Customer application 25 November 2019
Feed-In Management – Compliance and Certification

Getting generation plants onto the grid requires compliance with specifications, directives and laws. Roland Glück has extensive experience with these in the grid area of E.ON subsidiary Bayernwerk Netz GmbH. His company Glück MSR GmbH, from Arnstorf, Germany, was the first to receive the required component certificate per VDE-AR-N 4110 for its power generation plant controller, which is realized with WAGO automation technology.

Roland Glück already began the VDE certification process for his “Smart Multifunction Power Plant Controller” (SMPPC) back in 2017. That makes him a pioneer and the first person in Europe to get the component certificate for power generation plant controllers, which is now mandatory. A brief explanation of the background behind the certificate: Whether for cogeneration, biogas, photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, storage batteries, geothermal energy, hydropower or mixed systems: Since 2019-04-26, the technical connection rules (TCRs) for power generation plants (PGPs) have changed. In this context, VDE-AR-N 4110 requires a component certificate for PGP controllers for all generation plants that will feed into the medium-voltage grid.

Clever Feed-In Management – This is How WAGO Supports You:

WAGO automation forms the basis for the first PGP controllers compliant with VDE-AR-N 4110.
WAGO’s ETHERNET-based controller makes remote maintenance especially easy.
Its technology sends the plant data to the cloud reliably at 15-second intervals.

Grid operators are clamoring for reliability.

Roland Glück, CEO of Glück MSR GmbH

No VDE-AR-N 4110 Compliance Means No Medium-Voltage Grid Connection

“On the medium-voltage level, compliance with the VDE-AR-N 4110 technical connection rules (TCRs) is mandatory in order for an operator to even be able to connect their plant to the grid and be allowed to feed generated energy into it,” says Roland Glück, explaining the medium-voltage technical connection rules. Lately, the 32-year-old CEO of Glück MSR GmbH has been noticing that equipment manufacturers, as well as plant operators, planners and designers, are all becoming equally sensitive to the changes in the technical connection rules. However, from his own experience, he knows that the actual implementation is not so simple.

VDE AR-N 4110: Grid Stability Requires Standards

For grid operators, the technical connection rules serve to guarantee grid stability, and thus the reliability of the power supply. In general, more and more generation plants are crowding onto the grid. Whereas the small plants used to be of negligible importance to grid operators when it came to keeping their grids stable, and throttling comparatively small plants was not so costly for them, the situation is now different with the growing number of power generation plants feeding in. When summed together, these power generation plants endanger grid stability, and thus the reliability of the power supply.

“The rules, directives and laws are changing ever more quickly, and are getting stricter too” confirms Roland Glück. “The grid operators are clamoring for reliability.” Especially in the grid area around Arnstorf, “a Mother’s Day with a lot of sunshine is becoming critical for the grid” says Roland Glück, explaining the situation graphically.

Rules and standards are needed – also in order to flesh out the directive of the EU Commission, the European Network Code “Requirements for Generators” (RfG), which came into effect in 2016. The VDE application rule is the national embodiment of these. It requires “expanded capabilities for fault ride-through of short voltage drops as well as provision of reactive power in newly erected power generating plants. These new requirements improve grid stability.”

“The rules, directives and laws are changing ever more quickly.

Roland Glück, CEO of Glück MSR GmbH

PGP Controllers: the Interface between the Plant and the Grid Operator

Unlike existing plants, new plants on the medium-voltage level must be certified on the grid connection side in accordance with VDE-AR-N 4110. Certified PGP controllers are also at the center of these modified technical connection rules.

The PGP controller sits in the customer station, the grid connection point, and forms the interface to the power supplier, the grid operator and the direct marketer, in order to allow the control power to be sold on the exchange, for example. In the context of grid operation, it serves as the transition between the plant and the grid operator and contributes to maintaining the voltage range. For this purpose, it records the energy flow at the grid connection point and must be compatible with the grid operator’s feed-in manager (gateway) for the transmission. With the help of the PGP controller, the grid operator can control the plant feed-in via specified characteristics on the generator side. A closed control loop is created with the actual values and setpoints captured.

Telecontrol Connection to the Medium-Voltage Grid

Furthermore, a large number of grid operators require an interface between the so-called Intelligent Customer Station (ICS) and the power supply company for the consuming equipment, generation equipment, mixed plants, and storage batteries too. This interface allows actual values and errors to be monitored at all times on the customer station. The grid operator has switching power within its disposal area, so it can reestablish the power supply within seconds. The grid information will give the grid managers better utilization information. At Glück MSR, this solution is called SMIKS. The company implements this with WAGO components too.

Bringing Plant and Grid Operators Together

Roland Glück’s customers include “Robert und Oswald Stadler GbR.” This agricultural company is located quite near Glück MSR GmbH and operates PV equipment on the roof, a biogas plant and combined heat and power plants. A good three quarters of the customers of Glück MSR GmbH are farmers. “They just want to connect their equipment to the grid,” explains Roland Glück. That doesn’t make the modified technical connection rules and the associated certificates any easier for them and other plant operators. However, these are mandatory and standardize the conditions for the grid connection and feed-in management. “Of course we all want to increase the share of renewable energies – but no one wants to risk power outages and supply bottlenecks either.

Author: Torben Schüler, WAGO Systems Consultant in the Munich Sales Office

Photos: Patrick Reinig

The SMPPC PGP Controller from Glück MSR

Compact Dimensions

The external form of the PGP controller is very compact. “The SMPPC fits precisely into the free slot in the installed customer station, directly above the grid operator’s gateway,” says Roland Glück. His aspiration to have the most compact solution on the market inspired him in its development.

Modular Inner Workings

For the inner workings, he relies on WAGO automation technology. “I chose a controller – I could’ve also chosen a PCB, but then my options would’ve been very limited. With the modular structure of the WAGO PFC200 Controller, a VPN for remote maintenance and the function of logging to SD cards, we’ll be able to implement anything that might be required in the future.”

Open-Interface Automation Technology

Another benefit for him was that the controller is ETHERNET-based: “That makes remote maintenance straightforward. I don’t need any special software, and I have no problems with the interface.” The controller transfers the plant data to the cloud at 15-second intervals. “Alarm, event or threshold value information or clearly organized monitoring reports can be emailed on a daily basis.” For example, at its customer Robert und Oswald Stadler GbR, the controller and the grid connection point exchange the information every 20 milliseconds.

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Customer application 25 November 2019 Feed-In Management – Compliance and Certification