Renewable energy operation centre (CORE) in the United Kingdom
Learn about Iberdrola's renewable energy operation centre in the United Kingdom
Iberdrola projects Informatics Renewable energy United Kingdom
The Renewables Control Centre (RCC) is Iberdrola group's renewable energy operation centre (CORE) in the United Kingdom. From there its subsidiary, ScottishPower Renewables, controls and operates 37 onshore and 2 offshore wind farms in real time, with the aim of ensuring that they are operational over 97% of the time. Its manager, Mark Gailey, shows us around the centre.
Mark Gailey, Renewables Control Centre Manager. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF] External link, opens in new window.
In 2008, as part of its internationalisation process, Iberdrola group started working with the ScottishPower Renewables
External link, opens in new window. team on a renewable energy operation centre (CORE) in the UK to oversee the British subsidiary's wind power assets. This is how the Renewables Control Centre (RCC) was created. It was set up at the Whitelee wind farm — the biggest in Europe at the time — just a few miles outside Glasgow, and opened in 2011.
Currently, the centre manages 37 onshore and 2 offshore wind farms representing over 2 GW of active renewable power. To achieve this it supervises in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, over 250,000 pieces of information thanks to a SCADA system that handles over a million variables a minute.
In addition the RCC is connected to the group's other renewable control centres through the CORE platform, making it possible to manage and analyse all the information centrally.
Main functions of the RCC
Maximising the wind farms' production potential
The main objective of the RCC is to ensure that the wind farms managed by ScottishPower Renewables are operational over 97% of the time.
Balancing the grid and offering auxiliary services
We work closely with the UK electricity system operator, National Grid, helping to balance the grid and provide auxiliary services such as reactive power and frequency response bringing additional revenue streams into the business.
