Projected outcomes for industrial and other user communities
This project will develop a range of new measurement capabilities at the NMIs, aimed to ensure reliable electrical energy supply in the context of increased renewable energy sources (RES) generation. These new capabilities will be of direct relevance, and benefit, to industrial and utility user communities.
The four core project outcomes are projected to be:
- New testbeds and methodologies for the evaluation of GFM converter performance and an associated good practice guide for laboratory testing and evaluation of GFM converters.
- New reference measurement setup for the wideband evaluation of GFM converter loss measurement to ensure correct measurement of the efficiency of the GFM under dynamic grid operating conditions.
- Improved measurement setup and electrical methods for on-site verification of the response of the GFM converters on disturbances in the network.
- Proposals for the improvement of standards, connection codes and measurement methods.
The first outcome is particularly relevant for network operators (TSOs and DSOs), GFM converter manufacturers, and RES and storage site owners that are grid connected via GFM converters (such as wind and solar parks). The testbeds and evaluation methodologies can not only be used for evaluation of GFM converter performance but also to calibrate measurement setups that in turn can be used to verify the type testing and on-site testing of the GFM converters.
The second outcome is important for the GFM converter manufacturers and owners of GFM grid-connected sites as it will allow them to gain unique insight into extra losses under actual grid conditions, and thus the extra cost of ownership. The complementary loss studies performed in this project will support GFM converters manufacturers in development of GFM converters with reduced losses.
The measurement setup for on-site GFM performance verification will allow grid operators to analyse the robustness of the electricity system and will support instrumentation manufacturers in the development of new PQ measurement equipment and converter manufacturers in the design of improved GFM converters. Since existing grid instrumentation cannot be replaced easily, grid operators are also expected to profit from the non-invasive on-site measurement method and good practice guide that will support them in the reliable verification of the GFM converters capabilities as well as to classify and localise weak areas in the network.
Further industrial impact will be achieved via NMIs using their new calibration facilities to provide traceability to national and accredited laboratories in Europe that will support consistency in industrial test and measurement results, and it will enable manufacturers to confidently demonstrate the performance of their products, allowing them to remain internationally competitive.
To facilitate early uptake of the project’s outputs, there will be considerable engagement throughout the project with industrial stakeholders, including manufacturers of GFM converters and transmission and distribution system operators, and calibration laboratories. The involvement of industrial and TSO collaborators, and the establishment of a Stakeholder Committee, will ensure that this project remains aligned with industrial needs. In addition, at least 2 international workshops aimed at collaborators and stakeholders will be organised by the project for demonstration of the new measurement techniques, where representatives of grid equipment manufacturers, instrumentation manufacturers, standardisation bodies, utilities, universities and NMIs will be invited. Next to these workshops, the stakeholders will be informed on the project’s progress via project newsletters and at meetings of IEC/CENELEC technical committees, CIGRE working groups, the EURAMET subcommittee on power and energy and the CCEM Working Group on Low‑Frequency Quantities.
In summary, through this research, a new metrology infrastructure will become available that supports the European grid instrumentation industry together with TSOs and DSOs in the realisation of reliable and efficient modern electricity grids, with RES generation levels that are required to reach EU Green Deal’s objectives.
Projected outcomes for the metrological and scientific communities
The outcomes of this project will include several important additions and extensions to the NMI/DI Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMCs) statements recorded in the BIPM key Comparison Database (KCDB), and as such, this will provide a significant impact on the worldwide electrical power metrology community. Specifically, new and extended CMCs are foreseen for the:
- Calibration of the power/frequency response of GFM converters
- Calibration of the power/voltage response of GFM converters
- Calibration of harmonic power response of GFM converters to improve PQ
- Evaluation of the efficiency of the GFM converters
- On-site wideband verification of GFM converters
Any major scientific project result with an impact on metrology will be submitted to peer reviewed journals (such as IEEE Power Delivery and IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement). All results will be presented at key conferences in the electrical power industry field, such as the CIGRE bi‑annual sessions, IEEE PES General Meetings and, CPEM conferences.
Close cooperation and researcher mobility between the participants from universities and NMIs are envisaged to support the transfer of knowledge to the metrological and scientific community. Graduate students and other young scientists will be invited to take part in the scientific work and to join the final workshop for stakeholders. This will enable dissemination of the project’s findings to future scientists.
This project tackles some of the most complex measurement problems known to the electrical grid metrology community and will significantly advance the science in this field. The project will develop leading edge laboratory test and on-site measurement verification technologies, not only via the reference setups for NMIs (reflected in new CMCs), but it will also build a system suitable for on‑site measurement which can be applied at industrial testing laboratories.
