SMART GRIDS

Under the esteem guidance of Mr.Srinath sir

Submitted by sreekanth (098A1A0220)

INTRODUCTION Smart grids are emerging as the next strategic challenge for the energy sector and as a key catalyst to achieve the vision of a low-carbon economy.

In the following section we will describe the power grid , how it operates today and how a smarter grid will change the design and operations to lead to more efficient ,effective power delivery in the future. There are several Challenges which are leading decisionmakers to consider this technology as an option and in some cases a requirement. This section will explore the different capabilities which sit within the smart grid construct and how they help respond to those challenges. Once it is recognized that smart grids are not a simplistic one- size fits all, it is possible to examine the geographic variances which occur and identify several smart grid arche -types which correspond to a locations specific starting point and implementation objectives. The next-generation electricity grid, known as the smart grid or intelligent grid, is expected to address the major shortcomings of the existing grid. In essence, the smart grid needs to provide the utility companies with full visibility and pervasive control over their assets and services. The smart grid is required to be self-healing and resilient to system anomalies. And last but not least, the smart grid needs to empower its stakeholders to define and realize new ways of engaging with each other and performing energy transactions across the system.

The utility industry across the world is trying to address numerous challenges, including generation diversification, optimal deployment of expensive assets, demand response, energy conservation and reduction of the industrys overall carbon footprint. It is evident that such critical issues cannot be addressed within the confines of the existing electricity grid. The existing electricity grid is unidirectional in nature. It converts only one-third of fuel energy into electricity, without recovering the waste heat. Almost 8% of its output is lost along its transmission lines, while 20% of its generation capacity exists to meet peak demand only (i.e., it is in use only 5% of the time). In addition to that, due to the hierarchical topology of its assets, the existing electricity grid suffers from domino effect failures.

Exciting yet challenging times lie ahead. The electrical power industry is undergoing rapid change. The rising cost of energy, the mass electrification of everyday life, and climate change are the major drivers that will determine the speed at which such transformations will occur. Regardless of how quickly various utilities embrace smart grid concepts, technologies, and systems, they all agree on the inevitability of this massive transformation. It is a move that will not only affect their business processes but also their organization and technologies. At the same time, many research centers across the globe are working to ease this transition by developing the next generation technologies required to realize the smart grid. 2 What a smart grid is.. Smart grids incorporate embedded computer processing capability and two-way communications to the current electricity infrastructure. Smart grids operate across the utility value chain, and should not be confused with smart meters. A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology with two-way communications to control appliances at consumers' homes to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency. It overlays the electrical grid with an information andnet metering system. Such a modernized electrical grid is being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilence issues. The smart grid is made possible by applying sensing, measurement and control devices with two-way communications to electricity production, transmission, distribution and consumption parts of the power grid that communicate information about grid condition to system users, operators and automated devices, making it possible to dynamically respond to changes in grid condition. A smart grid includes an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all electricity flowing in the system. It also incorporates the use of superconductive transmission lines for less power loss, as well as the capability of integrating renewable electricity such as solar and wind. When power is least expensive the user can allow the smart grid to turn on selected home appliances such as washing machines or factory processes that can run at arbitrary hours. At peak times it could turn off selected appliances to reduce demand.

A smart grid uses sensing, embedded processing and digital communications to enable the electricity grid to be: observable(able to be measured and visualized) controllable(able to manipulated and optimized) automated(able to adapt and self-heal) fullyintegrated(fully interoperable with existing incorporate a diverse set ofenergy sources).

systems and with the capacity to

A smart grid will create the platform for a wide range of advanced and low-carbon technologies.The smart grid, as defined in Figure 2, encapsulates embedded intelligence and communications integrated at any stage from power generation to end point consumption. To date, the majority of the industry debate hascentred on smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure devices designed to accurately measure and communicate consumption data in the home or office environment. Confusion can arise if the term smart meter is used synonymously with smart grid. One of the objectives of this paper is to provide some clarity regarding this misunderstanding. The reality is that, with the holistic smart grid, the smart meter becomes just one more node on the network, measuring and relaying flow and quality data. Figure 3 Why is a need of smart grid? Smart grids represent an evolution of the electricity network from generation to Consump- tion in a way that is interactive, flexible and efficient .The challenges include integrating renewable but intermittent power from large-scale plants ,often located far from consumers, and from small-scale installations. It will take

several decades to apply the solutions to a mix of new and existing equipment. All stakeholders policymakers, regulators ,utilities and vendors must tackle this challenge together. The major driving forces to modernize current power grids can be divided in four, general categories.

Increasing reliability, efficiency and safety of the power grid. Enabling decentralized power generation so homes can be both an energy client and supplier (provide consumers with an interactive tool to manage energy usage, as net metering ). Flexibility of power consumption at the clients side to allow supplier selection (enables distributed generation, solar, wind, biomass). Increase GDP by creating more new, greencoller energy jobs related to renewable energy industry manufacturing plug-in electric vehicles, solar panel and wind turbine generation, energy conservation construction. In addition to above , the following forcing us to swith to

needs

are

also

smart grids..... a) Environmental challenges.

Traditional electric power production, as the largest man-created emission source, must be changed to mitigate the climate change Also, a shortage of fossil energy resources has been foreseen in the next few decades. Natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornados can destroy the transmission grids easily. Finally, the available

and suitable space for the future expansion of transmission grids has decreased dramatically.

b) needs.

Market/customer

Full-fledged operation

system technologies

and power market policies need to be developed to sustain the transparency and liberty of the competitive market. Customer satisfaction with electricity consumption should be improved by providing high quality/price ratio electricity and customers freedom to interact with the grid.

c) Infrastructure challenges. The existing infrastructure for electricity transmission has quickly aging components and insufficient investments for improvements. With the

pressure of the increasing load demands, the network congestion is becoming worse. The fast online analysis tools, wide-area monitoring, measurement and control,

fast and accurate protections are needed to improve the reliability of the networks.

d) Innovative technologies. On one hand, the innovative technologies, including new materials, advanced power electronics, and communication technologies, are not yet mature or

commercially available for the revolution of transmission grids; on the other hand, the existing grids lack enough compatibility to accommodate the implementation of spear-point technologies in the practical.

Exciting yet challenging times lie ahead. The electrical power industry is undergoing rapid change. The rising cost of energy, the mass electrification of everyday life, and climate change are the major drivers that will determine the speed at which such transformations will occur. Regardless of how quickly various utilities embrace smart grid concepts, technologies, and systems, they all agree on the inevitability of this massive transformation. It is a move that will not only affect their business processes but also their organization and technologies. At the same time, many research centers across the globe are working to ease this transition by developing the next generation technologies required to realize the smart grid.