One Energy’s fully digital substation
One Energy has inaugurated the first fully digital substation in the U.S.
Image for illustration purposes.
USA, Findlay: One Energy has inaugurated the first fully digital substation in the U.S.
The company announced that the first fully digital plug-and-play transmission-voltage substation in the United States at One Energy’s Findlay headquarters has completed energization and testing and begun commercial operation. The substation, intended to power a Megawatt Hub, was built as proof of concept for the company’s new fully digital station architecture.
To build a fully digital substation, One Energy elected to use Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories’ TiDL system, marking the first time a substation is connected entirely by fiber optics using the TiDL system in the United States. The TiDL system was chosen over the IEC 61850-style digital architecture because of the simplicity of physical security that comes with its point-to-point fiber communication.
The substation’s 30 MVA transformer, built by Hitachi Energy, includes the Coresense M10 real-time dissolved gas analyzer and condition monitoring system. The system can detect an anomaly in the transformer and, through the control system, automatically send alerts via text to system operators. The Coresense M10 performs a full dissolved gas analysis on the transformer every 10 minutes, compared to most substation transformers that only test oil once a year. The high-voltage circuit breakers were also supplied by Hitachi Energy and feature a full condition monitoring package as well. Early and real-time communication and condition monitoring identify smaller issues before they potentially advance into larger issues.
Measures were taken to increase the substation’s safety and resilience, for example, it is surrounded by permanent walls that are all modular and made of solid concrete. To eliminate risks related to animal interference and blowing debris, which are major sources of fault for traditional substations, it was designed to allow for no exposed live parts on the medium voltage buswork. To prevent what usually causes substation fires, it includes environmentally friendly oils and fire suppression systems.
Source: Business Wire