, as such, a number of initiatives in the academia and in the industry are being carried out to propose solutions to best accommodate the wind resource. This paper presents work carried out by DEMO 1 partners within the EU FP7 project BEST PATHS. A MATLAB/Simulink toolbox consisting of the necessary building blocks for the simulation and integration of offshore wind farms using enabling technologies such as multiterminal high-voltage direct-current grids is presented. To illustrate the toolbox capabilities, a number of system topologies is studied. System performance is assessed and measured against a set of key performance indicators. To ensure knowledge dissemination, the toolbox has been made available as open access in the BEST PATHS project website

Individual channel analysis of the thyristor-controlled series compensator performance

The TCSC is the electronically-controlled counterpart of the conventional series bank of capacitors. A mature member of the FACTS technology, the TCSC has the ability to regulate power flows along the compensated line and to rapidly modulate its effective impedance. In this paper its performance is evaluated using Individual Channel Analysis and Design. Fundamental analysis is carried out to explain the generator dynamic behavior as affected by the TCSC. Moreover, a control system design for the system is presented, with particular emphasis in the closed-loop performance and stability and structural robustness assessment. It is formally shown that the incorporation of a TCSC operating in its capacitive range improves the dynamical performance of the synchronous machine by decreasing the electrical distance and therefore considerably reducing the awkward switchback characteristic exhibited by synchronous generators. It is also formally proven in the paper that the inductive operation should be avoided as it impairs system operation. In general, the TCSC inclusion brings on fragility into the global system, making it non-minimum phase and introducing adverse dynamics in the speed channel of the synchronous machine. Moreover, it is shown that the minimum-phase condition may also be present in cases featuring high capacitive compensation levels

Demand estimation for electric vehicles at rapid charging hubs and peak load reduction using battery energy storage units

Almost a third of global carbon emissions are attributed to the transportation sector – mostly resulting from a dependence on internal combustion engine cars. Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been thus identified as significant components of the carbon emissions reduction plan and, hence, developing a robust recharging infrastructure will increase electromobility's success. EVs may be recharged using slow, fast, rapid, and ultra-rapid technologies. However, rapid chargers consume significant energy from the grid within a short period of time, resulting in pulsating loads. An increased number of rapid chargers will alter the planning and management of all grid-connected operations. Using Deno runtime based on the JavaScript programming language, this paper presents an algorithm for creating stochastic charging profiles and estimating the demand of EVs from rapid and ultra-rapid devices. PSCAD/EMTDC is also used to examine the effect of chargers on the peak demand of a distribution feeder. The findings of this study increase confidence in the viability of connecting rapid chargers with battery energy storage units at strategic places of the distribution network