De Lorenzo has designed a modular Smart Grid training system that studies the power flow and interaction between the electricity supplier’s networks (generation, transmission, and distribution systems) and the consumers (residential and/or commercial customers).
Industrial grade equipment has been integrated into a controlled environment, providing a flexible and reconfigurable learning platform to study electrical power engineering applications.
The core of the laboratory is a simplified scaled-down model of a power distribution system.
Several power sources from different renewable energies are connected to the system on different points simulating a distributed power generation system.
The energy can be added from the production side (high and mid voltage) or from the end-user side (microgrid).
The system includes 3 different energy generation subsystems:
- A variable pitch wind plant.
- A hydroelectric plant with pumped storage.
- Micro-grid energy sources using a solar photovoltaic system with battery storage and an optional micro-wind system generating energy from the low voltage side of the grid.
A double busbar system and circuit breakers allow the isolation of sections of the system or the insertion of the available renewable energy sources to create a bidirectional power flow in the distribution network.
A set of active measurement devices are strategically placed to monitor the power flow in the system in real time and provide protection.
The operation of the laboratory is done through the SCADA software.
An industrial feeder manager relay can be configured to study the protection techniques at different points of the system.
