OSGi-based management of distributed renewable power sources
0OSGi-based management of distributed renewable power sources
The presentation will provide an overview of the architecture and implementation of the infrastructure that will be used at EnBW ODR AG to manage distributed renewable energy sources.
In Germany, a electrical distribution system operator (DSO) is authorised by the legislator to limit the production of energy, if stability of the power grid is endangered or the grid is not capable to transport the renewable or conventional generated energy. Due to the installation of 1.2 million distributed renewable generating facilities, this instrument is used almost daily by some DSOs. The capability of the DSO, to measure the current power and to limit the energy production, have now to be implemented for all renewable power plants bigger than 100kW.
At first, we were looking for a turn-key solution in the market, that offers automatic provisioning, dynamic software-updates, hardware independence and process integration plus some additional management features. Due to the fact, that no existing software solution was able to fulfil our requirements (these all is needed because of the vague legal situation), we decided to implement a prototype based on a public standard that is widely accepted, OSGi.
Apache Equinox is in use as runtime on the gateways and ProSyst mPRM device management software are implemented on the back-end side. The gateways communicate with the local automation units at the renewable energy plants using protocols that are common in industrial automation. The 3G-based gateway communication to the back-end is implemented using SSL-encrypted messaging services. Registered gateways appear in the back-end as so-called power-plant- and generator-control-units with a defined feature set. An OSGi bundle on the mPRM back-end tracks these control-units and handles communication to the control center, using the telecontrol protocol IEC 60870-5-104. Currently the integration and rollout of gateways for 1,000 power plants starting in Q1/2014, is carefully arranged.
About EnBW ODR AG
EnBW ODR AG is a regional subsidiary of EnBW AG (the 3rd biggest energy supplier in Germany) and supplies about 220,000 customers with electricity in a rural area of 3,400 km². Currently there is an installation of 25,000 renewable generating facilities in our electrical grid, rising about 2,500 every year. 380 employees work in the head office, which is located in Ellwangen.
http://www.odr.de