SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SYNCHRONIZING DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS

• US 20130073100A1
• Filed: 09/15/2011
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Incorporated
• Inventors: Seeley, Nicholas C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,128,130 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/290
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/261 involving signal transmission between at least two stations transmission of signals in general H02H1/0061
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/70 Smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the energy generation sector
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/00 Systems supporting electrical power generation, transmission or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/22 Flexible AC transmission systems [FACTS] or power factor or reactive power compensating or correcting units

Abstract

A system for managing and synchronizing the operation of an electric power generation and delivery system that includes a number of generators configured to provide distributed electric power generation is disclosed. In the disclosed system, a number of intelligent electronic devices coupled with at distributed generators may be utilized to synchronize the operation of the generators with the system when the generators become isolated from the system. In some embodiments, the disclosed intelligent electronic devices may control the speed of isolated generators based on synchronization information received from at least one other intelligent electronic device and a common time signal.

Claims

1. A system for managing an electric power generation and delivery system comprising:

a plurality of generators configured to provide distributed electric power generation to the electric power generation and delivery system; and

a plurality of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), each IED of the plurality of IEDs being communicatively coupled with at least one generator of the plurality of generators, wherein each IED of the plurality of IEDs is configured to control the speed of the at least one generator of the plurality of generators based on synchronization information received from at least one other IED of the plurality of IEDs and a common time signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each IED of the plurality of IEDs is further configured to control the speed of the at least one generator of the plurality of generators based on system information related to the electric power generation and delivery system.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the system information is provided by one or more monitoring IEDs included in the electric power generation and delivery system.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the system information comprises synchronized phasor information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronization information comprises information for determining that the IED should operate autonomously.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronization information comprises a synchronization reference generated by the at least one other IED of the plurality of IEDs.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the common time signal is received from a GPS system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the common time signal is configured to coordinate operations of the plurality of IEDs.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein each IED of the plurality of IEDs is configured to determine whether each IED of the plurality of IEDs are operating on a same sub-grid of the electric power generation and delivery system as the at least one other IED of the plurality of IEDs.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each IED of the plurality of IEDs is further configured to control the speed of the at least one generator of the plurality of generators based on centralized synchronization information received from a central IED.

13. A method for managing an electric power generation and delivery system comprising:

receiving, at a first IED configured to control the speed of a first generator, synchronization information from a second IED configured to control the speed of a second generator and a common time signal; and

controlling, by the first IED, the speed of the first generator based on the synchronization information and the common time signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the first IED, system information from one or more monitoring IEDS included in the electric power generation and delivery system,

wherein controlling the speed of the first generator is further based on the system information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the system information comprises synchronized phasor information.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the synchronization information comprises information for determining that the first IED should operate autonomously in controlling the speed of the first generator.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the synchronization information comprises a synchronization reference generated by the at least one other IED of the plurality of IEDs.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the common time signal is received from a GPS system.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the common time signal is configured to coordinate operations of at least the first IED and the second IED.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the first IED, that the first IED and the second IED are operating on a same isolated sub-grid of the electric power generation and delivery system.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the first IED, centralized synchronization information from a central IED,

wherein controlling the speed of the first generator is further based on the centralized synchronization information.