The grid is the hidden opportunity to achieving net zero few people talk about. The current grid simply cannot handle the volume of new renewable energy and the growing demand for full electrification. It is a bottleneck of 100-year-old, siloed technology – technology operating at the mechanical level of a typewriter – when we could harness the power of digital technology, like the internet. At Smart Wires we see the transition to the digital grid as one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century – one that will impact generations to come, and one that we are determined to solve.
SmartValve is a digital power flow control technology that quickly solves bottlenecks and grid issues to create extra capacity. It is a patented, award-winning, single-phase, modular-SSSC that injects a voltage in quadrature with the line current to synthesize a capacitive (- Ωs) or inductive (+ Ωs) reactance. This means it can push power off overloaded lines or pull power onto underutilized lines. SmartValve also provides dynamic services including improving voltage stability and transient stability. Unlike physical series capacitors or inductors, the injected voltage can be controlled independently of the line current, allowing the series reactance produced by the device to be varied in real-time.
SmartValve is a ground-breaking development for power flow control technology. Harnessing the power of silicon and software, it paves the way forward for series–connected FACTS (Flexible Alternating
Current Transmission Systems) by providing a modular, digital, and future-proofed technology.
Distinct from legacy technologies based on copper and steel, SmartValve leverages a modular, transformerless approach, sealed forced air cooling, integrated fast–acting bypass, and deployment flexibility to deliver greater solution value. This move towards a modular, digital offering eliminates many disadvantages of previous devices, providing a flexible and scalable technology with high reliability, faster delivery and installation, with multiple network applications.
Solve grid bottlenecks to quickly and cost-effectively create capacity that is available on the existing grid
Enable faster and more cost-effective connection of new renewable (onshore and offshore) generation by increasing network capacity. Supply new demand more efficiently as society moves towards wide-scale electrification
Facilitate extended outage windows and accelerate construction of new facilities or rebuilding of existing facilities (e.g. voltage uprates) to deliver projects on time and on budget
Enable increased interregional power transfer across seams or borders to provide greater access to clean affordable electricity and reduce price differentials between bidding zones
Increase gross margin and reduce curtailment of renewable generation/uneconomic dispatch to reduce cost of energy for end consumers
Reduce or defer capital investment decisions until more certainty on future system needs, and retain flexibility to adapt or relocate SmartValves dependent on how the system needs evolve over time
Powerful synergies exist when SmartValve is combined with our analytics and advisory services, and dynamic line rating software SUMO. With this suite of grid enhancing technologies, we combine the power of modelling, analytics, dynamic ratings, and digital power flow control to help grid operators meet the demands of renewable energy adoption and demand-side electrification across the world.