Standard Rules for Extensions of Information Models for IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25

IEC 61850 und IEC 61400-25 define already (or just) some hundreds of Information Models (LNs, Data Objects, and Common Data Classes).

Click HERE for a list of some 285 defined Logical Nodes.

The list will definitely grow while we go. Standards are defined based on consensus of experts and national committees involved. Very often the groups cannot agree on adding some useful information model - so it is often decided to NOT include the model into the standard. In other cases it is decided to just define the model as an optional definition.

A lot of information needed in real systems is not (yet) defined as part of the standards - and may never be standardized.

To allow the users of the standard to use the modeling method, the basic models like types and Common Data Classes, and Data Objects, IEC 61850-7-1 defines a STANDARD Rule on how to cope with needed extensions. The rule is named "Name Space Concept".

The name space concept follows the needs of new models as depicted in the following figure from draft edition 2 of IEC 61850 (edition 1 already defined the name space concept):

The rules defined allows:

1. To extend any existing standardized LN by adding Data Objects from other LN classes or by defining new Data Objects.
2. To extend any existing standardized Data Object by adding Data Attributes or by defining new Common Data Classes.

The following excerpt of Logical Node Name Plate Common Data Class (LPL) shows the corresponding attribute "lnNs" (Logicla Node Name Space). This is used to "tag" an extended Information Model. In this case an extended LN. Extended could mean a new LN or a LN that comprises new Data Objects.

Any Common Data Class has the following attributes:

The "dataNs" is intended to identify (or reference) the extended Data Object.

The complete rules can be found in edition 1 of IEC 61850-7-1 - these rules will be refined in edition 2 which will be published as International Standard later in 2010.

The current rules (edition 1) allow to define any extension needed for the Wind Power application in the US.

There is no need to wait until any future edition of IEC 61400-25-2 or any other standard models are published before people can use these standards in the US (and global wind power market). If models need to be extended this can be done on a user or vendor basis, on a market base (NIST, FERC, NERC, ...), regional base (North America), or a global (UCA International Usersgroup, or IEC standard) base.

It is very likely that the Information Models will grow while the industry goes.

If somebody would wait until ALL his currently needed information (in existing applications) is modeled as LNs, Data Objects and Common Data Classes and is standardized, then he would NEVER START to use the standard.

The crucial benefit of the IEC 61850 based standards is the independence of the models from the communication services, and the independence of the services from the communication protocols:

The Name Space Concept is a very SMART solution to make the grids smarter - in a few steps.

See also the next two blog postings.

How to extend Models of IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25?

Very often you can hear that IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 could be applied for new use cases only if new Logical Nodes would be standardized - which may take several years. Waiting years for new models is not what many companies and groups are looking for. Why to wait for years?

IEC 61850 has implemented a rule on how to extend and define new models: Name Space concept. This concept allows for defining extensions and new models (Logical Nodes, Data Objects, Common Data Classes).

Click HERE for an example of an extended Model: an new Logical Node (links to the next blog posting).

Adoption and Update of Wind Power Plant Communications Standard 61400-25

The NIST PAP 16 team (Wind Plant Communication) will gather use cases and requirements from wind industry stakeholders with a focus on those requirements associated with integrating bulk wind assets into wind plant operation and utility command and control systems. Special attention will be given to those use cases and requirements that differ from those developed by the IEC TC 88 61400-25 working group to quickly identify the gaps that are preventing ubiquitous application of the standard in the US. The PAP Team will seek out recent ARRA funding awardees involved in wind plant projects to ensure that their requirements are discovered and they are made aware of the existing portfolio of standards available.

The PAP 16 team will provide specific recommendations to the IEC TC 88 working group responsible for maintaining the 61400-25 standard to address the gaps identified.

Click HERE for the PAP Proposal [WORD document].

The standard IEC 61400-25-2 (Wind) mainly extends the information models of IEC 61850-7-4, 7-410 (DER) and 7-420 (Hydro). All objects of all four standards build a huge set of standard information models. ALL models ca be used on generic IEC 61850-8-1 compliant communication stacks. Even new models not yet standardized but defined by anybody (!) can be configured and run on compliant communication stacks - the extended models just have to follow the well defined name space concept.

