Performances of Photo Voltaic Systems (PV) in Germany

Did you know that on May 25, 2012, 179 GWh electric power have been provided by PV systems?

You can view at any time the total output of all PV plants in Germany installed up to the specified cutoff date. The animated graphics demonstrate the role already played by photo voltaic systems in generating electricity in Germany today, and show that PV systems also contribute to reducing the high cost of midday peak demand.

Link to current and historical performance of Photo Voltaic Systems (PV) in Germany provided by SMA

Note that SMA is supporting the application of IEC 61850 for managing PV systems.

Mainova baut Anlage für Strom-zu-Gas-Technologie

“Die Mainova AG (Frankfurt) baut Pilotanlage zur Energiespeicherung! Frankfurt wird Modellstadt für die Power-to-Gas-Technologie: Die Mainova AG wird die bundesweit erste Demonstrationsanlage bauen und betreiben, mit deren Hilfe Strom aus Wind und Sonne in Wasserstoff umgewandelt und in ein kommunales Gasnetz eingespeist wird.

Die Anlage wird am Mainova-Heizwerk in der Schielestraße errichtet und soll Ende 2013 in Betrieb gehen. Sie wird pro Stunde rund 60 Kubikmeter Wasserstoff erzeugen und so in einer Stunde 3000 Kubikmeter mit Wasserstoff angereichertes Erdgas in das Frankfurter Verteilnetz einspeisen … die Strom zu Gas-Technologie wird für Versorgungsunternehmen aller Größenordnungen interessant werden”.

Download die Pressemitteilung vom 25.09.2012.

Damit (und mit weiteren Anlagen in der Planung) wird der vielversprechende Ansatz, Strom in Form von Gas zu speichern, ein gutes Stück vorangetrieben!

Open Position: IEC 61850 and TÜV SÜD expand into the North American Market

TÜV SÜD is a well known authority in the testing of IEC 61850 IEDs with regard to IEC 61850 Conformance Tests, Functional Tests, Security Tests, and Safety Tests. They have been accredited from the UCAIUG as an IEC 61850 test lab.

TÜV SÜD is currently expanding its service portfolio in the field of embedded systems, focusing on safety and security in the certification of machinery and installation control systems as well as networked embedded systems. In this context we focus on the following sectors: the energy industry (e.g. smart grid, smart meters and conformity/interoperability of communication networks and systems for distributed energy resources in accordance with IEC 61850), factory automation, chemical, oil and gas industry and rail (advanced security aspects).

TÜV SÜD is offering a new position for a Project Engineer for their Industrial IT Security and Smart Metering services in the USA.

Please check the full description of the position.

IEC 61850 in the U.S. – many Open Positions

An increasing number of open positions in the U.S. that require IEC 61850, one way or the other, are reported by www.simplyhired.com:

Check a list of 55 (as per 2012-09-25) descriptions posted during the last 30 days.

This is two times more than those that require knowledge in DNP3 (as per 2012-09-25).

Many of the positions require experience in SCADA systems. This is an indication that IEC 61850 will be used more and more beyond protection and control systems in substations.

More to come.

MMS (ISO 9506) available for Download

The 2003 version of ISO 9506 (MMS, part 1 and 2) is available for download:

Download ISO 9506-1 (Services)

Download ISO 9506-2 (Protocol)

Need help in MMS, IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25, … contact us.

IEC 61850 at the Remote Conference in Denver (September 18-19, 2012)

IEC 61850 was one of the highlights at the 2012 Remote Conference and Exhibition in Denver (CO) on September 18-19, 2012.

NettedAutomation conducted a Seminar on IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 and presented solutions for a short-time-to-market development.

Dan Nordell (a long-term utility expert and UCA expert from day one) explained to many experts that came by at the booth, what the benefits of the standards are:

The many discussions during the seminar and at the booth reviled the growing interest in IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 in the USA. Several vendors of RTU and SCADA solutions, and utility experts reported that they are in the process of making decisions on how to get standard to implement or apply conformant solutions implemented in the near future.

Many open positions in the USA are requesting – one or the other way – knowledge with regard to IEC 61850.

How are you planning to get the needed knowledge on IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25 and MMS (ISO 9506)? Contact NettedAutomation to get the right support.

Cyber Security issues for the Energy Systems

The U.S. Rice University has published a report on cyber security issues for the U.S. energy systems. This report repeats saying that the industry needs to do something – guess that is very true.

Here is the report on Cyber Security.

New publications of IEC TC 57 on IEC 61850, CIM and Security

IEC TC 57 has published several documents:

IEC 62351-5 TS Ed.2 approved as TS:
Data and communications security – Part 5: Security for IEC 60870-5 and derivatives

IEC 61850-90-7 TR Ed.1 approved as TR:
IEC 61850 object models for photovoltaic, storage and other DER inverters

Here you can find information abut the content of IEC 61850-90-7.

