EMPIR webinar on smart grids is generating discussion amongst experts

Project event discussing research for new international standards on smart grids drew worldwide attendance

Project event discussing research for new international standards on smart grids drew worldwide attendance

The project

The EMPIR project 'Standard tests and requirements for rate-of-change of frequency (ROCOF) measurements in smart grids' (15NRM04, ROCOF) was conceived to provide essential pre-normative research for new international standards on ROCOF. ROCOF is an essential measurement for electricity networks incorporating a large proportion of renewable resources to ensure the continuity and quality of electricity supply.

The webinar

On 17 of May Gert Rietveld from VSL and the project coordinator Paul Wright from NPL presented the outcomes of the three-year project to its stakeholder community in the form of a webinar, which generated lively and wide ranging discussions amongst the large and highly influential audience. The decision to hold the event as a webinar enabled significant savings in travel time and cost that otherwise would have reduced attendance signifcantly.

The two-hour event, organised with the support of the convener of technical committee IEC/IEEE TC95 WG1 (Synchrophasor measurements for power systems), was attended by over 50 participants from destinations ranging from China to the west coast of the USA. Attendees included transmission operators, instrument manufacturers, academic researchers and members of technical committee IEC TC8 JWG8 (Frequency measurements for distributed Energy resources). Twenty of the 50 attendees were new contacts for the project consortium.

The webinar is already generating discussions on the next steps in standardisation of frequency and rate-of-change-of-frequency measurements. It is hoped that the project results will make a significant contribution to the development of future international standards on measurement and instruments for power system frequency and ROCOF.

The meeting was held six days after the launch of the European Metrology Network (EMN) for Smart Electricity Grids which aims to provide a single point for European metrology partners working in this field, for which Gert is also the chair.

Gert Rietveld said ‘I am extremely pleased with the excellent stakeholder outreach and interaction that we achieved via this webinar. It by far was the best final project dissemination to stakeholders I have had over the many EMRP and EMPIR project in the past decades. Highly recommended to other JRPs!’

Project Coordinator Paul Wright said ‘I am delighted that we were able to reach such a highly influential audience and present our results. ROCOF is becoming very important to grid companies and renewable operators and we really hope that this webinar will be a catalyst for internationally agreed solutions to some of the significant issues in this field, many of which our project has highlighted and addressed’.

Webinar slides

This EMPIR project is co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

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