Clarke Energy has passed the first Energy Networks Association (ENA) G99 test of two Jenbacher 624 engines, recently installed at AGR’s Caswell Peak Power generating facility in Stevenage. This installation is a peaking station able to generate 9MW of electricity with rapid response to help balance the local electricity grid. The test was the first Type B test witnessed by engineer Paul Southgate from UK Power Networks (UKPN) since it replaced the long standing G59 connection on 27th April.
The G99 covers the requirement for the connection of generation equipment in parallel with public electricity distribution networks. The shift from high-capacity base-load, centralised, coal and oil power stations towards a larger number of lower capacity and intermittent generators including solar and wind power, has caused the grid to become less stable with frequency and voltage.
The ENA had previously visited INNIO Jenbacher’s factory in Austria for witness testing and issued them with a certificate of conformity stating that Jenbacher engines are G99 approved. Two days of rigorous testing then took place at Caswell Peak Power undertaken by Clarke Energy’s engineers and witnessed by UKPN. Relays were taken out and set up on a test bed, using different parameters and constraints to determine if the engine can withstand the instability or if it is caused to trip.
Due to the current uncertainty in the industry about how G99 will be implemented, Clarke Energy passing their first G99 test is a key indication of the engineering capabilities of Clarke Energy team to deliver grid connected generation projects within the new stricter requirements.
