Hitachi Energy Q&A: Is Grid Automation the Future of Energy?
Grid automation can have a transformative effect on energy management, efficiency and sustainability.
The variable and intermittent supply of renewable energy sources like solar and wind must be carefully managed to avoid power interruptions.
Automation and digitalisation can also provide cost savings alongside this stability.
Steven Kunsman began his career with Brown Boveri Corporation in 1984 and is currently VP and General Manager Substation Automation North America at Hitachi Energy, leading the Grid Automation technical organisation in North America.
For more than 40 years, he has been at the forefront of digital transformation, developing industry standards and digital substation, Operational Technology (OT) protection, control and automation solutions.
At Hitachi Energy, his team promotes the portfolio and solution customer values to enable and manage their digital journey for protection, control, automation and the digital substation.
Steven shares his insights with Energy Digital.
What benefits can grid automation and real-time insights provide?
Grid automation and real-time insights enhance the power grid's intelligence and efficiency by providing visibility into key power system information.
The introduction of the IEC 61850 communication standard in 2004 has been a key enabler of grid automation and digital substation technology. Over the past two decades, this international standard has seen widespread global adoption and has evolved and improved through feedback from early deployments.
The digital substation, supporting the IEC 61850 standard, ensures interoperable solutions from multiple manufacturers, driving utility benefits in the digital transformation.
For example:
ā¢ With real-time data, grid operators can leverage analytics to quickly identify potential issues before they lead to outages, increasing system reliability. Digital substations play a key role by continuously monitoring the grid and automatically making adjustments, such as rerouting power, to maintain connectivity for utility customers.
ā¢ Digital substations use sensors to monitor the health of critical equipment. This allows operators to detect problems early and perform maintenance before failures occur, improving reliability, saving operational costs, and extending the life of expensive equipment like transformers.
ā¢ Real-time data facilitates dynamic adjustments to energy distribution, reducing the frequency and duration of outages while improving overall efficiency.
ā¢ Digital substations are essential for managing the variable nature of solar and wind power by providing system operators with the insights and control needed to integrate these renewable resources into the grid and maintain overall stability.
How does incomplete grid automation stand in the way of meeting increased energy demand?
While the benefits of digitalisation are clear, incomplete grid automation poses a significant obstacle to meeting the growing demand for electricity. Legacy systems lack the visibility, flexibility and responsiveness needed to accommodate the dynamic nature of distributed energy resources (DERs).
This can lead to numerous problems, including an unstable grid due to fluctuating renewable energy sources and safety concerns if DERs backfeed the power grid under various system conditions.
Challenges also arise from the inability to effectively manage the increased DER penetration required to support growing energy consumption, especially when DER generation decreases during off-production periods.
When DER generation declines (e.g., solar at night or diminished wind conditions), the grid automation system plays a crucial role in coordinating traditional generation resources to ensure available generation meets energy demand.
How is the industry balancing hardware upgrades with building net new?
Modernising and improving the grid requires a strategic balance between upgrading existing infrastructure and building new digital substations.
While new substations offer the latest technology, retrofitting existing substations with digital technology can be more cost-effective and less disruptive.
The industry is adopting a hybrid approach, prioritising retrofits to upgrade critical existing substations while strategically deploying new substations in areas with high growth or significant renewable energy penetration.
Is this enough to support the aging grid?
While digital substations offer significant improvements, they are not a panacea for all the challenges facing the aging grid. Many traditional substation components are at or nearing the end of their lifespan.
To ensure long-term reliability, a comprehensive strategy is needed that combines digitalisation with targeted investments in grid infrastructure renewal.
This includes replacing obsolete and aging equipment while forecasting and expanding grid capacity to accommodate future growth.
What challenges and opportunities come from integrating legacy analogue hardware?
Integrating legacy analogue hardware with digital systems presents both challenges and opportunities.
Challenges include issues with component availability, obsolescence, compatibility and interoperability. Data acquisition is another challenge because converting data from analogue devices to a digital format requires compatible equipment and expertise.
Cybersecurity is also a major concern, as legacy systems can have numerous unaddressed vulnerabilities, requiring additional security considerations to mitigate the risk of cyberattacks.
However, these challenges also create opportunities. Increased data-driven analytics provide valuable system insights, which are crucial in the digital transformation journey and overall grid operation, while improving safety, reliability, and lowering costs.
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