IEC 61970-301 Ed.5 out for CDV ballot until 2013-01-04:
Common Information Model (CIM) base

Draft IEC TR 61850-90-2 out for comments by 2013-01-04:
Use of IEC 61850 for the communication between substations and control centres

IEC 61850-10 Ed.2 out for FDIS ballot until 2012-11-23:
Part 10: Conformance testing

TÜV SÜD lädt zur zweiten IEC61850-Laborbegehung ein

TÜV SÜD lädt zur zweiten IEC61850-Laborbegehung ein (Anmeldung bis Mittwoch, 12:00 Uhr möglich):

Interesse? Bitte kontaktieren Sie Frau Ana Dominguez

TÜV SÜD AG
Embedded Systems (V-INM)
Barthstr. 16
80339 München / Munich
Phone: +49 89 5791 2195 (Munich)
mailto: ana.dominguez@tuev-sued.de
http://www.tuev-sued.de/embedded

NettedAutomations IEC 61850 Training Modules and Experience

Please find a comprehensive description of training services provided by NettedAutomation including a list of training sessions (past events) and modules of training topics:

Training on IEC 61850 offered by NettedAutomation [pdf, 2.6 MB].

In addition to the theory of the standards it is the huge experience collected during 10 years of comprehensive training that makes the courses unparalleled.

The next public training is scheduled for Frankfurt (Germany) on October, 17-19, 2012

I hope to see several utility experts there, see ENTSO-E statement on IEC 61850 and their complaint about the situation in High Voltage substations. Seats and a discount fee are available.

SystemCorp IEC 61850 Stack/API – Questions and Answers

SystemCorp has published a lot details on their website. Several often asked questions have been answered in Application Notes.

The recent notes deal with GOOSE performance, Update call at server side to provide multiple values (e.g., stVal, q, t) in ONE call, and Ethernet raw package driver.

The Application notes can be found here:

https://www.systemcorp.com.au/support.html

ENTSO-E statement on the IEC61850 standard

ENTSO-E representing 41 TSOs from 34 European countries has published earlier in 2012 a statement on IEC 61850 for the application in European Transmission Systems. The statement criticizes that the level of interoperability expected by the utilities has not yet been implemented by the vendors.

This is also my personal experience speaking to hundreds of utility experts all over. What happened? How can it be overcome?

The main reason for some challenges in getting a higher degree of interoperability is that the same utilities (from the 41 in ENTSO-E) that are now complaining DID NOT get enough involved in the standardization process AND NOT in the process of implementation and first pilot tests. The feedback (needed in such comprehensive standards) was very weak.

I was personally seriously impacted by the changes in the utility industry some 10 years ago: The industry has funded my (and other peoples) involvement in the standardization work until 2002 – to help to make sure that the utilities’ requirements got implemented in the standards!! For the next 10 (crucial!) years after 2002 almost NO UTILITY expert showed up or was seriously involved. The vendors were finishing the standards without the “control” of the utility industry. AND: The first implementations and projects were not really watched and commented by the utility experts. The vendors still are preferably implementing turn-key substations often WITHOUT utility experts involved! Utility people usually have very little understanding what IEC 61850 means.

On one side it is unfair to not really showing up and not getting sufficiently involved in the process for the last 10 years and then – when some minor issues are still not solved – complain that the TSO’s requirements have not been fully met! Several experts have tried some 10 years ago to convince several CEOs of big utilities to continue funding the standardization work! We did not have any chance!

By the way – the good sign is now that the ENTSO-E TSOs WOKE UP! Hope that they will get back to become again a serious partner in the international standardization and in the implementation and application of the standards.

Download the ENTSO-E statement on IEC 61850

In the meantime many other domain have decided to use IEC 61850 – in most cases the interoperability at a very high degree is reached in these applications.

All market stake-holders are invited to get involved – some may first need to get some education to understand that IEC 61850 is more than just another protocol.

The statement refers to EPRI’s UCA development that has cost some 50.000.000 USD !! Where are the European utilities that are willing to spend a reasonable amount of Euros to get the remaining requirements of the TSO implemented in the years to come?!

I look forward to receiving many enquiries for training courses from European TSOs in the years to come ;-)

I have trained many utilities all over to help them to understand the standards, products, tools, and the vendors … often utility experts have NO clue what this is all about!

IEEE Award for Paper on Standards-based Smart Grid Automation

A paper co-written by Academic researchers and Power Industry experts has won the Andrew P. Sage Award for Best Paper in the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Part C: Applications and Reviews for 2012. The paper was nominated by Editor in Chief, Professor Vlad Marik.

“Distributed Power System Automation with IEC 61850, IEC 61499, and Intelligent Control” by Neil Higgins, Prof. Valeriy Vyatkin, Prof. Nirmal-Kumar C Nair and Karlheinz Schwarz fuses ideas from two distinct areas, Industrial Control and Power System Automation. It describes how synergies between two emerging Standards, IEC 61499 Function Blocks and IEC 61850 Communication Networks and Systems for Power Utility Automation, can be leveraged to create powerful and robust SmartGrid automation schemes.

