Smart Grid Achieved in Sweden with NOJA Power Reclosers

“E.ON [Elnät, Sweden] runs a project for Smarter Grids. In four geographical areas, different suppliers were tested. The Techinova/NOJA Power solution has the highest degree of automation and was the first supplier to complete the assignment with delivery, commissioning, training and handover.” - Per Clasén, Technical Communication, E.ON Elnät

Australian Switchgear Engineering Firm NOJA Power in partnership with their Swedish Distributor Techinova have successfully achieved a Smart Grid rollout project near the town of Kisa in Sweden. Following the project rollout, the system was tested by Winter Storm Alfrida, as the region was buffeted by 110km/h winds. The following map demonstrates the permanent faults across the region, with the area in the black square designated as the Techinova/NOJA Power Smart Grid Network Region.

By utilizing automatic backfeed supply restoration techniques with careful evaluation of reclose sequencing, the utility achieved substantial improvements in network performance parameters (SAIDI, CAIDI, MAIFI) and grid resilience. The system performance was remarkable in adverse conditions, demonstrating the merits of modern utilities developing pragmatic automation schemes for their distribution grids.

After studying fault data of the last two years, Techinova developed a protection scheme with automation to improve network performance. The smart grid implementation developed by Techinova using NOJA Power OSM Reclosers was achieved using a combination of sectionaliser, Automatic Backfeed Restoration (ABR) and Voltage Reclosing Control (VRC) functionality. The protection capabilities in the NOJA Power OSM Reclosers allows for effective grading regardless of power flow direction, and when combined with NOJA Power’s Cos Phi algorithms for SEF protection the devices meet Swedish standards for High Impedance Earth Fault detection.

This implementation was carefully evaluated by E.On on the basis of Project Time Schedule, Functional Value and Level of Automation. Following the project evaluation, the Techinova/NOJA Power Smart Grid was the only supplier to deliver the project on time, with a functional system, and with the highest level of automation of all evaluated systems.

“We are very proud to partner with Techinova our Swedish distributor to deliver automation solutions to E.On in Sweden,” reports NOJA Power Group Managing Director Neil O’Sullivan. “This is a very interesting case study and demonstrates the grid resilience that can be achieved with investment in auto reclosing circuit breakers combined with decentralized automation schemes that come standard in every NOJA Power recloser.”