It\u2019s no won\u00adder then that Aus\u00adtralia is cur\u00adrent\u00adly the world leader when it comes to the amount of ener\u00adgy pro\u00adduced from pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic (PV) sys\u00adtems. 2.3 mil\u00adlion solar units are cur\u00adrent\u00adly installed on Aus\u00adtralian roofs, equat\u00ading to an ener\u00adgy sup\u00adply of close to 1 gigawatt\u2014a fig\u00adure which is set to account for an addi\u00adtion\u00adal 150 MVA annu\u00adal\u00adly in the com\u00ading years. For Mariza But\u00adler, Senior Engi\u00adneer Grid Trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion at West\u00adern Pow\u00ader, this is first and fore\u00admost good news: \u201cWe want as many peo\u00adple as pos\u00adsi\u00adble to use pho\u00adto\u00advoltaics, to sup\u00adply the ener\u00adgy to the grid, and in doing so to do their bit for cli\u00admate pro\u00adtec\u00adtion,\u201d she explains. But unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, there\u2019s a prob\u00adlem: If the pro\u00adpor\u00adtion of pow\u00ader flow\u00ading back into the low\u00advoltage grid from pri\u00advate pro\u00adsumers increas\u00ades to a point where the pow\u00ader flows exces\u00adsive\u00adly in the reverse direc\u00adtion, the volt\u00adage in the grid also increas\u00ades.<\/p>\n This is the case dur\u00ading the Aus\u00adtralian spring and autumn in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar when mild tem\u00adper\u00ada\u00adtures mean that air\u00adconditioning isn\u2019t required as often, peo\u00adple spend a lot of time out\u00addoors, and demand for elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty is low\u00ader. Yet these cir\u00adcum\u00adstances are of lit\u00adtle inter\u00adest to the sun \u2014 it con\u00adtin\u00adues to shine on the solar pan\u00adels unabat\u00aded. A cer\u00adtain amount of fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtion in low volt\u00adage (LV) is nor\u00admal, but there are lim\u00adit val\u00adues which must be observed. For Euro\u00adpean grid oper\u00ada\u00adtors, there is a lee\u00adway of 58 volts (230 V, +\/\u00ad10 %) while for West\u00adern Pow\u00ader, on the oth\u00ader side of the world, the mar\u00adgin is just 29 volts (240 V, +\/\u00ad6 %).<\/p>\n In Ger\u00admany, MR start\u00aded to focus on this prob\u00adlem back in 2012, as the use of dis\u00adpersed sources of ener\u00adgy had meant that the medium\u00ad and low\u00advoltage grids in many indus\u00adtri\u00adal\u00adized nations increas\u00ading\u00adly need\u00aded some atten\u00adtion. So how could we bring volt\u00adage sta\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty to dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grids faced with volatile ener\u00adgy sup\u00adplies?<\/p>\n MR\u2019s answer: the ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae on\u00adload tap\u00adchanger. This tap chang\u00ader for volt\u00adage reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders (VRDTs) is already in its third gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion and enables dis\u00adpersed volt\u00adage reg ula\u00adtion in the dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion grid to be achieved. Pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly, dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders couldn\u2019t be reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded, but this reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion is nec\u00ades\u00adsary to com\u00adpen\u00adsate for volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions in local grids.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want as many peo\u00adple as pos\u00adsi\u00adble to use pho\u00adto\u00advoltaics, to sup\u00adply the ener\u00adgy to the grid, and in doing so to do their bit for cli\u00admate pro\u00adtec\u00adtion.\u201dMariza But\u00adler, Senior Engi\u00adneer Grid Trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion at West\u00adern Pow\u00ader<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n At a work\u00ading group meet\u00ading of Cigre Aus\u00adtralia for dis\u00adpersed gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion (C6) back in 2016, Dr.