Smart Grids
The world needs to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels and using energy more efficiently. Modern power grids with new technology is crucial for the transition to a system with more renewable energy. A modern power grid is also essential for achieving an integrated market for electricity, where the electricity can be transferred and traded between countries without obstacles.
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The traditional power grid is built around a centralized power generation with hydropower, nuclear power plants and CHP plants. Electricity generation is controlled by the expected use. When there is a lack of electricity a number of reserve power plants are started. That way there is always a balance between the amount of electricity produced and the amount used.
A smart power grid can receive electricity from different parts of the grid, controlling both production and use. The traditional power grids are not suited to supply electricity in several directions and until recently it has been difficult for homeowners and others to find someone who wants to pay for excess electricity.
Another challenge that needs to be solved with smart grids is efficient storage of energy. The need arises for example by the uneven electricity production from wind turbines. They produce electricity when the wind blows, but it does not mean that the electricity is most needed at that moment.
In Sweden there are about 170 network companies and about 3,000 distribution stations. The Swedish electricity network is of an older sort. In some cases the equipment is more than 50 years old and have an increasing need for maintenance and new investments.
The Swedish grids is currently characterized by extensive disturbances and varied power quality caused by obsolete equipment in the distribution stations. With the obsolete equipment it takes a long time to identify and resolve malfunctions which in turn means unnecessarily long power outages for customers and that more customers than necessary are affected. When a power outage occurs the power companies have a difficulty to provide quick and accurate information because the existing relay protection and fault recored do not produce satisfactory and timely information.
A first step toward creating a smart grid is to know the status of the electricity distribution, to quickly be alerted to when there is a disturbance and what caused it, and how many customers are affected. Having disturbance information quickly and intelligently analyzed means the right resources can be deployed more quickly, which saves time and money.
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