27
Building a Smart Grid Presented by: Jeff Tolnar Chief Technical Officer BPL Global
Building a Smart Grid
Presented by: Jeff Tolnar Chief Technical Officer BPL Global
Agenda
• BPL Global overview
• Industry Overview– The global challenges of today’s grid
– What is the smart grid all about?
• Smart Grid Solutions
• Communications in the Smart Grid
• Real examples
• Questions and Answers
2
Company Overview• BPLG develops and deploys software applications and
technology solutions to enhance the efficiency and reliability of utility networks
● Solutions control, manage and monitor demand and distributed capacity, improve service reliability and optimize the overall cost structure
• Headquarters in Pittsburgh PA with Regional Offices:● Paris France – Europe and Africa
● Kuwait City – Middle East
● Sao Paulo Brazil – Latin America
● Beijing China - Asia
• Leading the transformation of the electric network● Commercially deployed solutions from the substation to the premises sold to over
100 Utility customers worldwide
● Existing customers: FirstEnergy, Arizona Public Service, Southern California Edison, Exelon, Duke and other leading utilities
● Leading technology projects with EPRI, CA-ISO, Lawrence Berkley Labs
3
Industry OverviewThe existing power grid is operating at its limit
The utility workforce is aging and it is anticipated that as much as 50% of the existing workforce could retire over the next 5-10 years…………
….This will create great employment opportunities
4
Capacity & Supply
• Central Supply costs increasing
• New generation challenges
• Distributed energy resources: expensive and challenging to integrate
Reliability & Ops
• Assets are aging
• Technical losses are high
• Faults are increasing due to increased stress and age
• Operational losses are high
Demand Management
• Demand is increasing beyond supply capacity
• Growth is where supply is not
• Existing meter infrastructure is inadequate
Information Technology
• Systems not prepared for emerging applications
• Limited network management capability
• Inadequate communications
Energy Supply – Demand ImbalanceGeneration Gap
Increase in US generation required in the next 10 years1 19%
Increase in US generation scheduled in the next 10 years1 6%
Transmission & Distribution Gap
10 year Increase in US Electricity T&D required2 20%
10 year Increase in US Electricity T&D scheduled2 5%
Projected Infrastructure Implications
US & Canadian Infrastructure $$$ required from 2003 to 20301 $1.6 Trillion
US & Canadian capacity required from 2003 to 20301 758,000 MW
(1) International Energy Agency(2) Pacific Northwest National Lab
Aging Assets
0
1
2
3
4
5
19 73 19 78 19 8 3 19 8 8 19 9 3 19 9 8 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 8 2 0 13
William H. Bartley P.E., Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co., "Life Cycle Management of Utility Transformer Assets,"
0
50
100
150
200
250
Year
Num
ber o
f Exp
losi
ons
Transformer explosions increase every year…
Sergi – “Transformer Explosions in the United States”
The average age of transformers ~ 42 Years
…as they near the end of their design lives.
Transformer failures can be devastating
7
•520 MVA GSU Transformer•$6.0 million replacement cost•$0.5 million environmental cleanup•$1.5 million/day spot market buy•$18 million loss in eight days!!
Present Situation
•Grid 1.0● Designed 50 years ago, pre-
computers, pre-telecom
● Centralized carbon-based power generation
● Limited or no communication
● Analog electrical control devices
● Vulnerable to natural disasters and attack with single points of failure
● Business model designed to build more generation to meet unlimited growth in demand
8
So…what is the industry to do?
Recognize the Problem• European Union• The European Parliament passed the €5 billion European Union (EU) Economic Recovery Plan on 6 May 2009,
which will see investment in energy projects, broadband internet infrastructure and rural development. On June 30, the Commission adopted a decision establishing a template for National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs). The template will guide Member States in the elaboration of their Renewable Energy Action Plan and detail their strategies for reaching their 2020 renewable energy targets.
• US Department of Energy• On October 27, 2009 the US DOE announced 100 grants to smart grid projects across the U.S.. In total, about $3.4
billion dollars will be allocated, and when combined with funds from utility customers, this should add up to an investment of about $8 billion into grid modernization.
• China• On November 9th 2009 the Chinese government approved a US $586 billion stimulus plan focused on large-scale
investment in low-income housing, water, rural infrastructure and electricity in China. This effort would include accelerating efforts to achieve the goal of reducing China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP by a cumulative 20% by 2010. One very promising approach for China to build energy conservation into its infrastructure is the construction of a “smart grid.”
• United Kingdom• The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released its £8.6bn plans for the implementation of
smart meters in the UK. All homes will have smart gas and electricity meters, supplied by their energy suppliers, by the end of 2020.