\u00adIng. Thomas Smol\u00adka, the Man\u00adag\u00ading Direc\u00adtor of Rein\u00adhausen Aus\u00adtralia, gave a pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion on this very top\u00adic. It was from this event that West\u00adern Pow\u00ader con\u00adsid\u00adered tri\u00adalling VRDTs as a poten\u00adtial long\u00adterm solu\u00adtion and it there\u00adfore agreed to a pilot project with MR which would see eleven select\u00aded pole\u00ad\u00admounted trans\u00adform\u00aders equipped with the ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00aes. Instal\u00adla\u00adtion began in Novem\u00adber 2019, with field tri\u00adals con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ading since then. \u201cIni\u00adtial results look promis\u00ading in reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading the volt\u00adage across the LV feed\u00aders with\u00adin the pre\u00adscribed lim\u00adits,\u201d says But\u00adler.<\/p>\n The ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae is installed on the high\u00advoltage wind\u00ading of the trans\u00adformer and includes a mea\u00adsur\u00ading device that mon\u00adi\u00adtors both cur\u00adrent and volt\u00adage on the low\u00advoltage wind\u00ading and auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly changes the tap ratio if the volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions move beyond the pre\u00adde\u00adfined lim\u00adits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was impor\u00adtant for us to find a set\u00adand\u00adforget solu\u00adtion to our prob\u00adlem,\u201d explains Butler\u2014in oth\u00ader words, a solu\u00adtion that only needs to be con\u00adfig\u00adured once and can then be left alone and does not require con\u00adstant drain on tech\u00adni\u00adcal resources to re\u00adstudy the issue. The sheer dis\u00adtance across which net\u00adworks in Aus\u00adtralia tra\u00adverse means that a cen\u00adtral\u00adized solu\u00adtion is not pos\u00adsi\u00adble. \u201cWith around 1.5 mil\u00adlion dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders across Aus\u00adtralia, 90 % of which are pole\u00admounted, this would cause prob\u00adlems,\u201d states Dr. Thomas Smol\u00adka.<\/p>\n The auto\u00admat\u00adic reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion func\u00adtion of Tap\u00adcon Dynam\u00adic Set\u00adpoint Con\u00adtrol (TDSC) par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly appealed to West\u00adern Pow\u00ader: With the aid of volt\u00adage and cur\u00adrent mea\u00adsure\u00adments, the mag\u00adni\u00adtude and direc\u00adtion of real and reac\u00adtive pow\u00ader flows can be deter\u00admined and the posi\u00adtion of the on-load tap chang\u00ader is then auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly adjust\u00aded.<\/p>\n As a result, volt\u00adage drops and the high\u00ader line volt\u00adages expe\u00adri\u00adenced when large amounts of PV pow\u00ader are sup\u00adplied can be com\u00adpen\u00adsat\u00aded. In the first test run, the VRDTs were still linked via the DNP3 com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion pro\u00adto\u00adcol to the con\u00adtrol room (CONTROL PRO), which enables the data to be read out and the sys\u00adtem to be con\u00adtrolled remote\u00adly. \u201cWe will see whether this will con\u00adtin\u00adue to be nec\u00ades\u00adsary in the future,\u201d says But\u00adler.<\/p>\n More and more pri\u00advate homes feed\u00ading elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty from renew\u00adable ener\u00adgy sources into the grid leads to volt\u00adage fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions. The ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae turns inflex\u00adi\u00adble dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders into intel\u00adli\u00adgent reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading trans\u00adform\u00aders that bal\u00adance fluc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtions in medi\u00adum volt\u00adage and respond to feed-in and load changes on the low-volt\u00adage side. The ECOTAP\u00ae VPD \u00ae is also com\u00adpact, mean\u00ading that dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion trans\u00adform\u00aders do not need to be any larg\u00ader.