1. Home
  2. Articles
  3. Roseau Technologies experiments with alternative connection agreements

Roseau Technologies experiments with alternative connection agreements

Les équipes de Soréa et Roseau Technologies devant l'ombrière solaire pilotée automatiquement dans le cadre du démonstrateur de raccordement intelligent en Basse Tension

Intelligent and alternative connection agreements

The principle of “intelligent connection agreements”, or “alternative connection agreements with power modulation”, is well known: this type of connection makes it possible to increase the capacity of networks, for example for decentralised energy ressources (DER), in exchange for partial and occasional curtailment of the generation installation.

From the producer’s point of view, this is equivalent to accepting a limited loss of earnings in return for a faster and cheaper connection to the grid. More generally, as the smartgrids-cre.fr website explains, it is “a way of connecting more production facilities without having to make costly new investments in the existing network”.

Today, smart connection offers are only offered by System Operators on a selective basis, and in particular only to high-power producers, to the exclusion of those connected to the low-voltage network.

Implementing Alternative Connection Agreements at Low-Voltage level

The Grid ExpanDER software, developed by Roseau Technologies with financial support from Ademe, aims to massively increase the use of smart connections by enabling this technical solution to be implemented in low-voltage networks, potentially for hundreds of thousands of small-scale production facilities!

To achieve this, the software relies on existing smart meters, using them not only as sensors to regularly assess the electrical state of the network and identify the periods when capping is necessary, but also as telecoms gateways for relaying partial curtailment instructions to flexible production facilities.

Schéma de principe d' offres de raccordements alternatives en basse tension. C'est le compteur communicant qui réalise les mesures et sert de passerelle de communication

In the heart of the Maurienne valley in Savoie,  Soréa is currently testing the Grid ExpanDER solution on a low-voltage feeder in the commune of Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, serving a flexible production facility with a capacity of around 40 kWp.

Graphique des tensions mesurées lors de l'expérimentation de raccordement alternatif. La tension réelle et les points mesurés par le compteur communicants permettent de déceler des excursions de tension potentielles et d'envoyer des consignes d'effacement adaptées.
Puissance injectée mesurée dans une raccordement alternatif : Lors d’une période de congestion du réseau, la puissance injectée est limitée par l’application de la consigne d’effacement transmise par le compteur communicant

On a sunny day, as the voltage level in the grid gradually rises, the smart meter detects that the maximum voltage threshold may be exceeded. Partial shedding setpoints are automatically calculated and transmitted to the inverter. The correct application of the clipping setpoint can be checked using the profile of the power injected.

This pilot project, which has enabled the technical solution to be validated in an operational environment, also highlights the remarkable capacity for innovation of Local Distribution Companies, whose flexibility and responsiveness are extremely valuable when it comes to experimenting with innovative technologies.

Our latest publications on Alternative Connection Agreements:

A dynamic voltage controller for LV grids based on flexible PV systems and the smart metering infrastructure

A. HAMDAN, F. CADOUX, B. VINOT – 27th International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CIRED 2023)

Non-firm grid connections for low-voltage generators: a case study

L. MULLER, F. CADOUX – 27th International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CIRED 2023)

This project is supported as part of the Programme d’Investissement d’Avenir (PIA) operated by ADEME.

Share the article:

LinkedIn
Twitter
WhatsApp
Email

Discover more about: