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Leveraging Networked Data for the Digital electricity Grid

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Net2DG (Leveraging Networked Data for the Digital electricity Grid)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2021-06-30

Distribution Grid Efficiency, Quality and Reliability through Digital Technologies:
Distribution System Operators (DSOs) assure the reliable and efficient electricity supply to the customers. The medium-voltage and low-voltage (LV) grids are in most cases still designed and operated based on historical assumptions for consumption and generation profiles. Fault-localization in LV grids is to a large extent based on customer calls and subsequent inspection of grid components in the field. On the other hand, there is an increasing number of digital grid-related data sources, including smart meters at customer sites or smart inverters that connect storage or distributed generation (mainly from renewable energy sources), see Figure 1, but the information from such sources has not yet been harnessed for grid planning and operation.
The Net2DG project has developed a proof-of-concept solution based on off-the-shelf computing hardware that uses available communication technologies to leverage measurement data from smart meters and smart inverters and electrical measurement devices in substations or junction boxes. The Net2DG solution correlates these data with grid topology information, in order to enable and develop novel LV grid observability applications for voltage quality, grid operation efficiency, and LV grid outage diagnosis. The achieved observability is subsequently used by specifically developed novel control coordination approaches, which utilize the existing reactive power management capabilities of smart inverters for increased renewable hosting capacity and increased efficiency of the LV grid.
The use of off-the-shelf components, the system level resilience and security solution, and the offered customizability of the Net2DG approach specifically address the needs of regional DSOs. Therefore, the Net2DG solution allows regional DSOs to become early adopters of digital technologies for LV outage diagnosis, grid operation efficiency optimization, grid planning, optimized asset management, and voltage quality optimization.
Starting from the initial targets - 70% reduction of time to outage diagnosis, 10% reduction of LV grid losses, 60% reduction of voltage quality issues, 30% reduction of grid reinforcement costs - the Net2DG project developed a set of novel observability applications for Grid Monitoring and Analysis, Loss Calculation, Outage Detection & Diagnosis. These applications are running on top of a Net2DG developed ICT-Gateway that enables a digital twin of the low voltage distribution grid from the fusion of heterogeneous data sources for grid topology and measurements in the grid. Based on the available integrated and normalized data, calculations of not-measured relevant electrical parameters are performed through an integrated observability grid model which supports a smooth execution of the aforementioned applications and enables a fully digital process for operation and planning of the low voltage grid. In addition, coordinated control of reactive power behaviour of inverters in the low-voltage grid has been addressed via the Automatic Voltage Regulation application, which also is executed on top of the ICT-Gateway.
The integrated Net2DG system has been deployed in two field environments, one at Stadtwerke Landau a.d.Isar in Germany, and the second at Thy Mors Energi in Denmark. In addition, the technical benefits of the system have been assessed through a real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop laboratory setup at Aalborg University and through extensive offline simulations.
The results from the assessment through the combination of field trial analysis, laboratory setup, and offline analysis showed the following benefits in the scenarios of the German and Danish low-voltage field trial grids: (1) Outage detection and diagnosis time in the low-voltage grid could be reduced to few minutes; (2) Grid losses could be reduced by 11% via voltage management applied in combination with continuous voltage monitoring; when applying a variant of the reactive power coordination of inverters, a reduction by even 20% was possible. (3) The hosting capacity of the field trial example grid was increased by 30% through an enhanced planning process using the digital grid status, and an additional 50% increase was achievable through the coordinated reactive power management of the inverters.
Figure 3 shows the result visualized by the Net2DG solution for an outage scenario. Figure 4 shows the corresponding physical grid scenario, namely that a short circuit fault has been caused in the marked place on one cable, which in this scenario caused a fuse in a junction box to burn. Due to the Net2DG solution, the DSO can immediately send repair staff to the identified locations.

Therefore, the results clearly show the benefits of the developed Net2DG solution for the future digital operation and planning of the low-voltage grids and that such digitalization will be a critical contributor to the realization of the energy transition. The project in addition quantified the resulting financial benefit of low-voltage grid observability using a Cost Benefit analysis based on data and input from the two DSOs in the Net2DG consortium. The developed integrated prototype system has been shown to in total more than 100 DSO participants on a series of three workshops and a demonstrator has been shown at European Utility Week 2019 and E-World 2020. Finally, the Net2DG approach and individual solutions have been disseminated in the scientific community via, e.g. three organized workshops in connection to high-reputation international conferences, and 18 published peer-reviewed publications.
A Digital Grid Distributing Fully Renewable Energy
The novel solution realized by Net2DG enables regional DSOs to create value from smart meter and inverter data in a secure and privacy-protecting manner:
• Net2DG has created software solutions for DSOs, which can be installed quickly and easily and result in operational and asset related cost savings for DSOs.
• Net2DG solutions reduce grid losses and outages and help with the optimization of grid operation and maintenance using available grid measurement data.
• Net2DG helps regional DSOs become early adopters of digital technology for operating the LV electricity grid with focus on LV outage diagnosis, grid operation efficiency and voltage quality.
• Net2DG enables an extended hosting capacity for the integration of renewable energy sources in the low voltage grid by a planning approach based on the digital twin and by the active use of reactive power management capabilities of inverters in the field.
As a consequence of the increased observability and novel control coordination, LV grid reinforcement investments of DSOs for increased hosting of renewable generation has been shown to be reduced by more than 30% in comparison to the currently used worst case planning methods.
Net2DG Outage Detection & Diagnosis - Visualization to DSO
Net2DG Architecture – interfacing heterogeneous data and actuation subsystems
Targets and achievements of Net2DG
Low-Voltage Grid Structure and Measurement Devices
Net2DG logo
Grid Monitoring – Voltage quality visualization in the browser-based GUI