Communication with and within Distributed Energy Resources

• Published in: 2006 4th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics pp. 352 - 356
• Main Authors: Haas, O., Ausburg, O., Palensky, P.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.08.2006
• Subjects: Communication networks; Communication standards; Context; Context-aware services; Density estimation robust algorithm; Energy resources; IEC standards; Power supplies; Power system restoration; Renewable energy resources
• ISBN: 9780780397002; 0780397002
• ISSN: 1935-4576; 2378-363X
• DOI: 10.1109/INDIN.2006.275825

The increasing contribution of dispersed and renewable energy sources (DER) to the peak power balance of up to 60 % and the goals of the European Community for the year 2010 require innovative approaches in order to maintain the sustainability of the power supply. Sustainability in this context requires that DER significantly support system services like frequency control, power balance, voltage control or supply restoration after failures. For this, remote information exchange with the respective DER units will become necessary. Consequently, interoperable and scaleable communication solutions play a key role for sustainability in power systems with an increasing share of DER The "network for energy and communication" (NEaC) which was founded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is a consortium that elaborates requirements, specifications, systems, standards and related technologies for inter-networked DERs. A communication network with diverse physical communication media is considered for a typical medium/low voltage network with industrial, commercial, rural and household customers each with typical load profiles. A variety of DER units like wind power plants, fuel cells, photovoltaic plants or CHP units is considered. It is demonstrated how an optimized communication network, complying with technical and economical requirements, can be realized. NEaC strongly supports international standards and shows that IEC 61850 fulfils all related selection criteria for DER communication systems.