DNV GL to Address Energy Industry’s Most Pressing Issues at CIGRE 2014

DNV GL (uniting DNV, KEMA, Garrad Hassan and GL Renewables Certification) will offer key insights into the most pressing issues facing the energy industry today and in the future at the CIGRE session for electric power systems in Paris between the 25th and 29th of August 2014 (stand number 355).

“At a time of great change and innovation for global power systems, DNV GL will provide stakeholders at CIGRE with the opportunity to learn about solutions, best practices and innovations that address the challenges and opportunities associated with renewables integration, distributed energy resources, storage, testing, security and other industry concerns,” said Wessel Bakker, President CIGRE Netherlands and Head of Department Power Systems Planning at DNV GL.

At the event, DNV GL’s power system and testing experts will present four technical papers:

Impact of QA/QC on the successful commissioning of long 380kV XLPE cable systems
The paper describes a quality assurance and control programme, which was developed to stress the reliability of a large 380kV cable system in the Netherlands. The quality assurance programme includes the first built-in quality assessed prequalification, factory and site acceptance tests as well as measures to restore quality.

Transformer health and risk indexing, including data quality management
The paper highlights the procedure for transformer operation management with the use of Health Index as the main support tool, describing the gradation algorithm used in the transformer technical condition assessment.

Interruption phenomena and testing of very large SF6 generator circuit breakers
Exploring the application, specification, construction and testing of a generator circuit breaker package. The focus is on fault current clearing, the system source fault and the generator source fault with their typical requirements for the TRV.

Modelling and experimental verification of Direct Current interruption phenomena and associated test-circuits
The report draws attention to Direct Current interruption, especially at high voltage (HVDC), giving an overview of different switching technologies that may be capable to interrupt a DC fault current within a far short time than known from AC fault current clearing.

CIGRE attendees will also see DNV GL announce the results of a Joint Industry Project with the aim of answering the industry’s demand for a Technology Qualification of Offshore High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Systems. This global guideline is responding to the growing number of HVDC cable systems that are being installed to transfer electrical power from long-distance offshore wind farms.

Coupled with growing global pressure to meet renewable targets and the rate at which offshore wind permissions are being granted, the need for reliable and cost effective measures for the dependable use of HVDC transmission systems is of paramount importance. Peter Vaessen, Segment Director Future Transmission Grids at DNV GL, who has been leading the development of the Technology Qualification will be at CIGRE to advise on challenges faced by stakeholders working in the power systems industry.

At the UCA International Users group stand (number 370) visitors can learn more about DNV GL’s Joint Industry Project (JIP) which aims to reduce the risks involved in new offshore projects through improved submarine cable quality. Submarine power cables account for just a small portion of the total amount of investments in equipment needed for offshore installations, such as a production platform in the oil & gas sector or a connection platform in the offshore wind sector. However, when these power cables fail, the impact is typically very significant.

DNV GL is inviting interested parties to come together through this JIP to define a complete submarine cable quality reference. While at the UCA stand, attendees can explore DNV GL’s IEC 61850 testing tool for the new communication standard introduced in substation automation which replaces almost all traditional wires by serial communication.

At the event, utilities and manufacturers are invited to participate in a KEMA Certificate survey, which looks into determining the value of certification. The results from this research will be published in the Pulse report following the event.