Irish software company NovoGrid has successfully executed a two-year pilot with ESB Networks at SSE Renewables’ Richfield wind farm in County Wexford.
Using GridBoost, NovoGrid’s proprietary grid edge intelligence software, SSE Renewables saved over 300,000kWh of renewable electricity, which would have previously been lost in delivery to the grid.
The amount is enough to power 70 Irish homes annually, over the project period.
GridBoost, a patented technology which automates and removes inefficiencies in renewable generators and electrical grid operations, was developed by Andrew Keane and his team at University College Dublin (UCD).
NovoGrid, a UCD spin-out company, was established to commercialise the technology.
Keane, NovoGrid’s co-founder and CTO, said: “Completing the GridBoost pilot project with the ESB and SSE is a key milestone for the company, after a long and rigorous process, resulting in the saving of a significant amount of energy.”
He added: “The world is shifting away from fossil fuel to decentralised energy resources and technologies such as GridBoost are needed by grid operators and renewable generators to manage that transition in an efficient and rapidly scalable way.”
A 2015 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) funded report found that installing GridBoost across the Irish wind farm fleet would save Irish energy customers €2.2 million in costs and 16,300 tonnes of CO2 annually.
The benefits equate to a significant percentage of the emissions targets for the electricity sector by 2030 as laid out in the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019.
In addition, these emission reductions would be achieved at a negative abatement cost.
NovoGrid’s GridBoost is already installed in a number of wind farms in the UK and trials are also under way in Germany.
NovoGrid co-founder and chief commercial officer Paul Manning said: “Today’s results announcement from our first Irish pilot installation is exciting but challenges remain.
“While we now have successfully demonstrated GridBoost in a pilot in Ireland, the Irish regulations are over two decades old and have failed to keep pace with technology.
“We cannot currently sell GridBoost in Ireland until they are updated.
“We would ask the Government, in light of the new Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill, to prioritise this quick win for Ireland towards achieving the vital 7% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions.”