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Smart GridDefinition and Concepts

Mohsen AnvaariMay 27, 2011

Software Engineering GroupDepartment of Computer and Information Science

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Agenda

• Definition: What It Is and What It Is Not?• Characteristics, Goals and Benefits• Building Blocks: What It Is Made Of? • Key Issue: Interoperability• Our Task: SEinSG (Software Evolution in Smart Grid)• Questions

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DefinitionWhat It Is?• There is yet no internationally unified definition and

nobody exactly know what it is• Even not unified term: Smart Grid, SmartGrids, Smarter

Grid, Intelligent Grid, Future Grid, Modern Grid– However, the most commonly used term is “Smart Grid”

• Many parties have published definitions– Some focusing on the technologies might be deployed in SG– Others on the services SG can offer

• Some well-known definitions are from:– US Department of Energy (DOE), European Technology Platform on

Smart Systems Integration (EPoSS), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

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DefinitionWhat It Is?• EPoSS definition: Smart Grid is an electricity network that

can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it – generators, consumers, and those that do both, in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supply (Technology Action Plan: Smart Grids, Report to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, Prepared by Italy and Korea in consultation with MEF Partners, December 2009)

• DOE definition: An automated, widely distributed energy delivery network, the Smart Grid will be characterized by a two-way flow of electricity and information and will be capable of monitoring everything from power plants to customer preferences to individual appliances. (The Smart Grid: An Introduction, a publication sponsored by the US Department Of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability)

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DefinitionWhat It Is?• Precise definition or easy to understand?

• A simple description (by Jesse Berst):– Smart devices– Two-way communications– Advanced control systems

• Smart Grid = Present-day Electricity Grid (copper and iron) + Intelligence

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DefinitionWhat It Is Not?• Smart Grid relates to the electricity network only

(not gas)• Smart Grid will not look significantly different

from today’s conventional electricity grids (copper and iron cables)

• Smart Grid will not be a revolution but rather an evolution

• Smart metering alone is not Smart Grid– smart metering enables some features and

functionalities of smart grid

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Characteristics, Goals and Benefits

• Self-healing: the capability to rapidly detect, analyze, respond and restore from the fault

• Consumer friendly: the ability to involve a consumer into a grid• High reliability: a quality of the power must satisfy consumer needs• Resilient: immunity to cyber and physical attacks• Distributed generation and storage options: adapt to new

technologies such as solar cells and electric vehicles• Renewable energy integration: integrating more ecological and non-

polluting power generation such as wind turbines• Optimizes asset utilization: monitoring and optimization of its capital

assets and minimizes operations and maintenance expenses.

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Building Blocks

• Different parties have considered different structure for SG– NIST– IEEE– etc.

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Building Blocks

IEEE: Smart Grid 3 Fundamental Layers

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• Smart Grid Conceptual Architecture by Shargal and Houseman

Information Technology Layer

Communication Layer

Power System Layer

Building Blocks

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• Another point of view by Santacana

Power Grid (Copper and Iron)

Four Essential Building Blocksof Any Smart TechnologySmart

Grid

Building Blocks

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Key Issue: Interoperability• Smart Grid is a puzzle• Every attempt to implement

another piece of the Smart Gridpuzzle is plagued by difficulty

• Possible approaches to this problem:– One Stop, One Shop– Vender to Vender Cooperation– Industry Standards– System Integrators– Service Oriented Architecture– Brute Force– A combination of these approaches

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Our Task: Software Evolution in Smart Grid• Smartness in Smart Grid assumes many software-driven

services and equipment• Such software is in a never-ending state of flux because of

changing expectations from the direct and indirect users of software-driven artifacts

• The actual software is developed and run by a large number of companies in many countries

Question: When, how and by whom should then a piece of software be evolved?

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Our Task: Software Evolution in Smart Grid• Improved Management of Software Evolution for Smart

Grid applications:– A: Open Source Software in SmartGrids:

Investigating the well-suitedness of Open Source Software (OSS) in the Smart Grid context

– B: Evaluation of Software Application Portfolios:Looking at methods for proposing and assessing evolution alternatives for a portfolio of software applications

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References1. Langeland, T. and Greiner, C. (2011). The Smart Grid – What It Is and What It Is Not, Fremtiden Er

Elektrisk, NEF Teknisk Møte, Trondheim, March 2011.2. Santacana, E., Rackliffe, G., Tang, L., and Feng, X. (2010). Getting smart, Power and Energy Magazine,

IEEE, 8(2), pp. 41–48.3. Collier, S.E. (2009). Ten Steps To A Smarter Grid, IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference, REPC '09, pp.

B2-B2-7.4. Hassan, R. and Radman, G. (2010) Survey on Smart Grid, in Proceedings of the IEEE

SoutheastCon 2010, pp. 210-213.5. Berst, J. (2009). Why The Smart Grid Industry Can’t Talk The Talk, Smart Grid News, March 5, 2009.6. Shargal, M. and Houseman, D. (2009). The Big Picture of Your Coming Smart Grid, Smart Grid News,

March 5, 2009.7. The Smart Grid: An Introduction, a publication sponsored by the US Department Of Energy’s (DOE)

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. 8. NIST Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards, Release 1.0, Office of the

National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, U.S Department of Commerce, January 2010.9. IEEE P2030 Draft Guide for Smart Grid Interoperability of Energy Technology and Information

Technology Operation with the Electric Power System (EPS), and End-Use Applications and Loads, IEEE Standards Association, 2011.

10. Position Paper on Smart Grids – An ERGEG Public Consultation Paper, European Regulators Group for Electricity & Gas, December 2009.

11. Technology Action Plan: Smart Grids, Report to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, Prepared by Italy and Korea in consultation with MEF Partners, December 2009

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Question