Southern Company ResearchPower Electronics

Andrew IngramMay 2016

R&D Culture & Focus

• Seek to lead the industry in R&D• Centrally located research

engineers and scientists• Laboratories dispersed across

operating assets• Active collaboration with utilities,

universities, vendors • Heavily leveraged by external

funding partners• Research portfolio to provide

hardened technology options

Who We Are

Steve WilsonGM, Research

and Development

Larry MonroeSVP R&EA,

Chief Env Officer

Kim GreeneSoCo Chief Operating

Officer

Roxann LairdDirector, NCCC

Lamar Larrimore

Manager, EPRI Technology

Power DeliveryR&D Group

Power Generation R&D Group

End Use R&D Group

Advanced Energy

Systems R&D Group

Tracy HawkinsManagement

Director, R&TM

Renewables & Distributed Generation

Group

Environmental Controls R&D

Group

What We Do

Develop and Manage Strategic

R&D Portfolio

Respond to Technology

Needs

Manage Collaborative Relationships

Support the Transmission & Distribution Organizations by providing technology options to maintain industry-leading status

Strategic Focus Areas

• Robotics• Unmanned Aerial Systems• Power Flow Control

• Energy Storage• Visualization• Technology Commercialization

Southern Company’s Smart Grid Definition:– A smart grid provides fast, two-way communication that enhances

our ability to monitor and control our entire electric infrastructure in real time and respond quickly to existing and potential problems.

• “two-way communication”• “to monitor and control”• “in real time”

EPRI Program 180 – Distribution Systems

• Project Sets

– A – Distribution Planning, Design, and Analysis– B – Distribution Inspection, Maintenance, Asset Planning– C – Cable Systems Management– D – Distribution Reliability Management– E – Risk Mitigation Strategies– F – Grid Modernization– G – Technologies Evaluation and Assessment– H – Technology Development– I – Distribution Systems Practices– J – Tech Transfer and Industry Coordination

EPRI Program 174 –Integration of Distributed Energy Resources

• Project Sets

– A – Modeling and Simulation• Analytics and Methods for Existing Grid Distribution Applications• Analytics and Methods for Future Grid Distribution Applications

– B – Grid Support Functions and Connectivity• Inverter Advanced Functions and Grid Communication• Inverter Performance and System Safety Assessment

– D – Business Impacts and Practices• Best Practices, Markets, and Use Cases• Economic Analysis of Business Impacts & Opportunities

– E – Technology Transfer and Industry Coordination• Technology Transfer, Resources, Tools

Varentec ENGO Device

Varentec ENGO Device

• Edge of Network Grid Optimization (ENGO) device• 0-10 kVAR static compensation device (1 kVAR increments)• Pole-mounted units on secondary side of service transformer• Given a voltage setpoint, the units work to maintain that voltage at

their installation point• Taken in aggregate the result is a much

flatter voltage profile throughout the feeder

• NOT a replacement for all capacitors

Varentec ENGO Device

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tage

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ENGOs OFF LTC set at 240 V (1 pu)

ENGOs OFFLTC set at 247 V (1.03 pu) ANSI Low Limit

Secondary Voltage at 24 LocationsSubstation Voltage on 240V Base

Pmax = 3.95 MW Pmax = 3.69 MW

3% voltage/energy reduction

No voltage reduction

3% voltage/energy reduction

11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00215

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ENGOs ON, SP = 240VLTC set at 240 V (1 pu)

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Time of Day

ENGOs ON, SP = 235VLTC set at 235 V (0.98 pu)

Pmax = 3.39 MWPmax = 3.61 MW

5% voltage/energy reduction

Minimal ANSI violations

ANSI violations

No ANSI violations No ANSI violations

What is an ENGO device?

• A single ENGO unit is a voltage controlled, fast-switched capacitive device that can be switched in 1kVAR increments from 0-10 kVAR.

• Unlike traditional switched capacitor banks, this device is installed single-phase on the secondary side of a distribution transformer.

Expected Benefits

• With a more disperse and dynamic approach to Volt/VAR control, the ENGO solution allows for better circuit performance in these areas:

Project Objective

• To evaluate and demonstrate the ENGO technology as an alternative option for distribution Volt/VAR control

Southern Company Evaluation

• Baseline performance evaluation of 91 units completed using a Georgia Power feeder.

• SCS R&TM working with Alabama Power Distribution has deployed 100 of the ENGO devices on one circuit for a full feeder demonstration.

— Phase Balancing— CVR Load Reduction— Voltage Control

— Renewable Integration— FIDVR Response

Varentec ENGO Device

• Device benefits demonstrated on a feeder-level• 700 device multi-feeder, multi-sub pilot project planned• Full deployment on all applicable feeders from several electrically

close substations• Expect to demonstrate substation-level benefits:

– Peak load control– Transmission VAR support– Dispatchable load– Equipment life extension

• Voltage regulators• LTCs

MicroPMU Project

• Partnership with UC Berkeley & Lawrence Berkeley National Lab• 10 distribution sized Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) installed

on Green Valley (Hoover, AL) feeder last year• Units take time-synchronized measurements of voltage and

current on each phase• Potential applications:

– Power system automation (smart grid)– Demand response mechanisms– Advanced fault detection– Power quality monitoring– Cyber security (project expansion)

CD-PARCompact Dynamic Phase Angle Regulators for Power Routing

Compact low-cost dynamic power flow controller

Objective NEETRAC• Atlanta, GA

Lab Testing Georgia Power

Company• Milledgeville, GA

Field Testing

LTC Dial Indicator

• Purpose: To be able to remotely record readings from the LTCs of transformers at substations

• Readings are captured through a device known as a SCADA System Gateway (SSG)

SSG Unit SSG Installed Near LTC

LTC Dial Indicator

• An accelerometer is placed on the LTC dial of the substation transformer• Calibrations are done through the use of software connected to the SSG and the

accelerometer and network connections are made to SCADA

Manual Calibration of SSG

Accelerometer Affixed to Dial

LTC Dial Indicator

• The focus of this effort is to be able to more efficiently make remote voltage changes at a wide swathe of substations by observing their LTC readings in SCADA

Completed LTC Dial Indicator Assembly

Smart Inverter Project

• 1 MW PV facility in Athens, GA• Multiple SMA string inverters• SunPower plant controller• Some grid support functions to be tested:

– Power curtailment– Power factor control– Volt/VAR– Frequency/Watt– Volt/Watt– LV/HV ride-through