Investigating smarter distribution gridsIndustrial companies, public institutions, and private individuals are all showing a growing interest in distributed electricity
generation for both economic and environmental reasons. Although grids are not expected to change drastically in the near future, they will have to evolve to accommodate interconnection
with these new power systems.
Laborelec has tackled this challenge through a number of diverse pilot projects and takes into account the most recent international standards.Small-scale wind parks, photovoltaic systems (PV ), and combined heat and power systems are environmentally friendly and are supported by incentives from governments.
However, the connection of an increasing number of these power generation systems to the existing grid confronts grid operators with a complex technical challenge.
Emmanuel De Jaeger, Product Line Manager for Electrical Power Systems and Metrology: ‘The main concerns are protection, safety, and power quality of the grid system. It will be difficult to drastically adapt the existing grids in any fundamental way however. The best solution appears to be to make them more flexible and intelligent by incorporating new automation and protection devices.’
This smartgrid concept is not new, but there are still numerous problems to be investigated.
Laborelec invests in both research and pilot testing to retain its position at the forefront of smartgrid developments. [ Acquiring practical experience with microgridsDistributed generation systems can improve reliability of power supply for
local grid users when incorporated into a microgrid. Microgrids can indeed be designed to function autonomously in the event of power quality or availability problems on the main grid. Laborelec is building up practical experience with this concept through various ongoing projects.
In 2008, a pilot microgrid went fully operational at the Laborelec site in
Linkebeek. It can deliver the energy produced from 30 kWp of photovoltaic power and 11 kWp of micro-wind power to local consumers. ‘We have invested in getting practical experience in this field because it enables our experts to investigate the various problems that can occur with decentralized electricity production in day-to-day operations,’ says De Jaeger.
‘It also helps us to build up hands-on experience with managing microgrids,
particularly regarding stability and voltage quality issues. Another important learning experience was Laborelec’s contribution to the design and construction of the Princess Elisabeth Research Station, the first zero emission scientific installation to be built in Antarctica. ‘Several of our experts joined the team in Antarctica.
Since there is no electricity grid to connect to, the project will reveal new aspects of microgrid optimization such as the necessity for a continuous balance between electricity generation and consumption.’ [ Scaling up pilot projectsLaborelec aims at scaling up its Linkebeek microgrid to acquire deeper insight into the subject. De Jaeger says that ‘As part of a master plan for future renovation at our own premises, we seize the opportunity to reconsider our own electrical network.
The idea is to build a pilot project on a larger scale, featuring substantially more PV systems and wind turbines than the current microgrid.’ It will give Laborelec the opportunity to work almost autonomously.
For this project, Laborelec will use the IEC 61850 standard for substations, the new international standard for power system control data transmission. [ Smart metering for more grid intelligenceSmart meters are a crucial step in providing existing grids with more intelligence.
They will be an important part of any well-functioning microgrid. De Jaeger:
‘The smart metering concept was originally aimed at optimally matching intermediate invoicing with real consumption.
But over time, additional functions such as energy consumption management by the operator have been gradually added to the system. We have intensively studied Power Line Communication as a means of transferring data such as meter readings between the various components.
Our next step is to carry out field tests to gain insight into technical problems during real functioning. For instance, signal noise problems occur more frequently in real testing conditions than they do in a laboratory environment.’ This experience will enable Laborelec to provide technical advice to grid operators as well as to help partners within the GDF SUEZ Group to develop additional services for their customers. |
