Smart Grid - Application of Smart Grid

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Written by Indranil Ghosh

Energy industry is an inevitable index of our society. The world's primary energy consumption grew by 45% over last 20 years and expected to grow by 39% over next 20 years. There exists strong correlation between energy consumption and economic wellbeing of world economy translating towards significant business outlook. In conventional grid, to match the dynamic demand-supply of electricity, we require more electrical grids, which is a kind of engineering marvel, an interconnected network of transmission lines, substations, transformers, and more essential components. The electrical grid delivers electricity from producers to consumers. To make legacy grid smart, we need a) two-way communication to make reaction time fast and b) digitally equipped system to make the process more efficient, which makes the Grid Smart. Prerequisites of two-way communication are transmission-bandwidths, latency, availability, reliability, connection density or scalability, the distance of wide-area coverage. These communication entities are essential in modern Smart Grid where power flow and generation are from diverse sources, where the operational parameters of the field devices are and can be measured, monitored, determined, adjusted, and controlled automatically and remotely. There are numerous scattered nodes present in smart-grid where the enormous amount of data and information flow. Hence to monitor and supervise these entities, wireline (Fiber-optic Communication, Broadband Power Line Communication) and wireless communication techniques like 2G (GSM), 3G (WCDMA), 4G (LTE) generally been used in smart grids. To enable more systematic communication with better reaction time and greater flexibility, 5G wireless communication technology is the ultimate communication toolbox to make “Smart-Grid” smarter.

Written by Vikash Kumar Saini, Anita Seervi, Vishu Gupta, and Rajesh Kumar

Energy resources play a vital role in the development of human civilization. The energy consumption is used as a development index. However, conventional energy resources deplete quickly and are not easily replenished, which may result in non-availability for future generations. It may be observed that the process of electricity production through fossil fuels results in harmful emissions causing environmental pollution. Furthermore, thermal power plants require significant amounts of fuel to produce a respectively lesser amount of electricity, which results in a wastage of fuel. Additionally, thermal plant maintenance and operating costs are also higher than other conventional plants. In contrast, hydroelectric plants emit less greenhouse gases, but require a huge investment for infrastructure and dams. Another available option is the use of nuclear energy sources as a replacement of fossil fuels as they release large amounts of energy. However, a significant challenge presents itself in terms of the treatment of the nuclear waste. If not treated properly, this waste may result in irreparable damages to living beings and the environment.  Renewable sources, for example, hydro, wind, biomass, tidal, and solar are accessible at zero pollution level. Renewable energy sources (RES) offer solutions to the different challenges of using conventional sources by establishing cost-effective and reliable energy systems. To understand the effect of increased RES network in the existing grid, it is necessary to understand nature of electricity generation from conventional as well as RES.

Written by Sam Salem

Achieving 100% Renewable Energy Grid will require wind, solar, and energy storage systems to help restart electric grids after a blackout. This will be a necessary change of the role for inherently intermittent renewable energy sources, which are usually viewed as contributing to grid instability.

An Interview with Vijay Sood, the Director of the Power Workers Union Smart Grid and EV Research Laboratory and the PI for the Panasonic-UOIT Microgrid.


Past Issues

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IEEE Smart Grid Bulletin Editors

IEEE Smart Grid Bulletin Compendium

The IEEE Smart Grid Bulletin Compendium "Smart Grid: The Next Decade" is the first of its kind promotional compilation featuring 32 "best of the best" insightful articles from recent issues of the IEEE Smart Grid Bulletin and will be the go-to resource for industry professionals for years to come. Click here to read "Smart Grid: The Next Decade"