The Connectology® Podcast by Roadnight Taylor
Roadnight Taylor’s influential team of elite grid connections specialists (Connectologists®) and their expert guests help you to better understand distribution and transmission network connections, and how to acquire them faster, at less cost and at lower risk.
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Episodes
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 11, 2024
In this podcast, Roadnight Taylor's Connectologists® Kyle Murchie, Pete Aston and Catherine Cleary discuss the Hydrogen development market and various opportunities and challenges around connecting the different types of hydrogen projects to the grid, including:
how connections challenges differ from batteries and generation
the ambitious Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HAR) connection timeframes
regulatory issues around final demand
impacts of the industrial cluster focus
how to design the transmission network to facilitate hydrogen connections
physical access challenges
triggering of new substations
potential for 'tactical solutions'
non-firm connections and;
the potential for extensive liabilities under Final Sums.
To find out more and to get your questions answered by our team of expert Connectologists® in a live Q&A session, join our webinar on Wednesday 20 March at 10am. Register in the link below.
Recorded 1 February 2024
Links:
Register for webinar: Unlocking the potential of hydrogen: exploring grid connections for hydrogen schemes
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
With some 700 schemes about to receive an agreement to vary from National Grid ESO, Connectologists® Kyle Murchie, Pete Aston and Catherine Cleary set out the three reasons why, the differences between these cohorts and the risks and opportunities associated with each.
They explore accelerated connection opportunities, connection offer milestones, curtailment risk and securities implications.
They highlight differences between these agreements to vary and “business as usual” mod apps, and flag the interaction between mod apps and milestones, termination risk and the critical dates to be aware of.
Recorded 1 February 2024
Links:
Podcast: Transmission milestones – who they affect and how, and where to find out more
Transmission queue management – milestones calculator
Podcast: Are your projects’ curtailments about to get a lot worse?
Webinar: Understanding outage risk - transmission
Webinar: Understanding outage risk - distribution
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
In this Grid News and Views episode of the Connectology® Podcast, Roadnight Taylor's Pete Aston hosts colleagues Nikki Pillinger, Philip Bale and Kyle Murchie as they discuss National Grid ESO and the DNOs' progress with the Technical Limits initiative, and:
How valid is the data behind your DNO curtailment assessment?
The milestones calculator for transmission-connecting projects
The migration of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to the National Energy System Operator (NESO)
The consultation on the change in threshold for Large Generators
The risks to developers/investors of the use by network operators of sustained ratings vs cyclic ratings in modelling and operating ANM schemes
The NGESO consultation on market mechanisms to unblock transmission-level thermal constraints to demand and generation
The ESO's 'Technical Solution 2' for enabling battery connections
The lack of a route for accelerating demand connections caught up in transmission-level constraints
The proposed Regional Energy Strategic Planners
Recorded 1 February 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
On this podcast, three of Roadnight Taylor’s elite connections engineers – Connectologists® Catherine Cleary, Pete Aston and Kyle Murchie – explore the history, the mechanism's, strengths, weaknesses and the risks associated with connection offer milestones at transmission - an entirely new thing - which are being impemented following CUSC modification CMP376. There are also links in the description to National Grid ESO's invaluable resources and webinars on this complex and important topic.
The ESO's guidance document can be found here: https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/294211/download and it has upcoming webinars on the milestones on 19 December and 10 January.
Details of these and the materials from the previous ESO webinars on the topic can be found here: https://www.nationalgrideso.com/industry-information/connections/queue-management.
National Grid's milestone calculator is no longer available - but Raodnight Taylor's own version will be available shortly.
Recorded 14 December 2023
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
In this Grid news and views’ episode, Pete Aston hosts colleagues Catherine Cleary and Philip Bale - as well as the freshly-minted fifth Connectologist®, Kyle Murchie - as they discuss National Grid ESO's progress with two-step offers, when this will come to an end, and:
The proposed/impending introduction of LOAs (letters of authority) at transmission
Progress on large transmission reinforcement works
Reintroduction of pre-app calls at transmission (in some cases)
Application of Appendix G into CUSC
The harmonisation of definitions of large power stations across the country
Progress with SGT charging reform
Recorded 13 December 2023
Links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
With increasing levels of risk and complexity associated with investments in large-scale energy projects – not least with regards their grid connections – it is no surprise that investors are increasingly seeking the highest levels of specialised grid expertise for their connection due diligence.
In this podcast, two of Roadnight Taylor’s elite connection specialists – Connectologists® Catherine Cleary and Pete Aston – discuss the key themes that they see determining the success of a connection and of a grid due diligence exercise, and some of the areas of risk that they see having been missed by third parties when a post-acquisition project arrives in their emergency room.
Recorded August 2023
Links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Changes both to Distribution Network Operators' modelling of curtailment and to their real-time operation of ANM schemes are impacting on developers' and investors' abilities to make informed investment decisions - and may lead to significant lost yield over and above what would have been anticipated on any given project. In this shifting landscape it pays to be informed in order to identify those projects with the greatest risks, and to engage positively with system planning teams to seek to address those risks early.
On this podcast, three of Roadnight Taylor’s elite connections engineers – Connectologists® Catherine Cleary, Pete Aston and Philip Bale – explore the issues, help identify higher risk projects, suggest mitigations and point to industry initiatives that may bring about positive change in this important area.
Recorded on 09 November 2023
Links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
Two of our Connectologists®, specialist connections engineers Pete Aston and Philip Bale, discuss the new rules regarding the treatment of Battery Energy Storage Schemes (BESS) by Distribution Network Operator (DNOs) with regards to network connections. The change is as a result of the ENA's three-point plan to accelerate connections and came into force on 30 September 2023.
This is an important, time-sensitive topic that will be of interest to battery storage developers, and developers and investors of large-scale commercial, industrial, real estate and housing with large demand or decarbonisation requirements.
The three tactical solutions and how they might impact schemes and developments are discussed.
Recorded on 26 October 2023
Links:
ENA's Battery Storage Connections - Tactical Solutions Guidance Notes
What are firm and non-firm connections?
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
In this Grid news and views’ episode, Connectologist® Nikki Pillinger hosts colleagues Catherine Cleary and Philip Bale as they report back from National Grid ESO's customer connections seminar on 16 October, and in addition: 1) Update on the Technical Limits initiative phasing, assessments and timings2) Flag that DNO's re-assessment of asset ratings is bringing about significantly higher levels of ANM curtailment risk 3) Discuss DUoS charging increases as a result of socialising of reinforcement under SCR4) Highlight new guidance notes for the treatment of storage by DNOs
Recorded 18 October 2023
Links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
With connection timescales in the late 2030s becoming the new normal for distribution connections, the ENA's Technical Limits initiative seeks to better utilise transmission headroom at each GSP in order to accelerate connections of smaller, more agile projects that are ready to connect.
In this episode Roadnight Taylor's four Connectologists® help developers and investors to understand the implications for the portfolios of large-scale projects they are building or acquiring.
Recorded 6 September 2023
Links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/
Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/
Talk to us at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
Who are Roadnight Taylor?
The Roadnight Taylor team has a connection success rate some five times greater than the market as a whole — on large-scale demand-led projects (housing, commercial and industrial) and energy schemes from solar, wind, battery storage, nuclear, hydrogen and EV charging and from 11,000 to 400,000 volts.
Their Connectologists® are respected and revered within the connections community for their niche expertise, insight, influence, and thought-leadership – and for the edge they give their clients relative to their clients' peers — through acquiring viable distribution and transmission network connections faster, at lower risk, and for less cost.