Electricity and Control August 2021

ENERGY MANAGEMENT + THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Real-time grid visibility

The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) recently announced the fourth international academic wind energy con­ ference – WindAc Africa 2021 – scheduled to take place 5 to 7 October in Cape Town. This premier academic exchange platform offers a special programme for high potential young people from South African universities and is hoping to welcome 45 sponsored students at the conference this year, alongside other delegates. Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA says, “Wind energy research and technology development play a pivotal role in our sector, leading the way for progress, which is essential if we are to meet the growing demand for clean energy supply. The conference aims to share contemporary knowledge supporting an integrated approach to research in achieving a successful power transition away from coal and towards a greater share of renewables – as outlined OTELLO is a power grid monitoring and management system in three parts. The first is the Linux-based edge computer, capable of monitoring over 9 000 electrical parameters in real time. These devices are installed at each node along the grid. The second is the data man­ agement system, which uses a proprietary algorithm to stream electrical data to the cloud in near real time. The third is OTELLO’s data visualisation platform, which pro­ vides clear, comprehensive information to engineers as it occurs. Eskom is working with Stellenbosch-based technology company, CT Lab, to secure full visibility of the power grid in real time. CT Lab points to a worldwide revolution underway in power grids – and says engineering needs to keep pace. The company says more has changed in the past five years than in the preceding century, with climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and rapid advances in technolo­ gy completely transforming how electricity is generated. Wind, solar, batteries, mini-grids, low voltage trans­ formers and the rapid decline of gas and coal mean the grid today is becoming less predictable than the grid the industry has always known. Visibility is becoming a de­ ciding factor in the development of the grid of tomorrow and, looking to the future, Eskom has contracted CT Lab to provide 1 300 OTELLO edge computing devices which change how power is seen and managed on the grid. “OTELLO results from three decades of research and development in power, power quality and grid compli­ ance management,” says Willie van Wyk, CT Lab CEO and lead designer. “It has been developed for the South African grid. Our approach to grid visibility is unique: as we see it, processing power must be installed within the grid, not only at the control centre.”

OTELLO enables grid-wide visibility from points of generation, to substations, to mini substations. Eskom will be installing the 1 300 state-of-the-art de­ vices into a grid that already has 3 700 earlier model CT Lab power monitors. Collectively, the project will deliv­ er the world’s largest integrated grid visibility system, monitoring the largest electrical dataset on the planet, according to CT Lab. The OTELLO system is satellite synchronised, delivering a unified view of the grid with ±100 ns time- stamping accuracy. It provides grid-wide visibility, connecting into the grid from points of generation to substations, to mini-substation level, and offers unlimited scalability – from a single device to hundreds of thousands and more devices. Broadband connectivity streams data to a centralised data store and alerts and event notifications are delivered in near real time. For more information contact CT Lab. Tel: +27 (0)21 880 9915 Email: info@otelloenergy.com, visit: www.ctlab.com in the IRP 2010-2030, which frames South Africa’s power supply to be 90% dominated by renewables by 2050.” Thewindenergy sector looks to theacademiccommunity to unpack and analyse investment capital, skills availability, land availability, grid access, operational excellence, and investment in local supply chain development, all of which will play a role in enabling the industry to deliver the required 14.4 GW of wind power successfully by 2030. The conference brings together key stakeholders includ­ ing professionals, policymakers, academics, and represent­ atives from government and civil society. It aims to facilitate stronger partnerships for on-the-ground implementation of renewable energy projects, to influence energy policy, and provide a framework to aid strategic decision making. “With the WindAc Africa conference we aim to create a knowledge exchange platform where dialogues between experienced researchers, motivated students and wind industry practitioners can take place for the benefit of the

Academic community to gather for WindAc Africa 2021

Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA, speaking at a previous WindAc Conference.

18 Electricity + Control AUGUST 2021