Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/796215
NETWORK / 33 / MARCH 2017 to give the system operator the ability and confidence to use the full capacity of the network when more wind generation leads to more volatile system flows, resulting in greater operating margins to maintain and manage network security. A conservative estimate of annual operational savings is £4 million. The WAM system will also give transmission operators a risk-mitigating measure in a period of uncertainty to help safeguard the network against low- probability high-impact events that may result in partial or widespread system failure. The project: This groundbreaking WAMS is the result of collaboration between system designers, operators, developers and researchers, and will demonstrate applications that exploit real-time synchronised measurements to enhance our understanding of system dynamics and sub-synchronous oscillations. A WAMS can therefore reduce operational costs and capital expenditure. VISOR is using the Manchester RTDS to study the performance of phasor measurement units – which are the predominant sensors in a WAMS – when they are exposed to complex power system behaviour. Future scope: As well as this research, the Manchester RTDS is seen as an excellent resource for showcasing WAMS applications to a variety of stakeholders through interactive dissemination events. EFCC (Enhanced Frequency Control Capability), now called the SMART Frequency Control project, is designed to save customers £200 million a year while maintaining system inertia. The £9.4 million flagship Network Innovation Competition project led by National Grid is creating a novel wide area control scheme (WACS) that can deliver the fast, accurate frequency- control actions that will be essential as we move toward a low-carbon but low-inertia future. It aims to investigate how newer technologies – such as windfarms, solar PV and demand-side response – can play a larger part in maintaining system frequency. The project: This first-of-a-kind WACS will combine responses from a range of new technologies – such as wind turbines, solar PV and demand response – to help avoid a £250 million increase in spending on ancillary services for frequency control by 2020. It is the product of collaboration between system operators, vendors, manufacturers and researchers. The Manchester RTDS is being used to subject the hardware and so•ware developed for the WACS to extensive hardware-in-the-loop testing for small test systems and a representative model of the GB transmission system. Future scope: Beyond testing, the RTDS will be used to investigate the complex interactions between the different technologies controlled by the scheme to create an optimised controller that exploits the unique advantages of each technology. VSATT (Virtual Site Acceptance Testing Training) is an £405,000 Ofgem Network Innovation Allowance-funded project to develop a multi-vendor testing platform that will demonstrate the design of reliable, low-maintenance and IEC 61850- based digital substation secondary system interfaces to primary plants. As a result of outage requirements and system access constraints, the current replacement rate for protection and control systems is about 5% a year. It would therefore take about 20 years to complete a whole cycle of replacements. However, the typical asset life for these systems is 10-15 years, dependent on the system, because of the fast pace of technological change. This makes some of the systems obsolete, so technical support, and the products themselves, can be in short supply. Driven by these challenges, National Grid has started initiatives to set up a new architecture of substation secondary systems (AS3). This project uses the IEC 61850 standard for future digital substation implementation, which is low-cost and quick to implement (compared with building a new traditional substation). There is a lot of interest in developing this technology to reduce outage requirements for system commissioning and decommissioning. The main objective of the AS3 project was to provide a solution to the life cycle issues of substation protection and control assets. The project: The project is led by National Grid, which collaborates with the university and industrial partners including ABB, GE (Alstom Grid), NR Electric and Siemens. The university will implement the platform and invite manufacturers to demonstrate their protection equipment or so•ware tools. Scope of research: The Manchester RTDS is used to generate substation primary signals for merging units and to create fault events for protection relays. The RTDS receives protection and control signals from the relays for closed-loop testing. The VSATT platform helps utilities assess vendor interoperability on a station bus using IEC 61850-8-1 GOOSE and MMS control data exchange between bays supplied by different suppliers. Also, utilities can use the platform to carry out virtual site testing for partner vendors, reducing the overall technical and commercial risks associated with real site testing. N Future Research The RTDS facilities are used in various ongoing research initiatives such as: • Development of IEC 61850, C37.118 and IEC 60870 digital substation communication protocols. • Development of new concepts for WAM protection/control. • Innovation of new prototypes for SMART transmission/distribution. • Validation of smart grids for low-carbon energy storage, distributed generation concepts for smart grids, integrated systems with renewable energy storage, and asset management strategies. • Validation of multi-terminal HVDC/ UHVDC control strategies for transmission/distribution systems. • HVDC wide area control schemes for enhanced power stability and sub- synchronous resonance reduction of multiple-HVDC links. • HVDC active power flow modulation optimisation for next generation AC transmission networks. • VSC-HVDC/FACTS integrated control schemes for STATCOM,UPFC and TCSC compensation control schemes. • Multi-terminal VSC-HVDC systems control strategies for offshore windfarm integration. Control systems