#THE MERLIN PROJECT FULL#

MERLIN is a full spectrum “integrated solution” that efficiently and optimally connects Investment Planning with the various other DSO functions as defined by the GB based ENA Open Networks Project. “SSEN is committed to ‘learning by doing’ and so the news that Project MERLIN has received funding is fantastic, and I look forward to seeing the contribution it makes to the industries understanding of how power systems can respond to the price signals in a DSO world.” We are entering an incredibly exciting time for UK electricity networks and there are a range of projects undergoing that will help us understand how we deliver the system of the future. Stewart Reid, Head of Future Networks, said: “Project MERLIN is scalable and entirely interoperable. MERLIN will deploy Open Grid Systems’ Cimphony Concert platform and Opus One Solutions’ GridOS platforms on an SSEN owned distribution network in Oxfordshire, with knowledge sharing links with an unfunded sister project in Canada delivered by Hydro Ottawa, underpinned and guided by the academic rigor of University of Cambridge. This approach minimises duplication and maximises the learning gained through both projects. MERLIN will run concurrently with the Oxfordshire DSO demonstrator projects, that seek to replicate the energy system of the future and its impact on the distribution network.

Hydro Ottawa – International Dissemination.

University of Cambridge – Economic Fundamentals and Policy.

Open Grid Systems – Data Management and Integration.Opus One Solutions – Power System Analyses and Economics.However, to deliver a sustainable smart grid for consumers, understanding the effect economics has on the physics, and how the physics constrains or facilitates the economics, will become critical - this is known as ‘Power System Economics’.Īlongside SSEN, MERLIN’s project partners bring a wealth of experience: Traditionally, Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) have used the physics-based ‘Power Systems Analysis’ to assess a power system’s response to events in transient, dynamic and static time scales. Project MERLIN seeks to develop a greater understanding of how power systems respond to price signals, and variable services, to provide clearer investment signals into the UK energy market. SSEN is acting to accommodate the increased demand on the electricity system, and support and secure the transition to a smarter network. The increase in low-carbon, smart and flexible technologies is unlocking new opportunities and markets which will be neutrally facilitated by the UK’s DSOs.

The Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) that serve the UK’s households, businesses and communities are changing to Distribution System Operators (DSO). Project Modelling the Economic Reaction Linking Individual Networks (MERLIN) seeks to solve the problem of managing the variable value of services in a smarter energy system, and has received funding from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Power Forward Challenge. In an industry-first Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is seeking to employ Power System Economics in the UK, building on tools developed in North America.

The merlin project