Micro Grid (Micro Grid) will make the energy management industry fully intelligent (Figure 1). Advanced countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging countries such as China, India, and Saudi Arabia, are working hard to build Smart Grid and solar energy systems to improve energy use and management efficiency. Since the grid transmits alternating current (AC) and the renewable energy system generates direct current (DC), in order to effectively integrate two different forms of electricity, the industry is emerging a new microgrid that integrates three major systems of solar energy, smart grid and energy storage The concept encourages relevant system operators to invest in a new generation of smart energy management technologies.
Figure 1 Conceptual diagram of smart microgrid construction Source: Altera
The micro-grid is a transitional structure from the traditional power grid to the smart grid. The main purpose is to connect the distributed renewable energy system with the main grid to achieve the purpose of regional smart energy management. Therefore, it must be connected to the external grid and operated at the same time. The island's ability to operate. Compared with the smart grid, which has to shoulder the power transmission process of generation, transmission, distribution, and use, the microgrid is small in scale and is only responsible for regional distribution and power management. Initially, it will be used to dynamically adjust the proportion of renewable energy supply to avoid major Safety issues such as grid voltage fluctuations.
At this stage, power component vendors and system manufacturers are stepping up efforts to improve the power control and information computing solutions of micro-grid substations (SubstaTIon), solar inverters (Inverter), and are introducing power line communications (PLC) and wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi) And ZigBee and other networking modules to expand the wireless sensing nodes of the microgrid and build a more immediate and effective distribution management platform.
Microgrid brews new business opportunities, demand for semiconductor components detonates
The microgrid has become the development focus of the energy industry this year; as it must have real-time monitoring, two-way power control, regional power consumption forecasting and coordination, etc., it has also driven the demand for the introduction of communication modules, high-speed switches and isolated power components to attract related supplies. Businessmen flocked to the market.
Zhang Yongrui, head of the Intelligent Network Group of the Nuclear Energy Instrument Group of the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, said that the Power Supply of the renewable energy system fluctuates dramatically and must be successfully integrated into the main grid through the DC-AC conversion mechanism. Once the application ratio increases, it will cause Problems such as voltage fluctuations and poor frequency stability of the main grid; therefore, as the penetration rate of renewable energy continues to increase, energy authorities of various countries have also cooperated with the development of a micro-grid pilot program combining the main grid, solar energy and energy storage systems to ensure that Power supply quality.
At present, Europe, the United States and Japan are accelerating the deployment of microgrids. Among them, the solar system installed in Europe has accounted for more than 40% of the total power generation in the instant. Although some systems are not available, the average power generation ratio is still approaching 10? 20%; and the proportion of renewable energy power generation in the United States also exceeds 10%, and is expected to double to 20% in 2020; as for Japan, in response to the concept of non-nuclear homes, actively promote renewable energy construction projects.
Zhang Yongrui also revealed that the United States has the fastest pace in implementing microgrid policies at this stage. The microgrid research plan for 2013-2015 has recently been released, and six pilot operation demonstration areas have been set up as touchstones for the full implementation of smart grids in the future.
Generally speaking, the power grid can be divided into four stages of generation, transmission and distribution, and the main power of the microgrid is responsible for the middle and rear management of power distribution and power consumption. The coverage capacity is roughly in the range of 100kW ~ 5MW, which is equivalent to a thousand household level regional grid. . Because the microgrid combines DC power systems such as solar energy and energy storage, as well as the main AC power grid, it focuses on power switching, two-way control, network management and grid isolation protection mechanisms, which are not the same as traditional grid or general solar system components. Drive the demand for new power semiconductors and networking modules.
Zhang Yongrui pointed out that the power conversion and control equipment in the microgrid must import thousands of UHV-resistant power semiconductors, topologies that support real virtual power compensation and low voltage ride-through (LVRT) functions, and high-order pulse width modulation (PWM) The control components, in response to the power control and switching requirements, can automatically release the grid-connected state and switch to the island operation mode when a large amount of direct current inrushes into the main power grid, and switch directly to solar or energy storage equipment to ensure the power distribution mechanism normal operation.
In addition, the micro-grid infrastructure must also use PLC technology, ZigBee or Wi-Fi communication modules to monitor and report regional electricity consumption, and the energy information of renewable energy and energy storage systems in real time to facilitate power distribution scheduling and play a role in the micro-grid Benefits of smart energy management.
Aiming at the needs of power grid communication, PLC technology camp is wrestling
Wu Yujun, technical marketing manager of ST, said that smart grids and microgrids must have communication solutions that support different transmission distances in order to successfully connect with the power company's power management platform; among them, the application of low-frequency PLC technology will be in each region Micro-grid, and the main way of interconnecting solar and energy storage systems within the micro-grid, thus attracting chip vendors to compete for card positions.