Projected outcomes for relevant standards
The consortium expects to generate results that will be very valuable for standardisation work within IEC and CENELEC, such as IEC TC8, TC22F, TC 38 and CENELEC TC8X. In addition, this project is expected to have a significant positive impact on the revision of grid codes (codes for connecting GFM converters) defined by TSOs and DSOs. The consortium will promote the project’s results within the standardisation and SO community and will provide input into the standardisation process via active participation in the technical committees responsible for these standards. During the course of the project, other relevant standards that are in preparation/revision will be identified, and the project’s inputs to such standards will be suggested to the appropriate working groups or committees. The results from the project will then be discussed in the standardisation working groups and they will decide whether to include them and in which form. This process can be very lengthy and will extend beyond the duration of this project.
Project participants who are members of the corresponding technical committees will inform about the results of this project and will ensure that they are incorporated in any updates to the standards or guidelines. For example, the representatives on the corresponding committee or working group, from the participants, will jointly ask the chairperson to include a point in the agenda to briefly present the outputs of the project related to the working group activities and ask for comments from the other committee/working group members. Where appropriate, a written report will be submitted for consideration by the committee or working group.
Projected wider impact of the project
Economic impact
Renewable Energy Sources (RES) such as wind and solar are widely introduced into power grids to provide a sustainable and affordable energy supply. Large wind and PV parks require electricity transport over large distances in order to reach consumers. GFM converters are increasingly used to connect these RES to the network and their characteristics and behaviour in fault conditions are extremely important for the securing the reliability of the electricity supply. Unnecessary interruptions and distortions in the supply should be prevented, as well as voltage dips and other interruptions that can have enormous consequences for customers, industries and utilities connected to the network.
Losses need to be reduced in the electricity system and the high increase in the number of installed GFM converters could result in an increase of the losses. The efficiency of the grid forming converter in all states of operation is an important design parameter to keep the losses, and related costs, in the electricity supply system as low as possible. Here, traceable metrology for supporting the development of efficiency measurement on grid–forming converters will be crucial to creating impact by ensuring the minimum of losses in the conversion of electricity in future transmission and distribution systems.
The research in this project will, in the longer term, directly stimulate innovation and it will support the competitiveness of the European GFM converters manufacturing and test industry by providing them with leading-edge facilities for unambiguous determination of the quality of their products. Harmonic loss will be systematically studied during this project, and it will provide industrial manufactures with insight into possible factors and influences.
The overall long-term benefit of the project to industry and distribution and transmission system operators is evident from the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. The strong participation of research institutes and universities in the project will ensure the long‑term dissemination of the results within the power system community.
Social impact
This project offers several longer-term new improvements when it comes to grid reliability. The existing electricity grids are ageing, and the sharp uptake of renewable energy sources stresses the reliability of the grid. However, if the renewable energy sources are accompanied by right technologies, like GFM converters, the reliability of the grid will remain assured. Reliable electricity delivery is the prime societal need, as even the daily water supply and our communication infrastructure rely on it. Europe needs to renew its electricity transmission grids as a new infrastructure backbone, which is mirrored in the enormous interest in the bi–annual CIGRE meetings and the annual IEEE Power and Energy meetings.
This project offers a unique opportunity for European NMIs to pool their collective strengths, and unique capabilities and facilities, to make an impact on future-proofing our electricity grids. The research will provide the required tools, methods and facilities for a robust realisation of the future grids that are based on large amounts of RES generation. GFM converters are required to support the prevention of blackouts such as those recently experienced in South America and parts of Great Britain would have an enormous impact on our advanced European society, and efforts are needed to avoid a comparable situation in future.
Environmental impact
One of the important so‑called “20/20/20” targets (Horizon 2020) of the EU was a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020, referenced to the level of 1990. The next target, Horizon 2050, aims for an 80 %‑95 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) and the reduction of fossil power plants is crucial to reach these reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, this will result in networks with less inertia and with less short circuit power. This will influence the stability and reliability of the network. To be able to go further on this path of reducing the fossil power plants, and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the RES should be able to support the reliability of the network by GFM functionalities, such as delivering active and/or reactive power support, reacting on frequency and voltage variations in the network and balance the electricity system where needed.
In this process of increasing GFM-connected RES generation, the losses in the system should not increase as any extra loss leads to extra emissions. Therefore, the efficiency of the grid forming converters should be evaluated, which is an explicit project objective.