LISA – Guide to Integrating Voltage-Stabilizing Applications

Motivation

The capacity of low-voltage grids—particularly those in rural areas—to accommodate decentralized electricity generation is currently limited primarily by the need to comply with the permissible voltages specified in DIN EN 50 160. In contrast to issues related to the thermal load limits of equipment—which can only be resolved through the use of storage systems, load shedding, or grid expansion—additional technical options are available for addressing voltage limit violations. These are already being tested in isolated pilot projects. At the same time, the first products are now available on the market. However, the technical and economic criteria for their deployment remain largely unclear.

Problem Statement

The goal of the project is to systematically examine the various concepts for voltage maintenance in low-voltage grids, as well as their potential applications, for different grid configurations. Based on these findings, corresponding recommendations for the use of the various options will be formulated in the form of a guide. This guide is intended to enable practitioners at grid operating companies to find a technically and economically optimal solution for their specific circumstances without requiring extensive analysis. At the same time, the project is also intended to provide guidance to manufacturers of equipment and controllers for further development. This applies in particular to control concepts for coordinated voltage regulation across grid levels.

Procedure

Throughout the project, the interaction between the various voltage-maintenance measures for different grid situations will be analyzed, and the resulting strategies will be integrated into a unified control concept as well as into the described guidelines. The control concept ensures the reliable coordination of voltage regulators—including those that were previously autonomous—across the various grid levels, optimizes transient system behavior, and guarantees stable voltage control. To verify the results, tests on selected system configurations using real system components are planned in the laboratory, as this is the only way to unequivocally demonstrate the intended interaction. Finally, the system components are to be implemented in Pfalzwerke’s actual grids, and the behavior theoretically predicted using the guidelines is to be verified in a field test.

Funded Collaborative Project

“Guidelines for the Integration of Voltage-Stabilizing Applications (LISA)” is a collaborative project funded under the 6th Energy Research Program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).