SGS set to boost the efficiency of London's power grid

The company’s system will be used in the Low Carbon London project, which itself is one of four schemes that regulator Ofgem is funding as part of its £64m Low Carbon Networks Fund, which it says will be required for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

SGS, which was spun out of Strathclyde University three years ago, deployed its first smart-grid system in 2009 on the Orkney Isles to facilitate the connection of new wind-farm developments to a grid previously considered full to capacity.

According to SGS, the Orkney smart grid has enabled more than 15MW of new generating capacity to be connected to the network without major physical investment, saving an estimated £30m of capital expenditure, which would otherwise have been required to reinforce the network.

’We’re taking the same sort of techniques that we developed and have already demonstrated in more rural networks and applying those principles to more densely packed, congested urban networks — looking at how those things can be translated effectively,’ said Alan Gooding, SGS’ managing director.