Scotland’s Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse has officially opened Natural Power’s new ControlCentre facility in Dumfries and Galloway, from where Natural Power will manage 5GW of onshore and offshore wind, biomass, solar and hydro capacity.
The company has invested GBP 540,000 in the new facility, for which it says is the largest, independently operated 24/7 control room in the UK, managing more than 175 renewable energy assets located throughout the UK, Ireland, France and the US.
The ControlCentre has the flexibility to add new services where required, to upgrade software that will improve service delivery and to accommodate work with specialist suppliers whenever necessary, which is vitally important in an ever-changing industry, Natural Power stated.
The new investment also ensures the ControlCentre complies with all the new EU cybersecurity rules to protect clients’ assets and the grid keeping them safe against potential cyber-attacks.
Stephen Trotter , Managing Director at Natural Power, said: “ I n early 2017 we decided to take control centre to the next level. To ensure Natural Power remained at the forefront of asset management, real-time data provision and security requirements, this investment is designed to deliver the next decade of services to a market where our clients demand more flexibility; where interaction between generators, system and network operators becomes more sophisticated; and where intelligent management of assets brings higher returns.”
“Learning from this facility will play an important role in supporting a low carbon economy in Scotland as envisaged in the Scottish Energy Strategy and Climate Change Plan and I warmly congratulate Natural Power for its commitment to delivering a low carbon future,” Minister Wheelhouse said.