Implementation of IEC 61850 in Solar Applications

Abstract

IEC 61850 has become one of the core technologies in the substation automation due its high-speed reliable operation Ethernet-based communication with a high security. Its reliability and performance makes a significant contribution to a fail-safe substation operation. IEC 61850 also allows both vertical and horizontal communications in the substation automation. Main characteristic of IEC 61850 is the use of GOOSE messages. All communication services run parallel via one LAN connection and the same GOOSE message can be broadcasted to several IEDs in once. This results in less wiring and faster data exchange between applications. Moreover, one of the core features of IEC 61850 is the interoperability between IEDs from different vendors. The separation of communication and data model allows to reliably retaining engineering data for a long time even if when upgrading or changing the system. IEC publishes updated documentations every while and add new parts to the standard due to the rabidly increase of IEC 61850 applications demand. As the market of solar applications has been increasing last few years, hence, the needs of new technologies to be implemented in solar applications is increasing as well. This thesis beside several other current researches nowadays is investigating the implementation of IEC 61850 in solar applications. The thesis outlines the current needs of solar applications by collecting statistical data using two surveys then concludes the implementation requirement. In the end of the research, IEC 61850 Data sets and current used parameters by Vacon were compared, and simulation example of photovoltaic array is given to conclude the benefits of using IEC 61850 in solar systems.