For the last couple of months, the progress in the Orkney demonstrator has been predominantly weighted towards the data collection and control logic implementation and refinement.
At the end of 2020, almost all equipment specific to the heating installation has been installed. Moreover, 68% of the Electric Vehicle chargers are now operational, and 50% of the equipment is connected to the aggregator, either sending data and/or control functionality.
Curtailment Matching; Through the continued hard work of various project partners within the Orkney demonstrator, three of the four heating configurations have now successfully been brought online and capable of curtailment matching. Over the last two months a number of small curtailment events, on the local power grid, have proven that the capacity of the equipment response is in line with the project scope. However, as a result of non-project related technical issues causing a number of wind turbines in the project area to be turned off, the level of curtailment that the project could intercept has been reduced.
Buffer Tanks; Project partner Community Energy Scotland has continued to work alongside project’s contractor, OVO Energy among others, in order to further refine options for adding buffer tanks to central heating loops.
Data Collection; Collection of electricity and temperature data has continued, through the use of energy monitors and data loggers, to add to project data collected by the Kaluza aggregator platform. Community Energy Scotland also continues to provide quarterly reporting to participants based upon this data collection.
Participant Feedback; As part of SMILE, Community Energy Scotland has continued ongoing discussion with participants in order to gauge project equipment acceptance and find where alterations would be beneficial.
Local Project Legacy; Community Energy Scotland has been in conversations with a local smart energy project in order to ensure all avenues are investigated for determining a route towards creating a successful legacy.
Pandemic Restrictions; COVID-19 lockdown restrictions continue to be a hindrance to the project’s progress and data collection. But due to Orkney’s rural and greater isolation from the rest of the country, the region has been put in a lighter level of lockdown response. This has resulted in project contractors being able to respond to issues very promptly and to also get the remaining equipment installed.
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