At this stage, the long-distance PLC transmission technology is roughly divided into two standards, G3 and Prime, which have been introduced in Italy, Spain, France and other countries. The United States and the Asia-Pacific region are also conducting field tests of G3 or Prime smart grids, mainly The chip suppliers are Maxim and STMicroelectronics.
Wu Yujun emphasized that STMicroelectronics joined the G3 and Prime Standard Promotion Alliance at the same time, has a complete grasp of PLC technology evolution and market demand, and currently has a share of 80% in the PLC chip market, with better development advantages; its latest generation PLC SoC has introduced the Prime physical layer (PHY) and media access control layer (MAC) engines ahead of the industry, helping to simplify system design and accelerate the calibration process.
Lin Zhiliang, the manager of Maxim SP & C business unit, pointed out that since most countries have hundreds to thousands of power companies, the relevant players are more focused on compatibility in building smart grid infrastructure; for this reason, the G3-PLC alliance is stepping up research The next generation is compatible with G3 and Prime standards, and Maxim has also launched related chip development projects, and is expected to be the first to launch the world's first dual-mode PLC SoC.
In addition to the competition between the two major PLC technology camps, the HomePlug alliance has recently joined the battle, pushing the Netricity PLC specifications that support the Prime and G3 dual-mode standards. It is reported that the standard mainly locks in the needs of emerging countries to upgrade from traditional power grids to smart grids, and eliminates the problem of incompatible network architectures, assists power companies and system operators in emerging countries with less technical knowledge, and accelerates the deployment of smart grid communication mechanisms .
Obviously, the importance of smart grid and micro-grid deployment has surged, and related communication technology alliances and chip vendors will benefit. Zhang Yongrui also mentioned that as the microgrid technology matures, the system architecture will become more and more complicated, such as the parallel design of multiple distributed power sources such as solar energy, wind power and fuel cells, or further integration with the smart grid to develop large-scale energy management in smart cities Solutions, etc., will require more emerging semiconductor technology support, detonating another wave of huge business opportunities.
Attacking smart energy business opportunities MCU / FPGA factory offensive continues
Aiming at the needs of micro-grid construction, the MCU and field programmable gate array (FPGA) companies have split their layouts. Among them, Silicon Labs has recently launched an offensive of mergers and acquisitions, through the acquisition of Energy Micro to strengthen the lineup of high-efficiency 32-bit MCU products, and plans to develop a wireless communication compatible with multiple communication protocols using the Cortex-M series core architecture Radio frequency (RF) solutions expand the territory of the smart energy market.
According to Tyson Tuttle, President and CEO of Chip Labs, both Chip Labs and Energy Micro have strong analog mixed signal technology. The merger of the two companies will help develop more advanced low-power microcontrollers and support more A communication standard wireless communication SoC solution to meet the deployment requirements of energy-saving and communication systems in the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart energy industries.
Countries continue to invest in the construction of smart grids, microgrids, and solar energy systems, which has stimulated strong demand for energy-saving control and wireless connectivity solutions. According to the report of the market research institute, driven by the trend of smart energy management, the number of connected devices in the Internet of Things will exceed 15 billion in 2015, and will reach 50 billion nodes by 2020, which shows the market Very promising.
In order to meet the communication needs of tens of billions of energy management nodes in the future, SMIC will also combine its digital signal processor (DSP), floating-point computing technology, and Energy Micro ’s 32-bit low-power microcontroller solution, with more layouts. SoC wireless communication SoC, so that the wireless transceiver inside the smart energy management system supports the sub-GHz to 2.4GHz frequency band, covering Bluetooth LE, ZigBee, 802.15.4 (g), KNX, and ANT + communication protocols , To help system operators achieve a more flexible design.
HSR / PRP agreement helps substations implement automated management
Coincidentally, FPGA giant Altera has also made full efforts to sprint into the smart energy market. Recently, it has joined hands with Finnish silicon intellectual property (IP) supplier Flexibilis to jointly release high-availability seamless redundancy (HSR) and parallel of smart grid substation automation equipment Redundant communication protocol (PRP) reference design.
Jiang Yungui, senior manager of market development for the industrial business department of Altera Asia Pacific, said that the key requirement for the development of smart grids is to achieve two-way communication and real-time control functions of power grid transmission and substation equipment; based on the programmable and powerful computing SoC FPGA architecture, combined with Flexibilis IP technology that conforms to the international IEC 62439-3 standard HSR / PRP will be a shortcut to achieve this goal, which can support equipment manufacturers to create high-performance, high reliability and long-life substation-related equipment, while reducing system costs.
