Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/721278
NETWORK / 25 / SEPTEMBER 2016 Fit for digital Transmission substations are going through a radical evolution as digital technologies take hold, says ABB's Danny Lyonnette. T he drive for the UK's low- carbon future demands enormous changes in our entire electricity system. Not only is there sustained, rapid growth in inherently variable renewables, but generation is no longer centralised and can be distributed over a wide geographical area, so the traditional model in which electricity flows one way is being replaced by multi- directional flows. This is forcing an evolution of our transmission infrastructure and the way it is operated, necessitating more intelligent management of supply and demand as systems industry insight digital substations abb are integrated in the Internet of Things, services and people. We now require sophisticated monitoring, communication and control systems across the power value chain of generation, transmission, distribution, storage and consumption. And this demands a smarter power system that embraces digital substations. Copper has always been at the heart of traditional substations, wiring together primary equipment such as circuit breakers, conventional current and voltage transformers, and protection relays. But this is changing thanks to the evolution of digital technologies, communications and standards. Not only are digital systems easy to install, they've proven to be safer, more flexible and more reliable, and can reduce the number of copper connections in a substation by about 80% – a substantial cost saving. One of the key features of digital substations is their use of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) with integrated information and communication technology. An IED is a microprocessor-based protection and control device for power equipment such as circuit breakers, transformers and capacitor banks. The increasing amounts of data available in a digital substation will enable more sophisticated monitoring, diagnostics, protection and optimisation of assets. Our industry has already seen a widespread adoption of IEC 61850, the standard that defines substation communication protocols and the need for interoperability of systems. Now there's more interest in the market for digital substations and ABB was recently selected to participate in the Fitness (Future Intelligent Transmission NEtwork SubStation) project of SP Energy Networks, along with other partners. ABB will contribute its grid automation technology to this project, which will enable the first digital substation project in the UK. The digital substation scheme will protect, monitor and control the transmission network in parts of Scotland. The four-year project, funded by Ofgem as part of the RIIO Network Innovation Competition programme, will show how digital communications over fibre can replace traditional copper connections to protect, monitor and control transmission networks. Fitness is a vital step that will help prove the case for digital substations in facilitating grid automation and the convergence of information and operational technologies. And when digital technology is accepted as the UK norm, we can expect significant savings in overall substation costs and a significant footprint reduction of about 15%. Danny Lyonnette, head of business development and innovation at ABB Power Grids - Grid Automation