Smart grid in isolated power systems - practical operational experiences

Moving away from a centralized diesel generation plant, future isolated power systems will increasingly depend on renewable generation which can be distributed across larger areas, due to lower energy density of renewable resources. In future distributed generation systems, a key enabling technology for operating high renewable energy penetration system will be a high-speed communications infrastructure. This new infrastructure can then be used for real-time power system monitoring and control of customers loads, as well as for control of the distributed generation. Our paper presents the concept of a high-speed wireless network capable of real-time monitoring and control of both loads and distributed generation across an isolated power system. The paper also presented real-world measurements taken during a multi-year operation of an isolated power system, and specifically, presented how utilizing communications networks can prove beneficial to increasing renewable penetration in the system whilst preserving power system stability.