So, if you need a Logical Node, e.g., LN FIZL = Fizzli Puzzli, for your Puzzli application: just define the Data Objects you need: Fipu1, Fipu2, ... of common data class SPS (single point status) ... and you are done. Define the corresponding SCL file and run it with a communication stack. You need to know what the LN and its Data Objects mean - and you have to bind it to your Puzzli application. Here is how a client sees the corresponding server:

The value of the name space of the LN nameplate FIPU1.EX.LPL.LnNs is "NIST-PAP16_2010-06-26_Fizzli-Puzzli-LN" - indicates that this is a standard conformant Extension (Functional Constraint FC=EX).

The LN instance in SCL notation is:

<LN lnType="FIPU_1" lnClass="FIPU" inst="1">
  <DOI name="LPL">
    <DAI name="lnNs">
      <Val>NIST-PAP16_2010-06-26_Fizzli-Puzzli-LN</Val>
    </DAI>
    <DAI name="vendor">
      <Val>NettedAutomation GmbH</Val>
    </DAI>
    <DAI name="swRev">
      <Val>0.1</Val>
    </DAI>
    <DAI name="d">
      <Val>This is a NIST specific extension of the IEC 61850/61400-25 information model.</Val>
    </DAI>
  </DOI>
</LN>

DataTypeTemplate for new LN class:

<LNodeType id="FIPU_1" lnClass="FIPU">
  <DO name="Fipu1" type="SPS_0" />
  <DO name="Fipu2" type="SPS_0" />
  <DO name="Fipu3" type="SPS_0" />
  <DO name="Fipu4" type="SPS_0" />
  <DO name="LPL" type="LPL_1" />
</LNodeType>

<DOType id="LPL_1" cdc="LPL">
  <DA name="vendor" bType="VisString255" fc="DC" />
  <DA name="swRev" bType="VisString255" fc="DC" />
  <DA name="d" bType="VisString255" fc="DC" />
  <DA name="lnNs" bType="VisString255" fc="EX" />
</DOType>

So, NIST or any other organization can quickly identify the gaps in the information models and define any model that is needed for the application of the standard in the US (!!). Most use cases known so far may be implemented by extending the models or defining new models - private models, models defined by any other organization, or by IEC or ANSI or ...

IEC 61850 in the IEC Smart Grid Standardization Roadmap

IEC has published the "IEC Smart Grid Standardization Roadmap" for public access. It is a "technically oriented reference book which represents the standardization requirements" for Smarter Grids.

The core standards identified in this framework are mainly:

• IEC/TR 62357 – Framework of power automation standards and description of the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) concept
• IEC 61850 – Substation automation and beyond
• IEC 61970 – Energy Management System – CIM and GID definitions
• IEC 61968 – Distribution Management System – CIM and CIS definitions
• IEC 62351 – Security

IEC 61850 is referenced more than 150 times in the Roadmap.

Click HERE to download the full report.

Congratulation - Spanish Utilities put their Heads together

Five Spanish utilities have shared their experience and ideas in trying to reach a high level of Interoperability of IEC 61850 devices from different vendors. The result of the many discussions, tests and projects has been made available the other day (Report of 182 pages full of good information). The group has granted me permission to post the result on this blog. Thanks to the companies:

RED ELÉCTRICA DE ESPAÑA, IBERDROLA, ENDESA DISTRIBUCIÓN, GAS NATURAL FENOSA and HIDRO CANTÁBRICO

"The “E3 - Spanish Electricity Companies for Studies on IEC 61850” is a working group formed by representatives and specialists from the main Spanish electricity companies, who have agreed on the urgent necessity to come to a set of unified criteria about minimal requirements to comply with by the devices to be installed in their substations under the IEC 61850 standard.
This is a result of the common standpoint reached by all participants after the experience gathered through several pilot projects.
The E3 group feeling is that the future success of IEC 61850 will be based not only on filling, under common criteria, the gaps that are still contained within the standard, but also on driving the manufacturer’s developments according to the user’s needs. ..."

For many years I have told the utility industry to get more involved in the use and maintenance of the standards. Many managers in the utility industry have learned that it is worth that their experts share their experience and prepare for the future (build their muscles!). One result of this advice is the report you can download via the link below (after the photo).

