The necessity of reliable power for buildings is undeniable. Without it, everything comes to a standstill. Business operations cease, customers are left unsatisfied, and revenue stops. Simply put, power resilience is essential for operational continuity. So, where should you begin? With our extensive experience, Powerstar can help you maintain uninterrupted power.
Microgrids
Microgrids are regarded as a practical and reliable solution for the future. They ensure continuous power even under severe circumstances and promote sustainability by utilising clean energy resources. With intelligent control, they can also mitigate rising energy costs. As power demand evolves and increases, microgrids offer a fast, flexible, and adaptive way to boost electrical capacity, avoiding the lengthy and often costly process of grid improvements that may otherwise be required in the event of an unexpected problem.
But why microgrids for power reliability?
If your building has its own internal utility grid, microgrids are considered the optimal solution for preparing for and managing unforeseen events. They ensure a continuous power supply, keeping the property or business operational.
How the climate can threaten power and outages
Despite the advances in weather prediction and the scientific sophistication available to meteorologists, extreme weather events can be hard to predict with precision. This results in unpredictable weather that can disrupt the electricity supply – the electricity supply we need to ‘run’ everything. Therefore, the infrastructure in place has to be able to withstand these weather extremes.
Disruption to supply and a”resilient” response
In the utility industry, proactively assessing potential risks to the electric grid is often referred to as grid hardening or storm hardening. This involves strategic activities undertaken in advance to protect against potential risks, especially infrastructure failures, to prevent outages from natural or man-made causes. Our ageing national infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to weather, cyber, and physical attacks.
While grid hardening is crucial at the national level, it is also necessary locally, particularly for businesses that rely on a steady electricity supply. Utility companies have been working on grid hardening, but it is equally important for high-end users to adopt similar strategies to reduce vulnerabilities and minimise disruptions.
Grid hardening and ageing end-user facilities and premises
In response to unprecedented demand levels, the UK government launched the £16bn “Great Grid Upgrade” in April 2023, the largest in decades. This initiative includes improvements to national infrastructure, transmission facilities, extensive cabling, and the integration of renewable energy sources. Additionally, in January 2024, Scottish Power announced a £5.4bn upgrade to the country’s electricity network.
However, electricity must be transformed from the national grid to the machinery in high-end user buildings. Thus, businesses using power transformers have a responsibility to implement their own “internal” grid hardening. This ensures a consistent electricity supply, maintains safety, prevents outages and downtime, and ultimately safeguards against economic losses.
Some basic power outage preventative measures for businesses
1. Main business infrastructure – areas where transformers are housed should be safe, well-maintained and weather-proof
2. Effective power transformation – Your business needs an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly transformer to accept and convert electricity for its operations.
3. Power line poles – traditional wooden poles are vulnerable to many forms of damage – for example, weather, rot and insects. If they are downed, not only can fire result from the power lines they are supporting, but a major power outage can result. They should be replaced by poles of more durable material.
4. Underground power lines – some business find that while this is a more expensive alternative, it requires less maintenance and is more cost-effective in the long run
Use of smart technology
Smart technology can enhance grid resilience by monitoring power activities within a local grid system and identifying potential issues in real-time before they lead to major problems and outages. It also contributes to overall energy efficiency, reducing costs for the business. Additionally, smart technology can utilize internal grid systems to redistribute energy resources when problems arise.
Defining a power resilience strategy for your buildings
1. How resilient do you need to be?
You need to assess the value of your resilience by estimating the probability of an outage occurring and the resultant real cost in terms of lost income, expenses incurred and environmental impact (not forgetting to include any potential impact from any external influencing factors)
2. Feasibility
Energy needs and system requirements are constantly changing. Undertaking a feasibility study can help you assess the argument for or against a microgrid. You can then identify the risks, requirements, costs and benefits for your own energy system. Powerstar’s power system design experts can provide you with the most suitable and cost-effective energy solutions for your particular business, helping you to future-proof your business.
3. Evaluating on-site resources
A microgrid feasibility study should include an assessment of your current energy sources to gauge future resilience needs. This evaluation can indicate whether realigning existing energy requirements is sufficient, rather than undertaking a complete overhaul. Sometimes, it might be as straightforward as installing a new transformer.
The major advantage of a microgrid system is its flexibility, allowing you to plan for incremental additions of necessary system resources over time. For instance, you can integrate renewable energy into your system and, if you generate excess energy on-site, even sell it.
4. A microgrid, with you in control, equals optimisation
A microgrid is an essential tool for resilience, acting as the system-balancing brains to maximize your existing power infrastructure. It can operate either connected to or independently from the national grid. Managed by a controller, which can be integrated into your internal power switchboard or function as a stand-alone unit, it automates both energy generation and consumption, managing your internal resources.
Microgrids play a crucial role in maintaining power continuity, managing energy costs, and accelerating the adoption of clean energy systems.
Today and the future
Each building is unique, and power resilience must be tailored to your specific business needs. You need a solution that guarantees continuous power for your building or site, regardless of issues with the national grid or adverse weather conditions, while also controlling costs. A microgrid can help you manage your power needs reliably and cost-effectively, support sustainability, and achieve carbon reduction goals.
Contact Powerstar today to discuss your power resilience requirements and learn how we can help you maintain uninterrupted power and keep your business running smoothly.
