Senergy, a global specialist in diversified energy services, has achieved a significant milestone for the UK’s renewable energy sector. The company’s award-winning GridConnection.co.uk website, which provides feasibility reports for the electrical connection of renewable energy projects, now covers the North West of England region. The launch of the new data increases coverage of the grid in Great Britain to more than 80% - meaning that Senergy’s Econnect division is well on its way to achieving its target of 100% coverage of Great Britain.

The electricity distribution system in the North West of England region is the responsibility of Electricity North West Ltd and is commonly referred to as the United Utilities network. Through GridConnection.co.uk, users are now able to access electrical network information and run connection assessment reports in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire. The North West is a hotbed of renewable activity with around 350MW of generation already operational, 180MW in construction, and almost 1.3GW of projects in the pipeline. In total, this is enough to power 1 million homes, over a third of North West England.

Jon Monk, head of power and electrical services at Senergy Econnect, said: “The addition of the United Utilities data is a major step forward as it enables developers to assess whether their projects in the North West are feasible and to determine the real potential of their sites. A significant amount of time and resources has been invested in achieving this milestone, which can help more of our clients with the connection of their projects to the grid system.

“We are also exploring additional functions for the website, which may assist the industry by using automation during a time when key technical resources are scarce. Following the release of the United Utilities data, the team are also continuing to process and add new information, as well as updating the existing data to ensure our clients have access to the most up to date network information.”

Senergy Econnect’s pioneering online renewable feasibility software was specially developed to allow those interested in connecting renewable energy schemes to quickly, accurately and cost-effectively carry out grid integration assessment studies for projects such as wind farms and biomass schemes. The easy-to-use assessment tool allows users to create automated connection assessments on-line and in minutes at low cost, detailing whether the network has the capacity and the approximate cost of connection.

GridConnection.co.uk, which is hosted by Infoterra, was industry recognised by being awarded the Most Innovative Web or Enterprise-based Product or Service 2008-09 accolade by Great Britain’s national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey.

The UK’s largest land manager, the Forestry Commission, is among those accessing the GridConnection.co.uk software to identify the costs and technical feasibility of connecting to the distribution network to determine the real potential of its sites.