LOCATE
Relevant project information
Dates
Project website
Role of CIRCE
Grant agreement number
Funded by
Description and objectives
Specifically, LOCATE will focus on introducing in the LV advanced monitoring equipment the innovative functionalities of fault location, wave quality measurement in current signals and fault detection in the presence of large distributed generation connected to the LV line and harmful reverse flow in this scenario.
Viesgo, in addition to being the prescriber of the technology to be developed in the project, will provide the valuable vision of the distribution company, so that information can be obtained on new functionalities that may be useful for its operations and that are compatible with the monitoring equipment.
The functionalities incorporated into the LV monitoring equipment (fault location, PQ measurement in intensity, reverse flow detection, as well as those proposed by the distribution company) have the potential to add value to the management of the distribution network, for which it is necessary to generate a series of applications that provide the distribution company with the information to operate its assets more efficiently.
From this point of view, LOCATE delves into the possibilities that the functionalities added to LV monitoring equipment can offer, investigating the location of incipient faults that allow predictive maintenance to be carried out on LV networks.
We will also study the origin of the disturbances that worsen the quality of the network, whose values must remain within the limits that the legislation obliges the distribution companies to comply with. Thus, by means of its knowledge it will be possible to establish strategies for its mitigation.
LOCATE will provide the necessary knowledge to expand the field of application of Ariadna's patent on connectivity, so that it can be applied to all networks, by studying the energy profiles of users using Big Data techniques.
All these developments will take the form of software tools, at application level, that will enable Viesgo to make decisions in the management of the low voltage grid.
In this way it will be in a position to improve the quality of supply to the end customer and in a position to adapt, reliably and safely, to the new scenario with the integration of a greater number of distributed energy sources of renewable origin and the electric vehicle.
This will support its transformation from a distribution company to an advanced grid operator.
Finally, the project's developments will be supported by a pilot phase in which the solutions will be tested in real operating environments at scale, which is critical, according to all grid innovation initiatives (European Commission, ETIP SNET and ALINNE), to be agile in the transformation of R&D into commercial and applicable solutions.
The main objective of the LOCATE project is the development of new equipment and applications to improve the management of the low voltage electrical grid, bringing its operation closer to the concept defined by Smart Grids, improving the quality of supply, opening the door to the implementation of predictive maintenance plans, increasing efficiency in electricity distribution and allowing a safe and massive integration of distributed renewable generation sources in it.
Value proposition
In order to achieve the main objective it is necessary to complement it with others to ensure the success of the project: Specific objectives:
- Obtaining equipment for the monitoring of low voltage networks with new functionalities.
- Development of applications for the improvement of low voltage network management with new functionalities.
- Performance test of the new functionalities of the equipment at laboratory level.
- Performance test of the developed applications in a real network.
CIRCE is the technical coordinator of the project. From that point of view, he will play an important role in the coordination of all the technical tasks executed within the project and, especially, in the development of the new monitoring equipment for low voltage networks.
Specifically, he will participate in the description of the new functionalities for the equipment, as well as in the description of the applications for the management of the distribution networks derived from these functionalities. He will lead the development of the algorithm and software required to implement the functionalities to be incorporated to the new monitoring equipment.
It will play an active role in supporting the development of the applications, as these will be based on the new functionalities that will be provided by the monitoring equipment. It will also participate in the research necessary to expand the scope of the applications, so that they have the capacity to allow the distribution company to develop a new operation based on predictive maintenance, as well as a safe and reliable integration of distributed generation in the low voltage networks.
It will also lead the construction of a low voltage laboratory that emulates the real conditions that the equipment will encounter in the distribution networks, to perform controlled tests of the functionalities and adjust the equipment based on the results found.
Finally, he will support in the piloting tasks based on his knowledge of the equipment and applications.
Using our own methodology, we identify the environmental and socioeconomic risks of the materials that make up the products in order to issue eco-design recommendations, improve their recyclability and minimize manufacturing costs.