IEC 61499 promotes portability, interoperability and configurability aspects of control systems, adding an object-oriented flavour to precursors like IEC 61131. The second edition of IEC 61499 due for release in late 2012 builds on experiences in the development and application of complying products and systems since publication of the Standard in 2005.

Read the full news release.

Read the paper awarded [1 MB].

Third training of the TÜV SÜD Training Tour in Taipei a big Success

The third two day training on IEC 61850 in Taipei (Taiwan) was attended by 45+ experts. The discussions during the seminar on Monday (2012-09-10) showed that there are already several companies implementing IEC 61850 – more to come in the near future.

Opening address from Mr Bill Lin (Managing Director, TÜV SÜD Taiwan):

Introduction by Professor S. L. Chen … a promoter of IEC 61850 who looks very happy to have this event here in Taipei:

Dr. Strübbe (TÜV SÜD Munich/Germany) reports about global activities on Smart Grid and how TÜV SÜD is prepared to increase Certainty and add Value in the area of testing: conformance, security, functions, safety:

Most of the attendees …

… listening to Karlheinz Schwarz:

Taiwan has nice people and a gorges coast line (Yehliu Geopark in the north):

The meetings with two well known companies in Taipei on Friday last week show that there is a huge interest in IEC 61850 in Taiwan and globally.

Nice 5 minute video on IEC 61850 benefits from ABB on YouTube

A fully automated distribution system can make the power grid much more reliable. The IEC 61850 standard can help us get there by overcoming the key hurdle of interoperability. This video provides three ways IEC 61850 is equipping utilities with the means to increase reliability and lower costs in distribution systems. Learn about these benefits and how IEC 61850 simplifies communication, data naming, IED configuration, and the engineering process.

View video on IEC 61850 from ABB.

Another Successful IEC 61850 Training – Beijing

The second two day training on IEC 61850 in Beijing (China) was attended by some 30 experts from China. The interest was great … the room size quite limited:

Opening address from Mr Wencai Zhu (Vice President, TÜV SÜD, Beijing):

Dr. Strübbe (TÜV SÜD, Munich/Germany):

Attendees listen vey carefully:

Karlheinz Schwarz pointed out that IEC 61850 is not complex – but very comprehensive! The standard series defines a couple of thousand terms like MMXU, PDIS, Pos, STMP.Tmp, …

It is this sheer unlimited number of terms that looks like a complex standard – it is a huge language that defines a lot of nouns and verbs (like read, report, control, retrieve self-description, … lower tap position, record disturbance data).

Students learned the basics of IEC 61850 and how to get their devices speak IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 using of the shelf stack/API software from SystemCorp.

The third training session is to start in Taipei (Taiwan) tomorrow – September 10, 2012.

Successful IEC 61850 Training in Seoul (South Korea)

The two day training on IEC 61850 in Seoul (South Korea) was attended by some 60 experts from South Korea and the Philippines – a big success:

Entrance at the KTL building:

 

Auditorium:

Discussing (very good) questions:

The training was well received. The questions and discussions indicate that the industry is now in the process of implementing and using the new technology IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25.

TÜV SÜD (one of the organizing companies) focused on the interoperability tests and functional tests of devices like PV inverter. TÜV SÜD offers services to test IEC 61850 conformity, PV inverter functions defined in part IEC 61850-90-7, security, and EMC/EMI requirements. One Test Lab – for many requirements.

IEC 61850 at 17. Kasseler Symposium Energie-Systemtechnik

The 17. Kasseler Symposium Energie-Systemtechnik will be held in Kassel (Germany) on 11.-12. October 2012. One of the various issue is the information and communication technology and the extended focus on electricity, gas and heating systems that are understood to form “Hybrid Grids”.

IEC 61850 will be discussed in the presentation “Standardisierte Anbindung von Anlagen nach IEC 61850” (Standardized connection of plants according to IEC 61850) by Martin Winter, SIEMENS AG.

The complete Program (German and English) can be downloaded.

Online registration.

I look forward to meeting you there. Want to discuss any IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25 or IEC 60870-5-104 related issue, let me know please.

REpower offers Wind Turbines with IEC 61400-25

REpower offers a standardized IEC 61400-25 server with the REguard B IEC 61400-25. This is available for all new turbines – retrofit for REcontrol B is possible.

This interface is based on the international standard for wind power plants, IEC 61400-25. As one of the first wind turbine manufacturers, REpower has included this standard in its SCADA solutions. From the very beginning, they put all their experience into developing a standard that unites wind farms all across the world. Our aim is to one day achieve smooth worldwide communication among wind power plants and modules.
Interface B IEC 61400-25 comprises all features of the SCADA interface family – and more. Apart from delivering alarm messages, second values, 10-minute averages, status codes and operational data, this interface also enables wind turbine operation (starting, stopping, resetting). In addition, individual wind power plants, the power management unit and the wind measurement station can be accessed, controlled and monitored.

Download more details on IEC 61400-25 from REpower.