Smart Grids are a growth area. Increasing awareness about smart grid technologies and applications are resulting in new installations of technology that update one hundred year old infrastructure electricity generation and distribution models. V1 Energy editor Jeff Thurston interviewed Martin Ansell, general manager – Smallworld, GE Energy. He described Smart Grid technologies and how GE is participating in the smart grid future.
V1 Energy: Could you begin by describing your company history as it relates to energy and Smart Grid?
MA: Smallworld has been involved in to the development of energy management tools and technologies for 20 years. We were founded in Cambridge, United Kingdom by a group of bright individuals at that time who thought scanning maps into computers was a wasteful and inefficient way to go about maintaining utility information. At that time they initiated the development of database technologies coupled to utility user needs and what would become Smallworld software.
What emerged was the methodology to describe how the assets in utilities connected. In practice it was the beginning of developing spatial networks and led to further work in the development of complex networks. Smallworld became part of the GE company in 2000and is now considered a market leader across the domain.
V1 Energy: So GE is more widely focused or narrow focused?
MA: We tend to think of ourselves as being focused on the customer. We have domain expertise focused specifically on the telecommunications and utilities markets. However, that same domain knowledge allows us to contribute toward other GE projects and products within infrastructure giving us a wider remit.
GE is involved in a wide variety of infrastructure areas within the infrastructure domain. These include gas, wind energy, distribution and generation. Our particular interests in Smallworld can be used throughout these areas supporting wider scale GE objectives.
V1 Energy: Could you describe your customers?
MA: We have more than 1000 customers in 45 different countries. Much of the work extends beyond data models alone and we refer to it as Smallworld Core Technology. The idea is to be able to deal with large customers with complex networks and to be able to scale them for some of the biggest utilities in the world. Accordingly, we have many Tier 1 customers. In some cases they have 30 million metered points in Europe. In North America our customers have 5-7 million metered points in some cases.
V1 Energy: How has the evolution of Smart Grid occurred and connected to GE?
MA: Over 20 years the foundation software has continually added value application suites. Today a big driver is the development of the smart grid. Smallworld solutions can support the re-engineering that is needed to upgrade and develop a system of network transmission based on today’s users and their needs.
V1 Energy: That must be a large challenge with politics and other factors surrounding environment and global change at the same time, how are approaching it?
MA: It is. We see smart grid as a key component of meeting the EU targets for Energy emission reduction and improved efficiency. It helps to reduce losses within the network, improve energy use and allows for the development of renewable energy to co-exist with current generation more effectively. This has been recognised within the United States with the current administration directing fiscal stimulus funding to implement smart grid projects. GE has had an active roll in the development of this policy by informing Governments on the technologies that exist today and the performance improvements they deliver.
V1 Energy: Can you explain how GE is implementing smart grid?
MA: We first need to understand what the current grid looks like. This means an inventory of assets is required, but also includes knowing where they are. A key to this understanding is to be able to determine how the assets are inter-connected because that influences planning from the old grid toward development of a new smart grid. It is not like we take everything apart and install all new technology and equipment. Instead, a more realistic plan involves use of those parts of the current grid that fall within the smart grid plan..
V1 Energy: It seems like different people think of smart grids in different ways. How do you define a smart grid?
MA: A smart grid is an umbrella term that covers the modernization of both the transmission and distribution grids, using digital communication intelligence to empower consumers to actively participate in energy demand and cost control. The smart grid enables energy suppliers to reduce frequency and duration of outages, better prepare the grid for distributed generation and future energy storage options as well as optimise renewable generation sources.
So this digital communication will be at the heart of the smart grid. If we look at most electrical grids today we will find that they are capable of providing a real-time view of the network through their SCADA data acquisition instrumentation. However they cannot follow the network operation from the point of generation all the way to the home – today that ability usually ends as sub-station.
When we look at the typical control room, it consists of a map that more or less looks like a London Underground map. The connections are evident, but the true locations are distorted. The map is drawn for network analysis purposes. This is a very simplified view, because once we are past the individual sub-stations, then the network connections start rising and the map becomes more complicated since every individual home is a connection. One of the distinguishing characteristics of a smart grid lies in the fact that there is line-of-sight from the point of generation all the way to individual homes. The entire network is live and managed by near-real time intelligence.
V1 Energy: Where would a geographic information system (GIS) come in to play in these networks?
MA: Geospatial applications will play significant roles in the smart grid – from system design and engineering, to managing the two-way communications network. The GIS should enable a view from the generation location all the way to the home. This means that not only will the assets of the network be identifiable, but also the location and activity across those locations will be visible, identifiable and manageable through the use of GIS technologies. The data can be mapped, highlighted, monitored and analysed – between and among locations.
V1 Energy: Are there other factors involved?
MA:We believe that geospatial network engineering and mobile workforce management solutions are foundational elements of the smart grid. They address the smart grid’s emerging advanced network modeling requirements, enabling utilities to cost-effectively enhance, refurbish and optimize the existing distribution network. However once the network is designed the GIS will provide the right information at the fingertips of field crews and offering utilities a 360-degree view of their mobile workforce effectiveness.
V1 Energy: What do you see as the grande challenge heading forward?
MA: The introduction of distributed generation and the use of renewable energy will change the way our grid operates. In the UK for example, new offshore wind turbines and wave generators are being introduced where the network is not of sufficient quality to support large-scale generation from these sources. We’re talking about places where 100’s of megawatts would be injected into the system for which the network was not designed to handle.
V1 Energy: How is GE meeting this challenge in the UK then?
