Networking in decentralized energy systems

Experts from CT and two Business Units use a model microgrid to investigate how grid areas with a very high proportion of electricity generated from renewables can be best managed.

Decentralized generation is an essential element in the transition to a new energy mix, and can be achieved only if the control systems are also distributed. “We are displaying a model of this smart grid, but we can also switch over live to the real control room in Germany’s Allgäu region,” says Michael Metzger of the Power & Energy Technologies Technology Field.

The project IREN2 in the village of Wildpoldsried near Kempten also involves ways in which decentralized generation units can help maintain stability in supraregional energy supply systems – without relying on support from large conventional power stations. A key element in this regard is how the different generators work together, i.e. photovoltaics, wind generators, cogeneration units and diesel generators, which can make electricity capacity available as required, as gas-fired power plants do in the case of large networks, for example. “A new aspect to this project is that we want to show how a particular area of the grid can re-start automatically in isolation if there is an unexpected outage in the higher-level distribution network, and run independently and reliably for a reasonable length of time,” says Metzger.