9
Indentify Solutions
•Grid 1.0● Designed 50 years ago, pre-
computers, pre-telecom
● Centralized carbon-based power generation
● Limited or no communication
● Analog electrical control devices
● Vulnerable to natural disasters and attack with single points of failure
● Business model designed to build more generation to meet unlimited growth in demand
•Grid 2.0● Designed for next 50 years, leverages
computers and telecom
● Distributed clean generation and storage
● 2-way real-time communication
● Digital control devices
● Resistant to natural disasters and attack with multiple power flows
● Business model designed to improve distribution reliability and efficiency, optimizing supply and demand
10
Solution Scope● Solutions must integrate enterprise back office systems, new software
applications, distributed sensors, and distributed controllers
● Requires real-time, two-way communications
● Presents information, drives analytics and automates decision-making
11
Load ManagementMeet peak demand for ~1/3 the cost of new
generation
Distributed Energy Resource Integration and ManagementIntegrate and optimize renewable sources of supply and storage
Substation SolutionsExtend asset life and
improve reliability
System Integration and collaboration
Fault Location and Asset ProtectionIdentify and isolate faults to improve reliability
Why not implement massive and immediate change?
12
Device Connectivity
Communications
Systems Connectivity
Monitoring, Management, Control and
Information Aggregation
Collaborative System
Operational and Market Interfaces
13
•Technology must take into consideration all aspects of supply, demand, reliability and information technology● Integrate to legacy systems and emerging
applications
● Provide a total solution from generation to the customer premises
● Provide alternatives to building central generation
● Reduce emissions and enhance environmental benefits
● Incrementally build to self aware self managing smart grid
Deployment Steps
Logic &Analysis
Communications in the Smart Grid
14
Communication Network Components
Three levels• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Near Area Network (NAN)
• Home Area Network / Local Area Network (HAN/LAN)
HAN, LAN(Zigbee, BPL, Ethernet, etc)
Near Area Network (Wireless Mesh, PLC, etc)
Wide Area Network(Fiber, Cellular, etc)
Manage Distributed Resources at various levels
WANNAN
HAN,LAN
16
Communications System Components
Utility Network
Operations Center
• DistributedEnergy
Resources
•Wide Area Networking
IntelligentData
Concentration
•Near AreaNetworking
Sensors &Control Systems
DistributedGeneration
EnergyStorage
Load Control
Discovering the broader need
● Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) classified into four major categories
● The Utility Network Operations Center (NOC) is the primary central platform location.
● Questions to be answered:– How will the interfaces at the
edge be established?
– What are the applications for each DER data set?
– Which apps require “Real time” communications?
– What are the backhaul options?
17
NOC
Integrated Communications
• Ease of deployment • Data carrying capacity (speed)
• Cost – opex, capex • Secure
• Latency • Regulatory
• Standards • Coverage capability
• Key considerations
• How much is needed?
● You are only carrying bits but the bits aggregate quickly– 50 bits/sec/household handles most apps
● Do the apps control equipment or just deliver information –latency vs. speed
● Some advanced apps need more – wave form analysis, historical trending, work crew communications, etc.
Integrated CommunicationsTechnology Comparison and Risk Profile
Technology Deployability Cost –Capital
Cost -Ops Latency Speed Regulatory Standards Coverage
WirelessCellular LTE M M H L >200 Kbps L H L
Cellular L M H H <100Kbps L H H
900 MHz private M L L M 50-200 Kbps L L M
WiFi/WiMAX L H L M 2-30+Mbps L H L
Licensed M H M M 2-30+Mbps M L M
WiredPLC L L L M <100Kbps L M M
DSL M L M M <3Mbps L L M
BPL M M L M 2-30+Mbps M H M
Fixed line M L H L 2-30+Mbps L L H
Fiber H H M L >Gbps L L H
• No single technology fits all applications• Multiple factors must be considered• A mix of technologies will be needed
Full Scale Deployment Integration Approach
• Establish direct communication with DER
• Support multiple solutions● Leverage existing vendor hardware and protocols
• Utilize distributed intelligence (NAN/HAN) to meet latency requirements● Protocol conversion
● Data preprocessing
● Communication management
● Enhanced Security
• Pick best solution mix on a project-by-project basis
20
Communication Deployment – Ivory Coast
WiMax - WAN
BPL- NAN
BPL- HAN
New Jersey Deployment
22
Cellular - WAN
RF Mesh - NAN
Network improvement after new Repeater installations
23
Cellular - WAN
RF Mesh - NAN
Things to Remember• Determine the issues, categorize them and prioritize
• Take one step at a time
– Focus on the present but always walk towards the future
• Procure Funding
• The Smart Grid is built from the bottom up
– Device integration
– Select proper communications infrastructure
– Data aggregation and information creation
– Application collaboration
– Develop operational and market interfaces
• Strategically use all existing systems and data in every step of the way
24
Bets are being placed
• Governments are seeding investments
• Regulators are opening markets, incenting distributed
energy, efficiency and storage
• Significant venture capital is being poured into solar
energy, storage and energy efficiency
• Entrepreneurial companies are emerging around cost
optimized energy efficiency
• Markets are opening to competition
25
Conclusion
• The Energy industry will undergo the most dramatic changes in its history in the coming years
• Hundreds of $Billions will be spent on energy related projects and venture funding to migrate the grid
• The winning companies will be flexible and willing to think out of the box
• Universities play a significant role through talent development, thought leadership, research and partnering with industry
• THE BEGINNING…
• Thank You
26
