On a Cornwall wind farm, the future of environmental wellness hangs in the balance. This is in the form of an unassuming looking grey box, which has been described as a ‘very clever box’. It automatically adjusts the voltage output so that the grid does not become overloaded at any point.
The energy firm had previously warned that the electricity grid in Cornwall was no longer up to the task of taking on any further renewable sources of power and now the wellbeing of the energy firm rests on this one little grey box.
Cornwall currently produces more than 80 megawatts of electricity from various renewable energy sources including solar, hydro-electric and wind. With another 40 solar farms planned for the future, which will bring another 250 MW into the network, this gives Cornwall the possibility of being an exporter of power to the rest of the country.
If the trials of this grey box prove to be successful, farms such as the one in Roscow will be able to connect without any need for the expensive grid reinforcement, increasing the wellness of the power industry in that part of the world.
Results have already been very pleasing, and a bigger trial is now planned using three grey boxes rather than one to assess the impact on a much larger scale. It is thought that such devices in the future will mean that wind and solar farms can be connected to the grid with greater ease and with a much lower cost.
It is hoped that controlling the distribution costs in this way will be a vital element in helping to keep bills down for consumers all over the country.
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