There are still many people out that write specifications for an optimized use of IEC 61850 ... sometimes the result is like the car in the following photo:

Hope your specification is more than "Everything as before and use IEC 61850 - one way or the other". The above shown "Design" is good for VW promotion, it attracts people - but the product is not usable.

Click HERE for the full E3 report [6.9 MB, PDF]

Some utility experts are still in this comfortable position:

How long will this last? Some hope: at least until they retire ;-)

Be aware: There is something to do for everyone. Build your muscles for the next generation of technology - with or without IEC 61850 ... it will come. Hope you get strong enough to deal with it.

Analysis of Wind Power Plant Information Flow

A very interesting study of the many information flows in a wind power plant system has been done by a Swedish student:

Master Thesis
REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE FOR WIND POWER INTEGRATION
A wind power plant system structure based on analysis of
wind power plant information flow
By Ivan Löfgren, Stockholm, Sweden 2009

The thesis provides an excellent overview and many useful details on the information flow in wind power plants! It is really worth to read - not only by wind power experts but also by experts of other application domains.

One of his findings are summarized in the following trend statement:

"The current trends in the architecture incorporate the following aspects:

• Standardization for both the communication (TCP/IP protocol), and also for the information models (IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25).
• Existence of a unified information model which allows a common
  language to be used between all the wind power plant components.
• Access from any location to any element of the wind power plant.
• Existence of an element dedicated solely to the management of
  communications

In definitive terms, the new architecture is designed to standardize not only the data access, but also the information from each one of the components that makes up the wind power plant. ..."

Click HERE for the full thesis [pdf].

Congratulation to Ivan Löfgren - he did a great job!!

Click HERE for all information on IEC 61400-25 on this blog.

AUD 100 million Government Smart Grid project awarded

EnergyAustralia has won the smart grid project. A CONSORTIUM led by EnergyAustralia has been named the other day the successful bidder in the federal government's $100 million smart grid, smart city project.
Newcastle will be the main site for the country's first commercial-scale smart grid project. The trial will also cover other parts of NSW including Scone, Homebush, Ku-ring-gai and the Sydney CBD.
The consortium includes IBM Australia, AGL, GE Energy, TransGrid, Newcastle City Council and the NSW government.
Click HERE for a news release.

EnergyAustralia is already working on making the system smarter: see the following examples:

"Building a new communications platform - EnergyAustralia has rolled out 800 kilometres of new fibre optic cables, installed hundreds of communications switches and deployed carriergrade Internet Protocol (IP) technology to connect more than 200 key substations and depots.
This telecommunications backbone is the foundation for a smart grid. It will provide many benefits including greater equipment monitoring and control, allowing better decision-making and earlier fault detection and repair.

Installing smart monitoring devices to collect data - EnergyAustralia is rolling out 12,000 monitoring devices throughout its electricity distribution network. This data will allow EnergyAustralia to reduce outages through faster fault location and preventive maintenance and to work towards managing distributed energy sources such as solar and storage devices. The smart sensors will give EnergyAustralia an instant picture of the electricity network and how it is performing.

Rolling out smart sensors and analytical tools on the high voltage electricity network – This includes new smart equipment at zone substations and major transmission cables to allow better, more efficient management of power equipment and greater automation of the
network."
Click HERE for more details what they do.

EnergyAustralia and IEC 61850 - check the following documents:

NS 178 - Secondary System Requirements for Major Substations
Click HERE for the document

More to come ...

Native Ethernet, IEC 61850 and Emerson Process Management

One of the real benefits of IEC 61850 is that it uses native Ethernet - not one of the many specialized "Ethernet Solutions". IEC 61850 compliant IEDs can easily communicate with any system that provides native Ethernet and TCP/IP connectivity. Ethernet for GOOSE and Sampled Values and Ethernet/TCP/IP for Client-Server communication (Get, Set, Control, Reporting events, browse the IEDs, logging events, ...).

Emerson Process Management announced on June 09, 2010, that its new Ovation™ Ethernet Link Controller I/O Module supports IEC 61850 connectivity.

