Synchrophasors for the Integration of Renewables: PIER Program Final Project Report

This report describes research undertaken into the development of new grid operating tools that rely on an emerging new class of monitoring data called time-synchronized phasor-measurements. These tools will ultimately enable grid operators—for the first time ever—to directly observe and, therefore, enable real-time responses to the problems that led to the 1996 and 2003 blackouts. The focus of this research effort is on operator visualization and decision-support tools based on using phasor measurements in real-time. There are no current precedents for such real-time applications of phasor measurements. Ultimately, the research performed will support applications that could be developed, prototyped, demonstrated, and relied upon by grid operating staff to develop and support the implementation of new operating guidelines and controls. These guidelines and controls would respond to problems—such as those that occurred during the 1996 and 2003 blackouts—either manually or automatically.

The key activities were to:

• Conduct research on automated alarming/email notifications for operators when system conditions are deemed abnormal based on analysis of the real-time phasor data
• Conduct research on advanced applications to identify real-time key monitoring points/interfaces with significant participation in a particular mode (i.e., mode shape information)
• Conduct research to develop algorithms to calculate damping levels when sudden events in the system trigger sizeable oscillations deemed unsafe, and suggest corrective actions
• Conduct research to assess of the impact of wind generation on grid reliability
• Support the update of a detailed California and WECC-specific roadmap for advanced phasor applications

This project was performed in close coordination with a project conducted by Electric Power Group (EPG), under Energy Commission contract Number 500-08-048, which, among other things, integrated the research into prototypes and led the development of the updated roadmap.