The greatest innovations of our time rarely come from entirely new technologies.
Like the invention of the PC and mobile phone, the innovative concept of the smart grid stems from the combination of creative ideas and existing science and technology. This integration of ideas and reality can provide a much better solution in many fields. Embedded systems with reconfigurable instruments and controls, whose logic is programmed using NI LabVIEW software, are combining with emerging cloud-based networking technologies, analytical methods, and other cutting-edge information technologies. As smart, networked embedded systems are more widely used throughout the power grid, they will fundamentally change the production, consumption, and distribution of electricity. Just as past information technology (IT) innovations have significantly accelerated the development of electricity, energy technology (ET) innovations will bring even greater innovations, making energy cheaper, cleaner, and more abundant.
Beginning in the 1870s, the United States dedicated itself to gradually integrating electrification into daily life, achieving widespread access to electricity for virtually all American residents by 1950. Like the US, most countries worldwide utilized technologies spanning different eras when building their power grids. Today, these grids remain among the most complex interconnected systems in the world. Since the beginning of the electrification revolution, numerous energy conversion methods incorporating new technologies have been invented. Currently, research and development in grid-related technologies is returning to a focus on fundamentally transforming the grid itself.
Figure 1. Smart grid technology mainly addresses the technical challenges of limiting openness, reliability, and the efficiency of energy production and distribution.
Using smart grid technologies to address power production challenges
In the early 21st century, human society faced unprecedented challenges in meeting its own needs, resource requirements, and environmental demands. As stated in the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Electricity Technology Roadmap, "Electricity is a solution to a sustainable world and an essential foundation." Modernized power systems will lead to increased productivity, economic growth, and a shift towards cleaner, more environmentally sustainable technologies. Modernizing power infrastructure will also improve the reliability and security of power systems, while reducing the risk of harmful power outages and disruptions.
Smart grid technology aims to address the technological challenges of openness, reliability, and efficiency in energy production and distribution. A major challenge is the current inability to store large quantities of electricity, making it difficult for grid operators to manage peak and trough periods of supply and demand during the hottest and coldest days of the year. The advent of electric vehicles will significantly increase grid storage capacity, but this will also increase peak demand. For grid operators, smart grid technology presents both challenges and opportunities. Energy storage will make it easier for the grid to manage the large amounts of wind and solar energy resources whose energy fluctuates during production.
Another major challenge for the power grid is reliability. The United States has 300,000 miles of interconnected power grid lines. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, imbalances between supply and demand often result in wasted electricity and outages costing approximately $150 billion per year. Smart grid technologies will address these issues by automatically predicting, responding to load shifts, rerouting energy to bypass obstacles, introducing distributed storage and renewable energy generation, and even identifying and locating faults and dispatching maintenance personnel with the appropriate equipment.
Smart instruments for smart grids
Reconfigurable embedded instruments and control systems, such as CompactRIO, offer an ideal fusion of technology and functionality to address the most challenging smart grid problems. Powered by LabVIEW and reconfigurable field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), these user-programmable, field-updatable smart devices can perform multiple digital signal processing and control tasks in parallel and in real time. Furthermore, modern analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and sensors provide high-fidelity, globally synchronized electrical measurements. Additionally, emerging network communication protocols, such as IEC 61850, are being developed to ensure network interoperability and compatibility from smart sensors to the cloud.
For example, configuration I/O (RIO) technology is being used to improve the efficiency of the Indian power grid. In India, NexGen Ltd. is using LabVIEW and CompactRIO to automate meter reading with Advanced Power Measurement (AMR) capabilities in substations. It also monitors the input power of 11 kV transmission lines and the output power of 440 volts to characterize the efficiency of substation transformers. Furthermore, the system monitors transformer oil levels and temperatures and communicates via cellular networks and a central monitoring and data acquisition system. NexGen is deploying such a system, based on NI single-board RIO hardware, in 2,820 substations throughout Rajasthan, India. Installing distributed smart sensors is the only way to fully realize the efficiency of the power grid. NexGen's automated meter reading system will improve India's power distribution and help reduce estimated power losses in the distribution system by 30 percent.
Figure 2. NexGEN uses CompactRIO for advanced power measurement in AMR systems.
For more information on energy and power, please visit the following website: http://china.ni.com/energypower
