Secure communications rollout for Schroders Greencoat Solar
EMR Integrated Solutions has upgraded the cyber security and comms infrastructure at the solar farm estate managed by Schroders Greencoat Solar.
Tag Archive for: renewable energy
EMR makes light work of secure communications rollout for the solar portfolio managed by Schroders Greencoat LLP
Leading utility network and wireless telecommunications specialist, EMR Integrated Solutions announced it secured a three-year contract to upgrade the cyber security and communications infrastructure at 124 solar farms managed by Schroders Greencoat across the United Kingdom.
Under the terms of the deal, EMR will design, deliver and manage a resilient, secure, cellular network, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of site data and maximum network uptime for the company’s line of business application.
As part of the service, the team at EMR’s network operations centre will monitor all sites and immediately escalate operational alerts relating to communications failures or system outages to relevant third parties.
All users including external third parties enjoy secure remote access based on Zero Trust principles, thanks to a cloud-based, centralised security management platform. Unauthorised access attempts as well as exploits and advanced malware are immediately identified and blocked.
Commenting on the announcement, Adriano Tortora, asset director at Schroders Greencoat LLP said:
“The most important result of this workstream is having pro-active cyber security management in place and this addresses our governance and compliance challenges, which have become more and more relevant in recent times.”
As a first step, EMR’s field engineers conducted a full communications audit at each site. Recommendations were then made for a common network architecture with technology uniformity across the estate.
“Our work with EMR doesn’t stop once all control projects are done,” said Mr Tortora. “Our relationship is based on a partnership which continues to evolve as we acquire more assets. The team are flexible, proactive and great to work with.”
Greencoat Solar has an ambitious acquisition strategy, a move that is reflective of global decarbonisation efforts.
EMR has a strong working relationship with the Schroders Greencoat group, having performed similar communications upgrades at many of its onshore windfarms across the UK and Ireland.
ENDS
Pictured above is Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR Integrated Solutions
EMR announces sponsorship of Scottish Renewables’ Onshore Wind Conference
Leading SCADA network and wireless telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced that it will act as event sponsor at this year’s Scottish Renewables’ Onshore Wind Conference.
The event which takes place virtually on 1st June next is a major date in the diary and brings together leading decision-makers to map out how Scotland can secure a sustainable future for the sector by examining the business opportunities—as well as the obstacles—and considering the system changes needed to achieve its net-zero target.
EMR is in good company and shares a platform with other event sponsors such as SSE Renewables, RWE, Natural Power and official media partner, reNews.
Commenting on the move, Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR said:
“The Scottish renewable energy market is a key area of focus for us in 2021 and beyond. We’re delighted to act as an event sponsor which gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise in building utility-grade networks with other members.”
Renewable energy professionals are invited to EMR’s virtual exhibition booth where we will deliver a live presentation, entitled “Guaranteeing Secure, High Availability Comms to Remote Locations: What are the Pitfalls?”
During the slot, we will explore some of the challenges we see when investing in mission-critical comms networks and how asset managers and site operators can avoid potential operational problems by investing in and securing their communications networks.
Further details on the conference including registration details are available here: https://www.scottishrenewables.com/events/130-onshore-21
Revenue boost for EMR following €13.3m contract win with UK’s Northern Powergrid
- Digital transformation project supports customers and enables low carbon, smart grid future through enhanced remote network management
- EMR’s UK operation to support 20 green energy jobs by 2022
Dunboyne, Co Meath, Thursday, 1st April 2021: Leading utility network and wireless telecommunications specialist, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has secured a €13.3 million contract with the UK’s Northern Powergrid, as part of its digital transformation to a smarter, greener electricity grid.
Under the terms of the deal, EMR will upgrade the company’s secondary Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to an IP (Internet Protocol) communications platform across 7,500 distribution substations.
This investment will enable Northern Powergrid to activate enhanced automation across these substations, centralise control of its remote field assets and build a better understanding of electricity consumption patterns across the grid.
EMR’s UK operation, based in Manchester, is growing steadily and is currently recruiting to support 20 green energy jobs by early 2022.
This project is a critical part of Northern Powergrid’s ongoing work at the forefront of net zero development and green growth. The company powers everyday life for 8 million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the North East of England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.
Commenting on the investment, Mark Nicholson, Northern Powergrid’s Head of Smart Grids, said:
“This project will enhance network flexibility and build more digital capability to meet our customers’ needs now and in the future. It will help facilitate our transition to a Distribution System Operator (DSO) that actively manages varying generation and demands across our grid as our customers become more dependent on electricity to power their lights, heating and transport.
“The ability to remotely operate more of our assets and improve network visibility through collection of real-time monitoring data will help us provide better services to our customers. We can use the IP network to remotely troubleshoot and manage devices across the air, which reduces infrastructure management costs and enables us to be responsive to an active network and the needs of our customers.”
“This is an exciting contract for EMR to be part of,” explained Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR.
“The project design offers Northern Powergrid a secure, responsive and fully compliant technical solution, while delivering a robust and easy to manage platform for the organisation’s team of engineers. Our approach to designing, building and supporting utility networks is viewed by many utility providers as a critical element of their digital transformation efforts and organisations such as Northern Powergrid have responded positively, viewing EMR as a safe pair of hands.”
