Real time testing and validation of Smart Grid devices and algorithms

The electric power system is moving towards the smart grid development for improved reliable, secure and economic operation. Many researchers are now concentrating their research that is aimed at upgrading the power system by using state-of-the-art computer based online monitoring and control tools along with advanced communication facilities. Implementation of such a system requires enhanced testing and validation of smart grid technologies as well as development of new approaches to fully utilize the capabilities of these technologies. This paper is a modest attempt to present the summary of the effort to model a smart power grid in real time by developing a “smart grid test bed”. Additionally, some of the applications of the developed test bed have been briefly described, with special emphasis on testing of synchrophasor devices like PMUs and PDCs.

There are many smart grid test beds in the world, and the combination of smart grid technologies in each test bed is somewhat different according to the needs of each country. Among several test beds, it seems that Korean case is the special reference because it was covered with full scale from transmission to customer, and all kinds of smart grid technologies were installed and tested in its test bed. In this paragraph, the readers may understand the draft of smart grid technology in Korea, the directions of smart grid filed application, and the results of smart power grid project.

This study addresses current situations and challenges surrounding the full implementation of the Smart Grid and presents wholistic ways going forward. Considering the challenges of environmental degradation, ageing infrastructures, increasing energy demands, high energy costs, sustainability, transparency and partial participation in the vertical power systems, a shift in the energy paradigm has been looked upon by the various stakeholders. An intelligent-based grid (Smart Grid) development is considered as sustainable alternative - with the confidence that the challenges concerned with traditional power systems will alleviate, and by including large renewable energy resources, energy cost will reduce, and system operation will become more secure and reliable by leveraging the various technologies that support full implementation of the new grid. Despite these promises and the availability of the important technologies for its realization, Smart Grid (SG) development has been slow and full implementation has not been realized in most countries where it is adopted. This paper presents a way forward by expositing the roles that Customers, Utilities and Companies could take as pacesetters in accelerating the implementation of the new technology solution.

Synthetically analyze the power distribution communication network technology in the smart power grid link. It mainly includes the summary of the smart distribution network, electric power communication backbone network and then layer communication requirements, the network mode and the application mode of WLAN technology in the distribution network, EPON network technology, micropower wireless technology, PTN technology and power broadband wireless systems. State the demand of the smart power distribution business and put forward technical guidance for the smart power distribution communication network scheme. In view of the complex distribution network architecture, more nodes and scattered, complex business types data business needs, put forward the integrated solutions of optical fiber communication as the backbone access, wireless bandwidth, passive optical communication as the coverage, the short distance wireless communication as the main terminal access. It provides a reference for the communication plan of distribution side.

Smart grid has become the hot topic to domestic and foreign about the development trend of power grid in recent years, and communication technology is foundation of the development of smart grid; the paper forecasts the smart grid communications automation and development trend.Further from intelligent dispatching center, smart grid, smart distribution grid and users, in view of the existing and emerging intelligent and automatic application were communication needs analysis, and provide a reliable basis for the smart grid communications planning.

High penetration of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles (EVs) create power imbalance and congestion in the existing power network, and hence causes significant problems in the control and operation. Despite investing huge efforts from the electric utilities, governments, and researchers, smart grid (SG) is still at the developmental stage to address those issues. In this regard, a smart grid testbed (SGT) is desirable to develop, analyze, and demonstrate various novel SG solutions, namely demand response, real-time pricing, and congestion management. In this paper, a novel SGT is developed in a laboratory by scaling a 250 kVA, 0.4 kV real low-voltage distribution feeder down to 1 kVA, 0.22 kV. Information and communication technology is integrated in the scaled-down network to establish real-time monitoring and control. The novelty of the developed testbed is demonstrated by optimizing EV charging coordination realized through the synchronized exchange of monitoring and control packets via an heterogeneous Ethernet-based mesh network.

Smart grids are smart grids because they don't only transport electricity but also information that will become an active part of the electricity supply system. Smart grid evolution has, thus, a lot to gain through the exploitation of emerging Future Internet networking technologies for the efficient collection and management of the acquired information. The capabilities for interconnection of numerous intelligent networking devices, the advanced monitoring and control of dynamic networking infrastructures and the efficient handling of large volumes of data are research areas that have direct applicability into the smart grid design and operation. This article presents our insights for the design of a novel and open overlay networking architecture for leveraging end-to-end interconnection of physical or virtual objects, for achieving decentralized data management, and for providing distributed services in smart grid environments. The proposed architecture follows a layered-approach and extends or adapts a set of existing overlay and IP protocols. In addition, a smart grid business-oriented scenario is briefly presented in order to explain how future technologies may be used to fulfill contemporary society needs.

The promise of smart grids is very attractive. However, it is not yet clear what the future smart grid will look like. Although most researchers acknowledge that users will play a more prominent role in smart grids, there is a lot of uncertainty on this issue. To counter the strong technological bias in smart grid research and literature, we propose that research should focus more on the social and business dimension of smart grid developments. The main elements of such a research agenda are: Developing more socially embedded visions on smart grids and the services it will provide A shift in the focus on developing smart grids components and systems towards the services it will deliver Development and testing of innovative user-centered business models and ecosystems. More general, on the role of users in smart grids, the main lesson is that user roles should be taken more seriously in relation to smart grids: experts should no longer regard users exclusively and/or simply as potential barriers to smart grid innovation but also as important stakeholders and potential participants in the innovation process.

