Electricity Engineers' Association Conference - 20-22 June 2012
ABB stand numbers 72-79
20-22th June 2011
Sky City Convention Centre
Auckland
EEA Conference website
Delivering New Zealand’s renewable future
ABB's stand
ABB will be showcasing a live and integrated range of power and automation solutions including:
ABB papers
ABB's expertise and experience are also being demonstrated through the conference paper presentations, with ABB presenting four papers over the three days. Please read the abstracts for each of the papers at the bottom of this page.
Pre-show support
Throughout the event the ABB team will be available with product support staff to talk you through our products and innovations.
Please contact your regular
ABB representative prior to the event if you would like to organise a time to view and discuss our products during the event (or prior/post the event)
Or contact Simon Reed, simon.reed@nz.abb.com for further information.
ABB paper abstracts
| Paper title | Abstract | Presenter(s) |
| Managing Microgrids | Microgrids are seen as local power networks that source their energy by distributed generation and manage local energy supply and demand. Historically these microgrids have been supplied by diesel powered generators, however with renewable technologies such as wind and solar readily available a push to clean up these microgrids is emerging.
Although they would typically operate in island mode due to remote locations and increase reliability for the local load, they also would have the ability to function connected with a power transmission and distribution system. To supply reliable, quality power, the microgrid must have mechanisms to regulate voltage and frequency in response to changes in customer loads and system disturbances.
Combining and integrating distributed generation from different technologies like wind/solar/diesel creates challenges for stabilising and controlling microgrids. The paper describes how advanced power electronics (energy storage and static VAr systems) can be utilised to stabilise the microgrid and realise optimum utilisation of the resources. It looks into the requirements for storage technology, power converter and control systems. | Holger Hannemann |
| Modernizing the Distribution Network with Automated FDIR and Volt-Var Control using Feeder Metering | The cost of building a new power generation facility is huge and the impact on the environment can be great. In many places in the world, power regulators and the public will not approve construction of new generation. Yet at the same time, the demand for reliable and high quality power continues to increase. A straight forward approach to defer the need for new generation is to optimize and improve the efficiency of the existing distribution network. This paper discusses four prevalent system architectures used to support this optimization.
For the past two decades, the deployments of new power generation and transmission lines have not kept pace with market growth. Environmental laws and the emergence of data centers that support the internet as a large power consumer have put a strain on power generation capacity. Power delivery systems have become saturated and highly congested. Because of this, the occurrence of power disruption events has increased with the added load to these systems, and the ability to identify and rectify outages has increased in importance. Utilities are now measured on the “uptime” of their total power delivery system, especially in highly saturated and congested networks.
One approach developed to address growing reliability concerns is technology that can automatically identify, isolate, communicate, and mitigate fault conditions to safely and quickly restore power (FDIR: fault detection, isolation, and restoration). As automation and communication technologies have evolved, utilities have been able to systematically IT-enable remote devices and assets as part of their integrated infrastructure. To IT-enable a device or asset, is to integrate monitoring and control functionality plus real time communications into it, making it intelligent.
An approach developed to address efficiency concerns is technology that automatically controls power factor and voltage delivery across the feeder using IT-enabled feeder meters, capacitor banks, and voltage regulators (VVC / CVR: volt-var control + conservation voltage reduction). Although pieces of this technology have been used in the past, the computing and communications capabilities have reached a critical point where they are cost effective and reliable, and can be deployed as distributed functions from the substation level out over the feeder.
When it comes to system architecture and communications within DA, there is no one-size-fits-all. Historically, it started with stand-alone function blocks due to a lack of communication technology, poor reliability, and high cost of implementation. The distribution systems in North America began primarily as radial networks and therefore, the early DA systems evolved based on this design. In Europe and in parts of Asia, ring mains and matrixed networks have dominated the utility landscape. DA schemes are now different depending on the power network topology and operating conditions.
Implementation of a peer-to-peer, centralized, or intelligent decentralized DA architecture has many benefits, including: increasing up-time SAIDI and CAIDI scores, increased capacity, and decreased losses.
All different volt/var and FDIR management solutions can be implemented with different levels of benefits. More advanced solutions require more sensing, measurement, communications, and software but they provide greater benefits. Depending on the level of sophistication of the system operators, a solution can be developed to suit the needs of the consumer and the system owners at the investment level that has the most sense for a specific system. The road to smart grid distribution automation is gradual, one smart technology at a time.
The primary objective here is to reduce carbon footprint, reduce dependency on oil and other fossil fuels, and optimize network performance – which means identifying and removing bottlenecks (weak points) and maximizing asset utilization. | David Lawrence & Matthew Knott (ABB USA) |
| Solving grid voltage problems caused by PV Solar | The penetration of Photo Voltaic (PV) solar power generation and the implications for grid operators are now starting to become clear. PV systems are often connected to relatively weak supplies and distributed through the electricity network at points where domestic, commercial and industrial customers are connected. As PV arrays only generate power when the sun is shining and are significantly affected by cloud cover electricity generation is extremely variable. The range of voltage from full load at night to light load and full PV generation during the day can be considerable.
Distribution networks have not been designed for variable distributed generation and there can be huge challenges in achieving regulatory requirements for voltage regulation. In many cases peak sunshine conditions can result in grid voltages that also exceed the limits for the PV inverters meaning the generation drops offline. Flicker and extreme voltages are also problems for other customers connected to the local grid. Globally problems exist in countries where high levels of PV penetration have been driven by subsidies. Although this has not yet occurred in New Zealand it is important that distribution companies understand the issues and plan for more distributed generation in the future. The retrospective reinforcement of grids to meet the challenges of renewable generation, particularly in the last mile, can be very expensive.
Power electronic solutions are available to help mitigate voltage problems caused by PV generation and have been installed and evaluated. These include series voltage regulators through to shunt connected Static VAr Compensators. The problem and relative merits of the various solutions along with case studies are reviewed in this paper. | John Penny |
| The challenges in specifying and safely operating medium voltage switchgear | Arc faults are a recognised hazard in distribution networks and can be potentially fatal to operators and public.
Manufacturers and owners of switchgear must make every effort to mitigate the risks of faults in switchgear installations where internal arcing may occur. However, it is acknowledged that such faults cannot be prevented in all cases. For this reason, it is expected that current switchgear designs are tested for safety performance during internal arcing. Tests have shown that arc fault behaviour is dependent on a number of factors including the fault level, the fault duration, the enclosed volume, installation conditions and the design detail of the switchgear compartments with respect to containment and venting path.
Engineers should be aware of the effects of an arc fault on the switchgear installation and the possible consequences for operators and public. This paper will cover arc fault phenomenon, switchgear design, test standards and installation considerations. | Gilbert Zieleman |