Grid technology implementation recommendations for DSOs

European industry organisation CurrENT has drawn up recommendations for the deployment of innovative grid technologies at the DSO level.

The recommendations, based on published sources and the practical experiences of CurrENT members, are aimed to provide guidance to overcome a key challenge experienced by DSOs of the limited resources to consider the specifics of technologies and their deployment and related issues such as standards, regulations and business models.

Alongside general deployment issues including network studies, procurement and tenders, the cost benefit analysis and installation and testing, specific technologies considered – categorised as ‘grid optimising technologies’ – are advanced conductors, digital twin technologies, dynamic line rating, modular power flow control and monitoring sensors.

These technologies are innovative in maximising the use of the electricity grid and are mature and commercially available but are not yet standardised for many companies.

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“We know that an extraordinary amount of renewable energy will need to be connected to the DSO grid in the coming decades’ says Layla Sawyer, secretary general of CurrENT,

“Yet it is still a big challenge for many DSOs to be aware and make use of the full range of new technologies being developed. In part, this is because the technical assurance and procurement of new technologies is done differently at the DSO level than at the TSO level, and there is less manpower available for these kinds of studies.”

The paper Recommendations for the deployment of DSO projects, finds that the application of these grid technologies to the distribution network and its operators can ensure faster, lower cost, more flexible, beneficial and seamlessly integrated solutions.

Digitalisation of the energy system is targeted and essential, with universally recognised major benefits to stakeholders and network operators alike.

“It is advantageous not to wait, but start the evaluation through to deployment process to avail of these benefits early,” states the document.

Thus for example a recommendation is for the use of trial projects or limited use first deployments of the technologies to be eliminated in favour of first deployments into full active use in the network as the benefits should far outweigh any risks of stranding assets.

Another is that the technologies cannot only be applied standalone and should be considered in combination, with guidance from suppliers to address the individual use case.

Further recommendations include minimising technical assurance to only the areas of a new technology where the technology performance is truly essential and the introduction by regulators of incentives for innovation.

CurrENT also reports presently advocating for a ‘distribution technopedia’ at national and/or European level – a concept implemented by ENTSO-E – to provide DSOs with a list of commercial ready technologies in order to minimise their effort in identifying and learning how to appraise the often new alternatives.

With the technologies continually evolving CurrENT also anticipates providing future updates to the recommendations and potentially expanding the technologies reviewed.