Introduction on Smart Grids and Active Networks
Currently, the focus of the European Union is to redesign the entire architecture of the electricity network at both transmission and distribution level in order to accommodate Distributed Generation from renewable sources and to use intelligent methods for the control of the network grid. The introduction of dispersed generation, wind farms, energy storages, demand side management and new loads like electrical vehicles and heat pumps will affect the network technically in a number of ways and have influence on the load flow patterns, the power quality, and the voltage, frequency and reactive power control. Further, the dispersed generation units could alter the fault level and fault current in the distribution system and may require adjustments or replacements of the protection system. Also attention to the availability and security should be paid. As the number of dispersed generators increases, the mentioned impacts would become more serious, therefore the capacity of a system accepting the integration of dispersed generation and the types of loads may be limited. Now, due to the large number of dispersed generation, it is also possible to run parts of the distribution network in islanded mode. This demands new control and protection methods to run the system in a safe and reliable condition also, if islanded. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will be the key factor in this process of accommodating distributed generation and demand side management as mentioned in the European Commission paper “Towards Smart Power Networks. Lessons learned from European research FP5 projects”. New features added by ICT and ICT-based applications as universal connectivity, services over internet and web, distributed intelligence, advanced fault handling, intelligent load shedding etc. will transform the existing electrical grid into a smart and active grid.
Collaboration Partners and Networks
Energinet.dk, Risø DTU, DONG Energy, Vattenfall, HEF, SEAS-NVE, Dansk Energi, DTU - Technical University of Denmark, KVL The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, CBS Copenhagen Business School, ABB, kk-electronic, Siemens, Vestas, Siemens Wind Power, DHI, IEEE, Cigre, IET, Smart Grid ERA-Network, European Electricity Grids Initiative (EEGI), Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), HES-SO/University of Applied Sciences (Sweden), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Lund University of Technology (Sweden), University of Iceland and Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain).
Vacancies within the Research Programme
If any, please find the vacancies here: Vacancies at Aalborg University.
Group Members
Claus Leth Bak, Birgitte Bak-Jensen, Zhe Chen, Pukar Mahat, Jayakrishnan R. Pillai, Peiyuan Chen, Mu Wei, Weihao Hu, Xiongfei Wang, Arifa Bhutto, Ghullam Mustafa, Iker Diaz de Cerio Mendaza, Pietro Raboni, D. M. Akbar Hussain and Josep M. Guerrero.
Contact Information
Programme Leader:
Associate Professor Birgitte Bak-Jensen
Direct phone: +45 9940 9274 · E-mail: bbj@et.aau.dk