At present, most of the equipment in the substation cannot communicate with each other, and it is easy to cause packet loss, which affects the reliability and stability of the power grid. To this end, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has developed the IEC 61850 standard, and specifically subdivided the IEC for substation system management. The 62439-3 equipment interoperability specification will use HSR / PRP two topology structures to achieve zero packet loss (No Packet Loss), and a backup solution for data replacement transmission channels, comprehensively improving the management mechanism of smart grid and micro grid.
Jiang Yungui added that due to the earlier investment in smart grid development in Europe, the problem of difficulty in interconnection of substation related equipment has begun to emerge, so he is actively seeking a stable and reliable communication mechanism for station equipment. Among them, the intelligent electronic equipment (IED) in the substation is the primary key to the quality of the power distribution network. At present, IBB suppliers such as ABB, Schneider and Siemens are competing to develop new products that comply with HSR / PRP specifications. To build a redundant communication network to ensure accurate transmission of equipment information, and gradually implement automated management.
Jiang Yungui also pointed out that the IEC 62439-3 standard is updated very quickly, and only programmable FPGAs can be used to adapt to each generation of standard specifications in the shortest time and meet the customized needs of IED factories; this will help FPGAs in smart The rise of the energy system field and accelerate the replacement of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) and application-specific standard products (ASSP).
Lin Shuli, deputy manager of the project of the 404 Technology Market Development Department, pointed out that because the full replacement of the IED equipment in the substation requires high upfront investment costs, the system operator will initially purchase redundant communication equipment (Redundancy Box) that supports the HSR / PRP agreement ), And through the Gigabit Ethernet (Ethernet) interface to connect various IED devices, and then build a HSR / PRP communication network at a lower investment cost to ensure the stability of the substation data transmission.
As for the development of global smart grids, Jiang Yungui believes that, in addition to advanced European countries, emerging countries such as mainland China will contribute considerable momentum to the development of smart energy. The main reason is that the emerging economies are taking off rapidly, and energy will be increasingly stretched. The government must invest in the deployment of smart grids and renewable energy systems as early as possible to meet domestic needs. In addition, because advanced countries have invested a lot of resources to optimize the grid, depreciation in infrastructure costs Under the consideration mentioned, the acceptance of the comprehensive introduction of smart grid architecture in emerging countries will be higher than that in advanced countries, and it is easier to implement. It is expected to become the future of Canaan in the related systems and semiconductor industry.
Jiang Yungui also revealed that there have been new tenders for substations in mainland China recently, which shows the determination of the government to promote smart energy management. Optimistic about the development potential of the smart grid market in mainland China, Altera has actively launched the enclosure, and will use HSR / PRP reference design to attract European IED manufacturers in the region's foundry partners, or reinvest in system factories.
Emerging countries' demand for crazy smart energy smart meters is gradually emerging
In addition to the accelerated pace of smart energy development in mainland China, countries in the Asia-Pacific region such as Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are also actively building smart grids, driving demand for the deployment of advanced meter reading systems (AMI) and smart meters (Smart Meters).
According to Wang Yizhen (Figure 5) of MIC Industry Analyst of the Information Policy Committee, taking Taiwan Electric Power Company as an example, the high-voltage and low-voltage smart meter deployment plan has been planned. Among them, the high-voltage application part of industry and commerce has been completed in 2012. Replacement of 23,000 household meters. The low-voltage part will be implemented in multiple stages, with a total construction volume of one million households. Up to now, Datong and Kangshu have jointly shipped 12,000 household electricity meter updates. At the end of 2014, Taipower will issue another 100,000 units. , And plans to complete the construction in 2015, and then expand the procurement year by year.
Wang Yizhen further revealed that smart meters in Italy and Spain have been used for many years, so the governments of the two countries have planned to replace new meters one after another this year, which is expected to drive a new wave of business opportunities. At present, there are already manufacturers in Taiwan starting to contact.
However, in addition to Italy and Spain, there is a demand for old equipment replacements, due to the continued fermentation of European debt problems, other European countries have shown signs of slowing down the pace of promoting smart grids. Therefore, power equipment such as Siemens, Schneider and Honeywell The factory is actively turning to emerging countries in Southeast Asia, and through cooperation with local system integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEM), it is striving for new smart meter bids.
Wang Yizhen believes that with the development of smart grids and microgrids gradually shifting from Europe to emerging countries, Taiwan and mainland China system players will become the targets of cooperation between major international companies, and it is expected to share more business opportunities for smart energy development.
Fast Phone Charger,Usb Charger,Usb Battery Charger,Usb Car Charger
Ninghai Yingjiao Electrical Co., Ltd. , https://www.yingjiaoadapter.com