Energy Exemplar to help National Grid ESO shape energy transition
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Team Energy Exemplar- As part of a multi-year agreement Energy Exemplar will provide National Grid ESO, Britain’s Electricity System Operator with the PLEXOS software and Cloud platform;
- This will provide National Grid ESO with a greatly enhanced capability to model future energy scenarios and required upgrades to the national electricity transmission network, to enable the transition to a decarbonised energy system, including the cost-efficient integration of new technologies in large scale renewables, green hydrogen and other areas;
- The expanded planning and modelling capabilities will also allow for co-optimised planning with the UK gas network, supporting National Grid ESO in its transition to the energy future system operator, responsible for long term planning on both the national gas and electricity networks.
17 August 2022 – LONDON: National Grid Electricity System Operator and Energy Exemplar have today announced a multi-year agreement to use the unified energy market simulation platform, PLEXOS. National Grid ESO will use PLEXOS to identify cost-efficient grid expansion priorities to enable the transition to a carbon-neutral UK energy system.
PLEXOS modelling software enables users to plan for a cost optimal and reliable future energy system for the next 20 to 30 years in line with Britain’s ambitious climate commitments as well as regulatory and market requirements.
This new data modelling tool will help to shape future versions of the Future Energy Scenarios, which set out potential pathways to net-zero by or before 2050. PLEXOS will also help shape the Network Operations Assessment report, a regulatory required document published by the National Grid ESO each year with recommendations for which transmission system reinforcement projects should receive investment.
PLEXOS was selected for its versatility, supporting nodal modelling for more granular future planning, co-optimisation of power and gas, as well as scalable cloud computation infrastructure. It will support offshore network modelling for proposed wind turbine farms, model and help minimise the probability of outages (LOLP) and provide a higher level of integration and automation of current processes to the National Grid ESO experts. Also included are Energy Exemplar’s full European Datasets to analyse the integration of the UK into the neighbouring European energy market.
“We are humbled and proud to announce this partnership with National Grid ESO as Britain is implementing an ambitious transition towards a cleaner energy mix. The next few years will be crucial to lay the foundation for this transition and the ability to integrate new technologies at scale.
Our software PLEXOS will provide a key capability to support the continued and proud tradition of UK energy innovation which started in 1881, when Britain provided the world’s first public power supply in Godalming, Surrey, with energy generated from a water wheel.”
- Michael Schneider, Senior Vice President, Head of EMEA at Energy Exemplar
The contract contains a three-year fixed period with two one-year optional extensions.
PLEXOS is the globally leading application used around the world by private and public organisations to forecast and analyse energy trends and resulting system implications. Insights gathered from modelling will help National Grid ESO to anticipate and respond to market changes efficiently, optimising decision-making and help to save on overall system costs.
“PLEXOS will further strengthen the analysis the ESO undertakes to identify the optimal pathways to net-zero and will support the ESO in assessing the optimal pathways for future network infrastructure decisions, ensuring that we can continue to deliver a network that is secure, reliable and delivers value for consumers as we move towards net-zero.”
- Iain Shepherd, Enhanced Network Capability Development Manager at National Grid ESO
About Energy Exemplar: Energy Exemplar develops and supports PLEXOS, the market leading integrated energy simulation software. Along with electric power, water & gas datasets, users can digitally replicate real-world energy markets to deliver crucial forecasting. From short-term analysis to long-term planning studies, PLEXOS helps to inform trading, generation scheduling, capacity expansion and market analysis across industry sectors. From their regional HQs including the US, Europe, North and South America and as well as Asia, Energy Exemplar helps 400+ customers, comprising a large share of the world’s top energy market stakeholders, across over 60 countries analyse scenarios for the most accurate outcomes while supporting their organisational and digital transformation.