SYSLAB

Two main developments create growing challenges to the operation of electricity grids in many countries. The first one - the liberalisation of energy markets - did away with the convenient union of power producers and transmission/distribution system operators. This opened the way for connecting small, independently owned generation units to the grid, and made power - as well as ancillary services - a market-traded commodity.

Power distribution grids - their control and protection systems in particular - were designed to feed centrally generated power to geographically large areas. They are insufficiently equipped for the local control and regulation needs of a system with a high penetration of distributed generation. Large parts of the medium voltage grid are essentially invisible and inaccessible to control room operators today.

The second development - the proliferation of renewable energy and wind power in particular - has made this problem more visible. A large number of relatively small energy sources with highly fluctuating output and limited predictability requires good coordination if these sources are meant to add to grid stability instead of threatening it. The optimisation potential of a more intelligent, more integrated power grid is significant, and the integration of emerging technologies on the household level, such as micro CHPs and demand-side management, can both improve the security of supply and increase the amount of free transmission capacity. SYSLAB is Risø's new laboratory for intelligent distributed control. It is based on an electrical microgrid which is able to exchange active and reactive power with the public distribution grid through a back-to-back converter. The initial setup has the following components connected to the microgrid: 60kVA diesel generator set 11kW Gaia wind turbine 55kW Bonus wind turbine 75kW dump load 45kVA back-to-back power converter 10kW deferrable load (space heating)

Modular nodes
Core of the SYSLAB concept is the idea of a universal modular node unit which combines a standard computer, data storage, measurement hardware, I/O interfaces, backup power and an ethernet switch in a compact, portable container.

Each component on the electrical microgrid is equipped with its own dedicated node system which provides monitoring, supervisory functions and a communication abstraction layer for the component.

Applications

• Development Testing of control schemes for intelligent, decentralised and distributed systems - e.g. Virtual Power Plants
• Testing of DER components
• Aid in modelling and simulation

Risø is a partner in the DERLAB network of excellence for the testing of distributed energy components and systems.