Essen/Mannheim 04.05.2015: Following intensive preparations, RWE Germany put the pilot project ‘Smart Operator’ for the efficient management and monitoring of the low voltage grid in Trier-Saarburg, into operation. In this project RWE, along with renowned project partners, will investigate the power grid of the future. The entire data transmission in the distribution network will be achieved with PPC’s Broadband Powerline System.
More information: PPC and RWE Smart Operator
Renewable power generation associated with the energy transition ‘Energiewende’ makes it difficult to manage the power supply. To ensure security of supply and voltage quality, optimisation of the existing distribution network is necessary. The \”Smart Operator\” coordinates the interaction by controlling the balance between supply and consumption. Installed in the local network substation, the device evaluates the aggregated household consumption values, and using this information, controls the voltage-regulated distribution transformers and switching points.
Wincheringen on the Mosel is one of three communities involved in the RWE ‘Smart Operator’ pilot project which has been running since 2012. Power Plus Communications, a leading provider of broadband data transfer over the power grid, was commissioned with the installation of its Broadband Powerline System.
The validation phase of this concept will run until the end of 2015. The results obtained will be directly incorporated into the design and operation principles of RWE Germany’s distribution areas. Dr. Arndt Neuhaus (CEO of RWE AG Germany) explains: “Within the ‘Smart Operator’ projects we are investigating how the operation of local networks can be optimised through the use of artificial intelligence. The aim is to use the local grid infrastructure more efficiently through an intelligent control system with new components. In doing this, we are taking a big step towards the energy system of the future.”
Project Manager Stefan Willing (RWE AG Germany) explains: “By choosing Broadband Powerline communications, we can avoid the expensive construction of communications networks on the low voltage grid.” So everyone profits from the ‘Smart Operator’ project: the environment, the consumer and RWE.
Overcoming major technical challenges
Power Plus Communications (PPC) has been involved since the beginning of the project. In Wincheringen, PPC’s Broadband Powerline System connects all components of the smart grid with one another. The data transmission requirements in this project are very high, therefore, the latency must be very low. Additionally, high availability of communications must be ensured, so as not to interrupt the real-time data exchange.
As part of the project, PPC gained a number of new insights that helped to improve their technology. The new fourth generation BPL System (G4), which meets the high demands of the Smart Operator project, has been in operation in Wincheringen since 2014. “To manage the interaction of many components, as well as the secure transmission of data over the power lines, is an enormous technical challenge. Therefore, we have installed fifty smart meters and other smart devices in the local network in Wincheringen. We are proud that we have mastered this complex structure and can now put the entire system into operation,\” explains Dr. Jürgen Grönner, CEO of RWE-Verteilnetzbetreibers Westnetz.
Innovation instead of expensive investment
Dr. Arndt Neuhaus, CEO of RWE Germany AG, together with District Administrator Günther Schartz, patron of the project and Minister for Economics Eveline Lemke and CEO of PPC Ingo Schönberg officially put the grid into operation in April 2015. A Q&A round, a film screening and a bus tour explained the technical concept to the experts and interested public. The tour took them through the central network components e.g. the Smart Operator, the voltage regulated distribution transformers, the battery storage units, the charging stations for electric vehicles, the remote controllable low voltage switches of the metering system and the key to smart grids – data transmission via Broadband Powerline from PPC.
Why in particular was idyllic Wincheringen recommended for the testing of innovative networks? Primarily, in rural areas local supply of electricity from wind, solar and biomass often exceeds local needs. Furthermore, the wine village, in addition to the completed and fully cabled area, also has twenty or so solar power systems, 37 heat pumps, two night storage heaters as well as many modern appliances.
In order to control load flow, RWE connected, amongst other things, a voltage regulated distribution transformer, cable distribution and link boxes, each con-taining remote controlled feeders. Also connected were a weather station and an electric vehicle charging station.