Government-funded project “Fühler im Netz”
Our electricity grids feature a growing number of decentralised systems; feeding electricity produced by renewable energy sources into the local distribution grid. Fluctuating according to the weather and time of day, photovoltaic systems and wind turbines affect grid stability and can endanger the security of supply. It becomes even more important to constantly monitor and record network status.
To ensure the supply security and grid stability in Germany in the future, the detailed recording of the grid status will play an important role. Only in this way will it be possible for those responsible to detect plant and grid faults at an early stage and take corrective action.
The data we need is already available
In order to address this problem, the project “Fühler im Netz (FiN) (Sensors in the Grid)” intends to investigate new and cost-effective ways of recording the grid status and detecting faults, specifically the use of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology. BPL is used for communicatively linking different applications in the electricity grid.
Watch the Fühler im Netz animation
„BPL is an attractive communication technologie because with BPL electricity grids and telecommunication grids converge in an intelligent way.“
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Zdrallek of the Bergischen Universität Wuppertal.
A BPL infrastructure already contains a considerable amount of grid data that can provide information about the grid status and possible faults – without having to rely on additional detection technology. So far, however, no one has systematically studied this aspect.
In the FiN project, the engineers want to verify the extent to which they can generate reliable information during the grid operation and when recording status data based on the BPL channel characteristics.
In addition, they are examining the extent to which they can efficiently collect additional measurement data by installing simple and cost-effective measurement sensors in the Broadband over Power Line grid.
Together with the analysis of the BPL channel characteristics, they then want to generate sufficient status and operational information in order to be able to conclusively assess the grid status.
Government-funded project
Power Plus Communications is the consortium leader of this project, which is supported by the German government with EUR 2,5 Million. It started in November 2014 and will presumably end in October 2017.
Participants:
