Designing and deploying Ethernet networks for offshore wind power applications - a case study

Trends in power systems automation, specifically in wind projects, have converged upon common communications architecture with the goal of having interoperability between a variety of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) found in the wind farm as well as the Interconnecting Substations. This architecture, as defined in international standards such IEC and IEEE, are now being adopted worldwide by utilities, wind farm developers and IED vendors alike, has Ethernet as one of the network technology. The possibilities introduced by using an Ethernet network are endless. Immediate benefits include accessibility, controllable systems and equipment either locally or remotely, access to the status information, and more. New state-of-the-art intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) can be accessed remotely for the retrieval of information such as waveform data, or disturbance data, trend records, sequence of event reports or any other available reports related to substation equipment they are related to. Operations and protection-and-control engineers are interested in changing settings and other configuration parameters of IEDs in the Wind Farm or the Interconnecting Substation in an easy, flexible and above all safe way, while maintenance engineers want to have access to maintenance-related information as well. They all have one thing in common: they want to have access to their information from anywhere and, most importantly, in a secure and reliable manner via the enterprise communications network. A state-of-the-art automation system performs the authentication of the individuals and grants remote access to Wind Farm assets enabling management activities. Remote management of substations therefore could include: IED management; information management; disturbance analysis; maintenance planning; equipment monitoring and diagnostics; engineering and parameterization; blocking the operation of faulty IEDs; blocking or disabling IED functions remotely; testing faulty IEDs or functions remotely; and isolating faulty equipment to re-establish service in a timely manner. The management of substations must of course comply with the security regulations and requirements as defined and implemented by the system administration, yet the communication system should support the necessary access to all management related information in the substation.This presentation looks at the key issues and considerations when designing an Ethernet network for power system automation applications. Specific topics addressed are: environmental robustness, fiber optics, network switching and topologies specific for wind farms, redundancy, virtual LANs, operations and maintenance, and future directions for the system LAN and WAN. The speaker presents typical Ethernet network topologies used in Wind Farm projects as well as the interconnection with the farm control centre and the master control centre.