Paul Green, project manager for Northern Powergrid, said: “The project rollout is underway and due for completion by March 2023.
“We’re working closely with the team at EMR to ensure we have the support we need to deliver our plans. Where we have technical challenges, we work together to overcome them, and the project team is very responsive which is important as we make this investment a reality for our customers.”
EMR entered the UK utility market just over five years ago and during that time has established a strong footprint working with utility providers such as SSE, Greencoat UK Wind, Greater Gabbard OFTO, Northern Ireland Water, Severn Trent Water and Affinity Water.
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Pictured above is Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR
Success in the air for EMR with communications installation for UK offshore transmission system
~ High-speed microwave radio links deployed at Greater Gabbard offshore substations to transport critical plant information including wind turbine data ~
Dunboyne, Co Meath, Ireland, Wednesday, 25th November 2020: EMR Integrated Solutions, a leading SCADA network and wireless telecommunications provider, today announced the completion of a communications project for the Greater Gabbard offshore transmission assets located off the coast of Suffolk in the United Kingdom.
The upgrade involves the deployment of 100Mbps resilient microwave radio links, specifically designed for marine applications. The links, located at two offshore substations, will transport vital plant information including wind turbine data, ensuring uninterrupted operational information to the onshore transmission SCADA system.
Commenting on the project, Roger Morgan, general manager of Greater Gabbard OFTO, said:
“We agreed on the most efficient solution which was mindful of people’s safety, the installation methodology and the project costs. It has been a big success story for us. Everything is working well and it is a rock-solid, robust solution for our needs.”
The team at EMR recommended the use of Advanced Space Diversity technology which uses fewer antennae for microwave connectivity as Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR explains.
“Three antennae, rather than the traditional four, provide a hybrid system with two separate paths. If one path is degraded due to tidal effects, the system immediately switches to the second path without any alarm or interruption. This provides reliable traffic pass-through of data as well as quicker deployment and more cost-effective project costs when compared to fibre-based interconnector replacement.”
As always with offshore installations, the main challenge was access to the substation platforms during periods of bad weather, meaning the project had to be completed during suitable weather windows.
EMR have a proven track record for delivering robust, high-throughput, low-latency solutions for mission-critical remote sites with plant-wide SCADA applications, such as windfarms and oil and gas terminals.
ENDS
EMR keeps Enerco Energy trading with comms upgrade across windfarm portfolio
- Comms infrastructure upgrade completed at 15 onshore windfarms stretching from Cork to Mayo
- Secure, resilient network carries reliable trading data with maximum network uptime
- Helps Enerco Energy meet its data reporting requirements for regulatory purposes
- Announcement coincides with EMR’s exhibitor presence with Enterprise Ireland at the Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference
DUNBOYNE, CO MEATH, IRELAND, Wednesday, 28th October 2020: Leading SCADA network and wireless telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has completed a communications infrastructure upgrade at 15 onshore windfarms for independently-owned renewable energy provider, Enerco Energy.
Stretching from Cork in the south to Mayo in the west, the upgrade provides a secure, robust and resilient communications network allowing Enerco’s energy trading desk to have ‘always on’ access to reliable windfarm data and meet its regulatory reporting requirements to grid operator, EirGrid.
Announcement of the deal coincides with EMR’s exhibitor presence at the Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference, which starts today and takes place virtually until 30th October, 2020.
Commenting on the project win, a spokesperson for Enerco Energy said:
“EMR provide us with a level of comfort in that we know our forecasters are getting the data they require in order to trade efficiently and effectively in the market. With changing regulatory requirements, we had to be able to provide real-time, reliable power data to the grid operator and EMR have helped us to achieve that.”
The EMR team performed a discovery exercise at each windfarm and issued a set of network design recommendations, based on telecoms availability at each site. Fully redundant satellite backup links with automatic failover were deployed, mitigating the risk of network downtime.
A multi-layered information security solution was also configured, protecting the integrity of sensitive trading data as it traverses the internet.
Alan Feenan, director of communications sales with EMR said:
“Enerco Energy leans on the EMR team for the depth of its IT and networking skills. We’re Enerco’s eyes and ears and they trust us implicitly with their most commercially sensitive data.”
The EMR team has built up significant expertise in the onshore wind sector, with similar projects completed at windfarms for Greencoat UK Wind and Greencoat Renewables, across the UK and the island of Ireland.
The Global Offshore Wind 2020 Conference remains open for registrations and the team at EMR welcome virtual visitors to its exhibitor booth. Run jointly by RenewableUK and Scottish Renewables, the conference brings together 400 speakers, over 70 other exhibitors and 22 live sessions, which aim to take a deep dive into the role of offshore wind in the green economy.
EMR is part of the Enterprise Ireland pavilion, which includes six other Irish organisations, addressing the global offshore wind market.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://events.renewableuk.com/gow20
Greencoat UK Wind chooses EMR to upgrade telecoms infrastructure at 18 windfarms across the UK and Ireland
The EMR engineering team is now the “eyes and ears” for all IT comms issues in relation to 17 windfarms, owned by Greencoat UK Wind.