MA: For us the way forward is clear. A re-engineering to update the network is vital and we are working closely with Government and Industry to meet these challenges with cost effective solutions
A lot of the work we are doing surrounds the use and application development of analysis tools for determining the assets, monitoring the networks and the planning of new capacity. This could include planning that involves minimum capacity cables, rating of switchgear or the assessment of transformers that are currently in place. In other words, we are striving to understand the current network better with an eye to the future build out of smart grids.
This involves a lot of ‘what-if’ scanario’s. We can plan, for example, what would happen if we put 500 megawatts into the network at certain points. This will obviously impact transformers, sub-stations and a whole host of connected resources. We need to understand what will fail, what will remain intact and operating and what needs improving. All of this creates a ‘reactive’ view of the network that is available during planning.
V1 Energy: Are we speaking about quite a few upgrades then?
MA: It really depends on the assets and their ratings. Much of the current system was re-engineered from the 1960’s, but is still based on concepts 100 years ago. The present challenge involves aging infrastructure whose useful life may have passed. To understand this we use diagnostic tools to ascertain the life of assets. We put smaller sensing devices on key components and monitor them real-time. This allows us to gauge and predict failure.
V1 Energy: Does regulation have an impact on building smart grids?
MA: Yes Governments and Regulators have a big role to play. For example in North America, energy utilities are making a lot of progress as a result of the funding that has been allocated to the development of smart grids. In Europe despite a EU wide policy, each country has unique local characteristics that affect the way they adopt the policy. GE believes a stable and fair regulatory framework for the European electricity market is the prerequisite for needed investment.
Tax incentives, such as accelerated depreciation for Smart Grid related property, would also encourage infrastructure investments. Accelerated depreciation essentially allows utilities to “reduce” taxable income in a given year. This tactic is used in many industries to encourage businesses to invest in new technologies.
Also introducing regulation to ensure customer are provided with real-time and time-of-use pricing will stimulate the rapid adoption of Smart Meters and provide the consumer with real empowerment to make informed decisions about energy consumption.
V1 Energy: What will the smart grid do for consumers?
MA: Smart grid will be profound. The provider will help consumers manage power. The image is for most consumers to become more empowered and understanding about where and how they are using electricity. Each home will likely have it’s own energy dashboard that computes, tracks and analyzes energy and water and so on. The net effect will be that consumers will feel that they can personally contribute towards reducing green house emissions and at the same time reduce energy bills.
V1 Energy: Do standards have a role in smart grid?
MA: They sure do. What we really want to do is be able to reach across all database systems. This means ERP and GIS and electrical information, all at once. GE is heavily engaged in making this happen.
V1 Energy: How far does smart grid reach into the architect and construction sectors – AEC?
MA: We don’t reach into those sectors. GE is focused on telecommunications and electric utilities. We are interested not only in the physical connections, but the logical connections, which of course runs into thousands and more.
V1 Energy: Does 3D impact the work you are doing in smart grid?
MA: The use and application of 3D within our organisation is large and growing. We have an application called Electrical Office Suite that is designed for 3D use involving standardized applications. Our Corridor Manager product visualises where transmission lines will run and calculates how far they are away from objects. We feed in growth rates for tree species grown locally, for example, and it calculates when and where the lines and trees will clash.
For the most part we don’t develop our own visualisation tools but use 3rd party tools available for the types of applications we are involved in.
V1 Energy: Do you see differences between the European and North American markets for smart grid products and services?
MA: We’ve announced Smart City programs in the US, for example in Florida there is Smart Miami. The U.S. is ahead in terms of providing funding, but Europe is catching up fast. In places like Spain there is greater importance placed on carbon storage, the UK is oriented more toward grid stability and the southern countries are obviously oriented toward solar and wave generation. As a global company GE understands the importance of local dynamics very well, we have the knowledge and the resources to customise smart grid solutions to specific local requirements.With smart grid one size does not fit all.
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Martin Ansell is the General Manager for the Smallworld Geospatial Asset Management and Mobile Software Applications business within GE Energy Transmission & Distribution. Headquartered in the University town of Cambridge in the UK, Smallworld develops and markets software solutions that help to design and manage complex networks, delivering increased efficiency and productivity to over one thousand Utility and Telecommunications customers worldwide. Martin is increasingly being seen as an industry thought leader on the topic of how Geospatial Information Systems are at the heart of any smarter grid ambition, from re-engineering the grid to building out a smart meter communications infrastructure.
Graduating in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Martin founded a company designing and marketing modems for educational and home computer use. He then went on to hold senior Business Development positions at Dow ty Information Technolog y, which took him to Asia Pacific and the US A before returning to back Europe in 1992 to join ALSTOM’s T&D business. Initially working as Business Development Director in the Protection & Control Group, he led its global commercial activities including mergers & acquisitions (acquiring businesses in the Americas and Europe). In 1997, he was appointed Managing Director of a group of ALSTOM T&D businesses based in the UK (High Voltage Switchgear, HV Substation Projects, Power Electronics/HVDC). This culminated in Martins appointed as a Senior Executive of ALSTOM in 2000. Joining GE in June 2003 to briefly lead its S ubstation Automation business in Europe, Mar tin was then appointed EMEA Regional Director for GE Energy’s newly formed T&D business in January 2004 and began in his current role in July 2007. With a wealth of Energy Industry knowledge that covers the entire Transmission and Distribution Energy sector and Data Communications Industry, Martin offer s a grounded per spective on how the grid can evolve and which technologies will enable today’s network infrastructure to become smarter.