<\/p>\n www.reinhausen.com\/Ecotap<\/a><\/p>\n The dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion and trans\u00admis\u00adsion net\u00adwork ser\u00advice provider is based in Perth and serves more than 2 mil\u00adlion cus\u00adtomers across an area of 254,920 Km sq across the South West region of West\u00adern Aus\u00adtralia.<\/p>\n westernpower.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The test peri\u00adod is set to run until June 2021 but West\u00adern Pow\u00ader is hope\u00adful with the results achieved to date: \u201cWith the reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae, we have poten\u00adtial\u00adly found an effec\u00adtive lever to use in our suite of solu\u00adtions to help us man\u00adage our net\u00adwork,\u201d states Mariza But\u00adler.<\/p>\n So the com\u00adpa\u00adny can rest easy in the knowl\u00adedge that it is well equipped to deal with a future in which elec\u00adtric cars and home-based ener\u00adgy sup\u00adplies are sure to cre\u00adate fur\u00adther new chal\u00adlenges for elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty grids. \u201cWe are total\u00adly com\u00admit\u00adted to doing our bit for cli\u00admate pro\u00adtec\u00adtion,\u201d states But\u00adler. \u201cAnd the VRDTs using MR tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy make it much eas\u00adi\u00ader for us to achieve this goal.\u201d<\/p>\n Every pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic instal\u00adla\u00adtion does more than just pro\u00adduce elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty. It also sub\u00adstan\u00adtial\u00adly con\u00adt\u00ada\u00adm\u00adi\u00adnates the grid. This results in grid har\u00admon\u00adics and insta\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties in main\u00adtain\u00ading the volt\u00adage that would have a sub\u00adstan\u00adtial influ\u00adence on a secure pow\u00ader sup\u00adply through pho\u00adto\u00advoltaics. In Aus\u00adtralia in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar, non-reac\u00adtive solar ener\u00adgy is gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded in accor\u00addance with restric\u00adtive feed-in poli\u00adcies for oper\u00ada\u00adtors of pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic sys\u00adtems.<\/p>\n This is where MR \u2013 Pow\u00ader Qual\u00adi\u00adty, with spe\u00adcial\u00adists in the busi\u00adness of solu\u00adtions, comes in. MR grid-study and plan\u00adning ser\u00advices result in cus\u00adtomized har\u00admon\u00adic fil\u00adter cir\u00adcuit sys\u00adtems which, in coop\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion with our part\u00adner ener\u00adgy\u00adSEA Pty Ltd in Aus\u00adtralia, have been suc\u00adcess\u00adful\u00adly inte\u00adgrat\u00aded into a wide vari\u00adety of pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic projects. A typ\u00adi\u00adcal appli\u00adca\u00adtion for har\u00admon\u00adic fil\u00adter cir\u00adcuits is 33 kV C fil\u00adter cir\u00adcuits in a C\u2011type con\u00adfig\u00adu\u00adra\u00adtion with a dead-tank switch, air-core reac\u00adtors, resis\u00adtors and capac\u00adi\u00adtors.<\/p>\n Every pho\u00adto\u00advolta\u00adic sys\u00adtem is sub\u00adject to changed con\u00adnec\u00adtion con\u00addi\u00adtions, which auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly results in dif\u00adfer\u00adent har\u00admon\u00adic fil\u00adter con\u00adcepts. Accord\u00ading\u00adly, har\u00admon\u00adic fil\u00adter cir\u00adcuits are not ready-made sys\u00adtems. They always require the exper\u00adtise of MR Pow\u00ader Qual\u00adi\u00adty spe\u00adcial\u00adists.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/12\/Western-Power-Solar-Energy-Rooftop-MR-scaled-1-1980x1114.jpg\")
GOOD FOR THE CLIMATE, BAD FOR THE GRID<\/h2>\n
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AUSTRALIA BENEFITS FROM VRDTS<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/onload.reinhausen.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/12\/Mariza-Butler-Western-Power-Maintenance-576x1024.jpg\")
A SET-AND-FORGET SOLUTION<\/h2>\n
Der ECOTAP\u00ae VPD\u00ae<\/h2>\n
\nWestern Power<\/h2>\n
FIT FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE<\/h2>\n
Did you know?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n
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