"Applications protocol packages can be loaded onto the Ethernet Link Controller I/O Module, enabling Emerson to extend its PlantWeb™ digital architecture and Ovation system beyond traditional plant boundaries. One such protocol package is IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 61850, which has emerged as a global standard for Substation Automation (SA). Integrating data from electrical devices used in generators, switchgear, transmission lines, transformers and substations drives more-informed decision making throughout the organization."

Click HERE for the press release.

Siemens to erect 160 wind turbines in a single off-shore park

Siemens reported the other day that they will supply and erect 160 wind turbines each with a capacity of 3.6 megawatts for the Gwynt y Môr project (North Wales coast). Siemens will also provide the connection of the wind turbines to the power grid including substations (offshore transformer platforms).

Click HERE to read the full press release.

The first German off-shore park (Alpha-Ventus) is in operation since Spring 2010. This is just the first step - huge projects are planned. More to come.

Click HERE for a (HUGE) list of planned wind power projects (these are challenges for engineers!).
Click HERE for general information on off-shore wind parks.

UML model of IEC 61850

As you know, IEC 61850-7-x uses mainly a table notation for the many models. Using UML as an optional notation for the content of IEC 61850 and the harmonization of IEC 61850 and CIM has been discussed since the late nineties. ABB has recently provided a UML based model notation for IEC 61850.

The initial version of this model has been developed by ABB, Switzerland, Corporate Research for further discussion and maintenance in IEC TC 57 WG 10.

Click HERE to access the UML model.

Do Wind Turbines change our Climate?

Some 10 years ago when there was not so much to discuss in the electric power industry (the Smart grid was not yet invented) I attended a conference on Electric Power Systems. One of the crucial questions was: Do Wind Power Turbines change our Climate? These questions are still asked - all over and by many experts.

The other day I read in the IEEE Power & Energy Magazine some interesting answers on this question. In the May/June 2010 issue you can read on page 6 (share your thoughts) an answer from NREL: "... it should be kept in mind that our energy mix will never be comprised solely of wind energy, so at even at large but reasonable levels of wind penetration the global impact would not be measurable. These results should not be surprising because fundamentally wind turbines just increase the friction or drag at the bottom of the atmospheric boundary layer much like trees or any other obstruction to the flow. My conclusion is that levels of wind energy amounting to 20–50% of our electricity should not cause any measurable change in global climate."

There is another question: Can you proof that the leaves of a tree are moved by the wind? Or are they generating the wind? Wind turbines may be used to generate wind - once we have too much electric power ... ok, I am kidding.

Click HERE to read the full text in May/June 2010 issue.

Deutsche Industrie empfiehlt China einheitliche Standards für Smart Grid

Namhafte deutsche Verbände und Firmen haben während des ersten "Sino-EU Smart Grid Technology and Standardization Forums" Ende Mai 2010 in Peking die Bedeutung von Normen für Smart Grids diskutiert.

Der chinesische Energiemarkt ist für deutsche Firmen sehr wichtig - ""Allerdings nur, wenn wir uns frühzeitig mit China bezüglich der Architektur und Standardisierung von Smart Grid abstimmen können", betont Dipl.-Ing. Roland Bent, Geschäftsführer Marketing und Entwicklung bei PHOENIX CONTACT. Eine frühzeitige Berücksichtigung von Normungsaspekten im Forschungsprozess und bei der Umsetzung schafft Wettbewerbsvorteile für Deutschland. "Was wir brauchen sind einheitliche internationale Standards, die den Informationsaustausch für Grid Automation, Industry Automation und Home Automation beschreiben", fordert auch Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Thies, Sprecher der Geschäftsführung von VDE|DKE."

Diese Forderungen nach einheitlichen internationalen Standards können nur unterstrichen werden - einheitlich für China, für Europa und für Deutschland! Wenn es "einheitliche" internationale Standards gibt, dann gibt es auch mindestens einen "un-einheitlichen" internationalen Standard! Oder? In der Tat den gibt es tatsächlich: IEC 61158. Mit IEC 61850 gibt es glücklicherweise EINE wirklich einheitliche Norm für Smart Grids, Industrie-Automation und Gebäudeautomation.

Click HIER für die Pressemitteilung des VDE.