Nokia modernises Red Electrica communications network
Nokia today announced that it will provide Red Eléctrica de España (REE) with an IP/MPLS network and DWDM (Dense Wave-Division Multiplexing) optical transport network, which will upgrade REE’s existing network.
REE is the Spanish transmission system operator (TSO) responsible for the transmission of electricity nationwide, including the Canary and Balearic islands. Its 800-site network is used to control and manage a nationwide transmission grid.
The new IP/MPLS and optical transport networks from Nokia will provide significantly more bandwidth to the utility sector and its subscribers and improve efficiencies. It will support a new generation of IP-based applications that will play a key role in everything from IoT-based asset management to managing distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and residential power storage.
Services supported by the Nokia network include sub-station communications, low-latency communication of IoT sensor data for measurement, protection and control, and time synchronisation of devices. The network will also support operational control systems such as SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and line protection, as well as synchrophasors (PMUs – phasor measurement units), which are one of the key applications for enabling highly accurate and dynamic analysis of the state of an electrical system. This is an important capability in smart, distributed energy grids, especially with intermittent power sources such as renewables.
The core and aggregation networks will be based on Nokia’s industry-leading IP/MPLS portfolio. The optical transport network, which replaces a legacy SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) system, will use Nokia’s DWDM portfolio, providing plenty of room for growth with capacities up to 100 Gb/s. Network operations will be supported by Nokia’s Network Services Platform (NSP), delivering integrated, efficient and reliable management capabilities, coordinated across the network layers. The transport of all current and future services will be implemented over this new IP/MPLS network, including the most demanding services in terms of synchronisation, latency and criticality, such as Current Differential Protection.
Manuel López Cormenzana, Director of Transmission Infrastructure Maintenance at Red Eléctrica de España, said: “REE is a key player in the energy transition and the challenges we face are clear, and we must be able to anticipate them, so we need to have the best tools with which to carry out our mission with the highest possible quality, safety and efficiency. In this sense, modernising our communications network is vital in order to advance in the digitalisation of our processes and to enable advanced management of transmission assets”.
Patrick Langelaan, Head of Enterprise in Southern Europe at Nokia, said: “We have worked closely with REE for several years to prepare for this migration, culminating in a successful proof of concept in 2019. Our work with European transmission system operators enables us to ensure that REE’s network will interwork seamlessly with continental systems – a key capability in the shift to renewables and our ability to manage intermittency across the region. This win reflects Nokia’s ongoing commitment to the energy sector and our collective journey to a de-carbonised, electrified future.”
