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INESC TEC develops tools to support the operation of distribution systems

INESC TEC develops tools to support the operation of distribution systems

On 1 September, INESC TEC’s Power Systems Unit (USE) kicked off a new European project where the goal is to develop tools that will allow the distribution system operators to overcome the challenges inherent to managing power grids with a significant integration of new distributed resources, including microgeneration based on renewable energies and electric vehicles.

The tools and methodologies developed as part of the evolvDSO (Development of methodologies and tools for new and evolving DSO roles for efficient DRES integration in distribution networks) will help the distribution system operator to plan, operate and manage the power grid. The tools will be installed in SCADA systems (which supervise and control the grid) and will allow these new agents (microgeneration, electric vehicles, storage systems, controllable charges, etc.) to be integrated in the distribution grids without jeopardizing the safety and the quality of the energy supply.

The tools developed as part of this research will afterwards be tested in a laboratory, more specifically at INESC Porto’s Laboratory of Microgeneration and Electric Vehicles as these facilities provide the proper conditions to replicate a low voltage grid. After testing the tools in the laboratory, they will be demonstrated in real pilots, as is the case of the InovCity in Évora, Portugal, and in other pilots in Europe.

The project has a Consortium of 16 European countries, involving the main distribution systems operators in Europe, transmission system operators, R&D institutions and market agents: ENEL Distribuizone S.P.A. and RSE SPA (both from Italy), cyberGRID (Austria), EDP Distribuição (Portugal), EDSO for Smart Grids and VITO (both from Belgium), Energy Pool Development SAS, Electricité Reseau Distribuition France ERDF, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble and RTE (all from France), ESB Networks LTD and University College Dublin (both from Ireland), RWE and RWTH–AACHEN (both from Germany) and Energinet (Denmark). The evolvDSO has a duration of 40 months. For now, the USE team involved in the project includes Manuel Matos (manager of USE), Luís Seca and Ricardo Bessa.

The INESC TEC researchers mentioned in this article are associated with the following partner institutions: INESC Porto and FEUP.