The power grid of the future

The project is about developing different methods to manage the consequences that arise with increased expansion of renewable energy in electricity grids.

Increased electricity production in the LV and MV networks fundamentally changes the grid structure. From the fact that the electricity is produced in large central production facilities and sent out to the customer via the high voltage grids and downwards in one direction, electricity is now transferred in both directions, depending on the production of electricity in the LV and MV networks. This requires a different operational structure on the grid, where many more producing units will need to be coordinated, in part through “smarter” grids with more communication between devices, while also adapting consumption to avoid imbalances.

The national/international grid can absorb these variations through its size, but at local level capacity bottlenecks can easily occur, and voltage variations associated with rapid changes in electricity production may interfere with power quality. When the sun is in clouds, a large electricity generation disappears within the races in a second, which can lead to the voltage in the grid “peak” or “dipping”, which in addition to flashing lights can cause electronics to break down. Electricity grid companies also worry about how the components of the electricity network are affected by heavily swinging electricity production. In order to handle the variation of production in the power grid, it is necessary to be able to adjust the voltage dynamically, which can be done with a controllable winding switch in the nearest transformer. However, winding switches are not built to regulate as often as would be needed and also regulate the speed much slower (90s) than would be needed to ensure good power quality.

This is a project in collaboration with Sundsvall municipality and Härnösand municipality in accordance with the collaboration agreements.