Page 5 - Public Report: Landis+Gyr’s Automated Network Management solution validation at TECNALIA’s smart grid competence center

Landis+Gyr ANM solution validation report 2. Objectives The EU aims to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. More renewable energy will enable the EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions and make it less dependent on imported energy. Moreover, end-users’ consumption habits and the characteristics of the loads that are connected to the grid are changing. The penetration of new electric loads such as electric vehicles and heat pumps grows day by day. The integration of distributed energy resources (DER) coming from renewable generation is technically challenging in existing medium-voltage (MV) distribution networks. Existing distribution networks were designed to distribute the centrally generated energy to the different customers. The design and operation of the electricity distribution networks always assumed power flows from higher-voltage networks to lower-voltage networks. This assumption is valid for passive networks. However, the connection and operation of significant DER (of varying technologies) alter many network characteristics, in turn making the existing assumptions of network design and operation less applicable to distribution networks. The combination of intermittent renewable generation and changing consumption habits causes several technical difficulties, such as: Voltage fluctuation effect (especially in long and rural feeders). Existing voltage control systems such as line drop compensation may no longer be suitable if generation is connected to the feeder. Overvoltage situations have a negative impact on the service life of electrical devices cause higher technical losses and can trigger the feeder line / transformer safeguards. Undervoltage situations can cause flicker, alter the operation of synchronous machines and unintentionally trigger safeguards; Line and network equipment overloading that reduces their service life; Reverse power flows that alter normal operating procedures. In island systems, microgrids and weak networks, the challenges are even higher and include stability problems and frequency deviations. Distribution system operators tend to apply the “fit-&-forget” operational approach when dealing with DER connection requests. This implies that at any given network point, a generator is only connected if in the worst case scenario it would not cause any disturbance. As the ratio between the output power of the DER and the short-circuit power of the connection point increases, the probability of problems also increases. Connection at higher-voltage levels causes fewer disturbances, but is much more expensive and prevents widespread connections of this kind. The reinforcement of existing distribution networks to allow them to cope is often economically unviable, so the solution must come from innovative network control, active management and adequate signals from regulation. The role of regulators is critical. To accommodate as much distributed generation as possible, it is necessary to find solutions to these problems. The objective of this project is to demonstrate that the use of innovative smart grid technologies such as TOSHIBA’s μEMS solution is a viable alternative to help utilities solve the challenges caused by the distributed energy resources and the changing consumption habits in Europe. The tests are performed by using existing products from Landis+Gyr and TOSHIBA, installed in TECNALIA’s smart grid laboratory network. 5