By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-08-18 05:30
A concept often causing confusion
The 'smart grid' is commonly presented as an indispensable part of the future power system. It is claimed that a true liberalised electricity market with a high penetration of distributed generation will only be able to supply a high degree of power reliability if grids are made smart.
But what exactly is a 'smart grid'? Reading through some literature on the subject, one quickly discovers that it can mean many different things to many different people, often leading discussions to end in confusion.
A smart grid is neither a clearly defined single concept nor a single technology. Rather it is like a basket containing various combinations of balls. The context and the interpretation depend upon the user. Carnegie Mellon University recently published an article describing all of the various balls typically found in this metaphorical basket. Some of them represent innovations that are still in the development phase, while others stand for technologies which have already been applied for years.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2008-01-16 14:15
By T Sienko et al
This paper investigates a new concept of a voltage phase controller for power systems. The proposed device consists of two transformers with a 3-phase input and an N-phase output and an NxN matrix converter between them. The device is considered to control power flow though a transmission line when voltage phase shifts occur in the power system.
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