Digital twins for energy automation

Siemens Ltd organized a webinar on digital twins for energy automation. For protection and automation engineers involved in planning, engineering and operation of power grids, digital twins for energy automation is an ecosystem from network planning via IED engineering to protection testing.

Luis Francisco, Service Lifecycle Manager, Siemens, was the moderator. There have been tremendous changes in the power system. Energy transition and 3Ds are together. These are -- decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization. Decarbonization involves renewable integration and energy efficiency. Decentralization involves decentralization of generation, new market players, capex and opex optimization, and business agility. For digitalization, we need to ensure connectivity of devices, data mining to explore the domain, and cyber security.

The ecosystem around energy automation is built around substation automation and protection system, power system, and testing equipment. Digital twins can be used across the entire lifecycle of energy automation.

Digital twin for planning

Dr.-Ing Christian Romeis, Consultant Power Systems, Siemens, talked about the 3D challenges. There are challenges for protection engineers in utilities. With 7x DER growth in the next 10 years, power flows and short-circuit levels are changing. We need to have assessment and optimization of protection systems. We need to check the aspects, accuracy level, and the effort.

We can have hardware in the loop (HIL) test, along with digital twin, and software. We can have digital twin approach for the assessment of the protection systems. We can have relay settings study, go to the field and implement. SIPROTEC digital twin looks at the assessment of performance, approval of firmware versions, and reduction of effort.

How does the CT location influences the fault locator results? Let us combine simulation software with the digital twin. Siemens has the PSS Suite trial versions and consulting services.

Digital twin for virtual FAT

Cedric Harispuru, Product Manager, SIPROTEC DigitalTwin, Siemens, talked about the digital twin for virtual FAT. Digital twins for virtual commissioning save your time and costs for factory acceptance test (FAT). With virtual FAT, there are no logistics of the protection devices, no waiting for panel production, no temporary installation and wirings, and no additional test hardware. There are virtual devices and virtual wirings.

Virtual FAT gives access within minutes to your protection system. There is the same functional scope, but more benefits. Functional scope includes front display, programmable logic, GOOSE communication (interlockings, trips, etc.), and protection schemes with static or transient input values. Several people can workin parallel on same or different devices, without travel, and safe, from home / office.

Virtual FAT includes Ethernet interfaces to other components anywhere. You can interface to real hardwares via VPN, with RTU for DCS signal tests, e.g., via IEC 61850 MMS, local HMI, GOOSE with available IEDs, or simulated via SCL. It is possible to temporary share the access to any substation system provider. Virtual commissionning

can be best preparation for site acceptance test. The number of commissioning tests

is a subset of the virtual tests.

Digital twin for commissioning

Andrea Bonetti, Senior Specialist Relay Protection, Megger, added that they have the experience in the use of digital twin technology for remote support. Digital twin technology allows high-level specialists to be present on test activities that are too demanding for average technicians. This way, the specialists can contribute to decreased mistakes during on-site commissioning testing.

On the substations site, you can prepare your relay, and save your settings. On the support site, you can prepare your virtual relay. Similarly, for test! Finally, you can evaluate the test result, and investigate, analyse, etc. You can change the relay setting, and change test plan, and test again. Finally, you can load the relay settings and run the tests. It will work!

Digital twins for energy automation is an ecosystem for protection and automation

engineers involved in planning, engineering, and operation of power grids. It is a game changer in the power industry.