UK Power Networks (UKPN) has installed new technology which it claims can detect and protect electricity networks from faults faster than any similar technology currently available.

Dubbed to be the "world's first and fastest", the Power Electronic Fault Limiting Circuit Breaker, installed at a substation in Tower Hamlets, East London, as part of a trial, can detect faults on the network in just four-thousandths of a second - 20 times faster than existing ones, reports Smart Energy.

The device makes it easier for low carbon energy technologies such as wind, solar and combined heat and power (CHP) units to be connected to the grid and at lower cost by reducing the need for significant physical infrastructure upgrades.

The $8 million (£6.2 million) project is funded by Ofgem's Network Innovation Competition and will run until 2021.

Source: Smart Energy