Analysis of Business Opportunities for Low Voltage Components with Smart Features
Jokela, Juho (2018)
2018
Sähkötekniikka
Tieto- ja sähkötekniikan tiedekunta - Faculty of Computing and Electrical Engineering
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2018-12-05
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201811152588
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201811152588
Tiivistelmä
The low voltage (LV) network, network infrastructure from secondary substation to the final customers, has so far been a blind spot for distribution system operators (DSOs). However, this part of the network is significantly affected by the international regulatory changes aimed at increasing renewable energy sources. The role of DSO is to guarantee the distribution network reliability. Reliability of the LV network is challenged by several issues that high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) can cause and should be taken into account in near future. One of the main issues is controlling active and reactive power in the network. Integrating distributed generation (DG) units into the LV network can cause problems with maintaining voltage and current within operational limits and may also have impact on network losses, power quality and network protection.
As the regulation methods used in the utility sector affects the behavior of DSOs, it is also important to consider current regulation methods and incentives in it when defining the potential for the solution to be developed in the utility sector. Recent speed of change in technology, as well as a shift in renewable energy the use of energy sources has led to the regulation being left behind from the current requirements. As of today, the regulation method in Finland does not support the LV network monitoring and control solutions separately. However, this can potentially change in the future as the distribution networks are trending towards the concept of smart grid and integration of DERs poses new challenges for reliable network operation.
Increasing DG hosting capacity and avoiding potential problems arising from integrating DG units into the distribution network requires coordination of different resources. DSOs can potentially utilize different types of network assets and other resources for control purposes, such as DG units, controllable loads, energy storages, distribution transformers with on line tap changers and reactive power compensators. However, coordination of different resources requires improvements in network observability and controllability. The accurate knowledge of the network state provides the basis for the management and control functions, which is why state estimation will play a key role. The purpose of state estimation is to obtain the best possible estimate of the network state by processing available information from the network. The voltage and current measurements in secondary substations together with AMR meters enables LV network state estimation. Adding measurements in fuse switch disconnectors, which are com-monly used as a protection device in both compact secondary substations and cable distribution cabinets can provide valuable information for the state estimation and, thus, for network management.
As the regulation methods used in the utility sector affects the behavior of DSOs, it is also important to consider current regulation methods and incentives in it when defining the potential for the solution to be developed in the utility sector. Recent speed of change in technology, as well as a shift in renewable energy the use of energy sources has led to the regulation being left behind from the current requirements. As of today, the regulation method in Finland does not support the LV network monitoring and control solutions separately. However, this can potentially change in the future as the distribution networks are trending towards the concept of smart grid and integration of DERs poses new challenges for reliable network operation.
Increasing DG hosting capacity and avoiding potential problems arising from integrating DG units into the distribution network requires coordination of different resources. DSOs can potentially utilize different types of network assets and other resources for control purposes, such as DG units, controllable loads, energy storages, distribution transformers with on line tap changers and reactive power compensators. However, coordination of different resources requires improvements in network observability and controllability. The accurate knowledge of the network state provides the basis for the management and control functions, which is why state estimation will play a key role. The purpose of state estimation is to obtain the best possible estimate of the network state by processing available information from the network. The voltage and current measurements in secondary substations together with AMR meters enables LV network state estimation. Adding measurements in fuse switch disconnectors, which are com-monly used as a protection device in both compact secondary substations and cable distribution cabinets can provide valuable information for the state estimation and, thus, for network management.