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Key Technologies for a Modern Grid By Steve Pullins Oct 10, 2006 - 4:28:00 AM
Last month's column explored the benefits of a modern grid. This month, I will focus on the key technology areas (KTA) that enable the principal characteristics of a modern grid and that bring about those benefits.
What technologies are necessary to modernize the grid? It is easy to waste time searching for a single technology to “save the grid!” This has been one of our main weaknesses for a decade or more. Truth is, there are no silver bullets for modernizing the grid. That job will take many technologies (new and old) that are closely integrated and more intelligent.
For example, we are not going to do a wholesale replacement of all our aging high-voltage transformers over the next few years. (The price tag, I estimate, would be $300!) So we must find ways to improve grid performance through integrating new technologies with our legacy systems.
Analysis by the Modern Grid Initiative (MGI) team shows that significant results will come from intelligently integrating suites of technology that deliver the principal characteristics that lead to improved grid performance. So, instead of asking “which technologies,” we should be asking “what integration” will deliver the needed characteristics.
The MGI team constantly asks people to think not in terms of individual technologies but in terms of key technology areas. It is vitally important to have technologies that operate together by design! It is only after a thoughtful, integrated design that specific products can then be selected to fulfill the integrated suite and deliver the desired improvements. Can this be done affordably? Yes. Can this be done incrementally? Yes. Can this be done with the flexibility to address an uncertain future? Yes. Can this be justified to regulators? Again, we say yes.
The Key Technology Areas The MGI systems analysis revealed five essential technology areas: · Integrated Communications – High-speed, fully integrated, two-way communication technologies will make the modern grid a dynamic, interactive platform for real-time information and power exchange. An open architecture will create a plug-and-play environment that allow grid components to talk, listen and interact. · Sensing and Measurement – These technologies will enhance power system measurements and detect and respond to problems. They evaluate the health of equipment and the integrity of the grid and support advanced protective relaying; they eliminate meter estimations and prevent energy theft. They enable consumer choice and demand response, and help relieve congestion. · Advanced Components – Advanced components play an active role in determining the grid’s behavior. The next generation of devices will apply the latest research in materials, superconductivity, energy storage, power electronics, and microelectronics. This will produce higher power densities, greater reliability, and improved real-time diagnostics. · Advanced Control Methods – New methods will be applied to monitor essential components, enabling rapid diagnosis and timely, appropriate response to any event. They will also support market pricing and enhance asset management. · Improved Interfaces and Decision Support – In many situations, the time available for operators to make decisions has shortened to seconds. Thus, the modern grid will require wide, seamless, real-time use of applications and tools that enable grid operators and managers to make decisions quickly. Decision support with improved interfaces will amplify human decision making at all levels of the grid.
The Modern Grid team believes the nearby picture is a great starting point for technology discussions. As you can see, it shows how the first KTA, integrated communications or IC, links the other four together:
We have found that this helps us think differently when developing solutions to grid problems.
Next month, we will debate the metrics that tell us whether or not we are performing at a modern grid level. A friend used to tell me, “you are what you measure.” Although few people like to be held accountable, maturity and reason tell us that performing to a measurable standard helps drive us to do better.
Please take part in the national network creating this vision. The next regional Modern Grid event will be the San Diego Smart Grid Summit, October 25-26, 2006 in San Diego at the University of California, San Diego. There is no charge. We invite your attendance and ideas. And the Midwest Regional Summit is scheduled for November 15-16, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio! Details on the MGI Regional Summits Details and registration for the San Diego Smart Grid Summit Subscribe to our FREE eMail News Alert!
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