With the development of smart grid in China as the main line in the new era, the domestic and international environment, strategy and technical route of smart grid development are explored. Firstly, the development status of China's smart grid is analyzed in depth. In addition, the construction of China's smart grid industry and the development of industry chain are elaborated. Finally, the development trend is summarized and the future development pattern of China's smart grid is prospected.

Wide Area Monitoring and Control (WAMC) of power grids is one application of emerging smart grid technologies. A key feature of smart grids is the use of two-way digital communication between Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), and system operators and controllers. The performance and security of the communications network is critical in this application. This work developed an emulation of a communication network as a component of a smart grid test-bed. The test-bed consists of a physical emulation of a power system, a number of IEDs, a Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) and user interface for data acquisition and control connected via a local area network. Network emulation was integrated using Riverbed Modeler, a communications network emulator, utilizing the software's SITL (System-in-the-Loop) capability to interface the IEDs and physical hardware with the network emulation using real-simulation gateways. The emulation enables modeling of various networks and the analysis of operation of the communications network for WAMC applications. This paper presents a methodology of network emulation for this application and analyzes the performance of the emulation as a communications network for smart grid test-beds.

This is a study of the visions and expectations which have been put forward by experts about smart grids. Within the sociology of expectation, such visions are given performative significance, and as such these expectations can provide us with an idea of where smart grid development is intended to take us. In order to gain insight into these issues, this paper first undertakes a literature review of 40 smart grid research papers. Thereafter, the paper reviews the self-reporting of 19 smart grid demo projects within the ERA-Net research framework of the EU. The findings suggest that there are three distinct expert smart grid narratives about users, one economic, one technical, and one which consists of a social science critique. The first one seeks to facilitate for user rationality by economic incentives, whereas the second seeks largely to automate the consumption and thereby bypass the question of active users. Social science critique is found to evaluate imagined users and their potential correspondence with real ones. When actual failure of economic incentives is recorded in demo sites, the economic rationale narrative exhibits surprising resilience within the frameworks. Technical narratives reinforce the argument for bypassing the user with the aid of technology, thereby suggesting performativity at work. The discussion raises the question of the actual and perceived need for active users in the smart grid, and suggests that strategies for non-participation of end users in the smart grid are both relevant and necessary.

Smart grid development is an area where the discussion about who can be negatively affected by low-carbon energy transitions has progressed. The research on vulnerable households in smart grids often focuses on how potentially vulnerable groups react to smart energy technologies. This paper contributes to the literature by highlighting how a broad range of actors in society think about neglected and vulnerable households in smart grids. The research question concerns how stakeholders frame potential inequalities, differentiations, and vulnerabilities in smart grids in Sweden. The frame analysis is carried out, building on interviews with national and local public authorities dealing with energy issues and consumer advice, actors involved in developing, testing, and using smart energy technologies as well as interest organizations representing diverse social groups. Three narratives are identified that frame potentially neglected households as consumers without economic benefits; as users without technological interests, competences, and access to technologies; and as households with intersecting vulnerabilities. It is argued that, since there could be different interpretations of inequalities in smart grids, the governance of smart grids, and specifically discussions of neglected/vulnerable households in smart grids, can benefit from the involvement of a broad coalition of actors.

The deployment of smart grids has a major role to play in Japan’s aspiration to achieve sustainable energy systems. A smart grid in Japan is designed to have an intelligent monitoring system, which not only keeps track of all the energy coming in from diverse sources but also can detect where energy is needed through a two-way communication system that collects data about how and when consumers use power. This chapter examines the vision, concepts, and elements of Japan’s smart grid development. Smart grids are a part of the Japanese government’s ‘go green’ effort to bring Japan to a leadership position in environmental and energy sustainability. This analysis provides an overview of Japan’s major initiatives in deploying smart grids, including smart communities, large-scale smart grid pilot projects in four major cities, as well as overseas collaboration. Major smart grid awareness promotion bodies in Japan are discussed along with their important initiatives for influencing and shaping policy, architecture, standards, and traditional utility operations. Implementing a smart grid will not happen quickly because when Japan does adopt one, it will continue to undergo transformation and be updated to support new technologies and functionality.

Smart Grid and its future perspectives in Australia

The global upsurge in research of smart grid and demand response (DR) is opening up new opportunities and challenges to China's power industry in recent years. The smart grid emphasize the interaction with user particularly, including the information interaction and power interaction, which are achieved through the deployment of various types of DR programs. Meanwhile, the development of smart grid also depends on demand response mechanism in the open market environment. DR coincides with the goal of smart grid which is to achieve a high-security, economical, reliable and efficient power system. So the collaboration between smart grid and demand response is talked in this paper. First,we analyze the relationship between smart grid and demand response systematically.Second,the development conditions of DR project in China and abroad are expounded. Furthermore, the necessity and significance of pushing DR project into smart grid is discussed and summarized, finally, methods and suggestions for achieving the collaboration are presented. (4 pages)