Case study: Statnett
Aneesh Chandran | 3 minute read | 02 September 2021
IEC 61850 centralised busbar protection with Distributed Electrical Sensing
Synaptec partnered with Norwegian TSO Statnett, to implement a centralised busbar protection scheme operating in shadow mode within the Furuset digital substation outside Oslo, Norway.
They deployed their Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology to enable multiple active units to be combined into a single protection system.
Multi-terminal protection
Allowing six busbar feeders to be independently and simultaneously protected
Simplified infrastructure
Eliminates the need for multiple active units, control power, data networks, and copper wiring
Resilient protection
Sensors operate passively even when power is off, providing continued busbar protection
In order to meet future demands, their focus is on ensuring a reliable power supply by building, operating, preparing and maintaining the transmission grid. Investing in digitisation, system upgrades and security applications are all key drivers in ensuring the grid is reliable and robust.
The challenge
As the drive towards a decarbonised, decentralised and digitalised energy sector continues, the industry is increasingly focused on digitalising a core element of every grid – the substation.
In line with their company mission, Statnett set out to drive the modernisation of their existing networks with their pilot digital substation in Furuset, Oslo.
However, digitalising a substation is not without challenges. The initial high investment and concerns over the operation of protection and control systems have traditionally been a red flag for operators using conventional technologies.
Traditional busbar protection systems depend heavily on copper wiring, active measurement units, and multiple dedicated connections for each measurement. This setup not only increased complexity and cost, but also introduced vulnerabilities; failures to clear busbar faults quickly could result in severe substation damage and prolonged outages.
Our solution
Synpatec worked alongside Statnett engineers to design, test and install a centralised system which met Statnett’s requirement of a single system to provide multi-terminal protection with additional capability for mechanical (temperature or strain) measurements.
Synaptec Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology leverages standard optical fibre to interrogate multiple passive current and voltage sensors serially. This eliminated the need for active units in the substation yard and significantly reduced copper cabling requirements.
With Synaptec’s technology, it was possible to collect all measurements in sampled value format from up to 16 bays on a common network (the process bus) without having dedicated wiring for each measurement. With one system able to instrument 30 locations synchronously, six busbar feeders were independently and simultaneously protected by one system, with capacity to spare for novel temperature and vibration monitoring of nearby HV assets, such as transformers.
Synaptec’s DES technology also made it safer to carry our repairs, even when the power isn’t on, to enable the safe, continued operation of busbar protection during critical refurbishment projects.
Installation overview
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