Electric Energy T&D - Index

Electric Energy T&D - EE Magazine March / April 2009 - Index

and difficulty of plowing the often-frozen
Minnesota soil to bury lines. And, Crow
Wing Power could easily investigate the
success of the technology at their fellow
Great River Energy co-ops before launching
it themselves.
A Community of Utility Users
Earlier that same year in the spring of
007, Connexus (the largest customerowned
electric utility in Minnesota) had
faced similar challenges in upgrading the
communications capabilities at all of its
power stations. Connexus Energy’s legacy
communications infrastructure had been
built around a private frequency, which was
burdened by slow, overloaded lines with
limited bandwidth. Security and reliability
had become major concerns. With Great River
Energy’s support and Arcadian’s network
solution, by the end of 007 Connexus had
converted 0 substations to 700 MHz, with
plans to continue rolling out SCADA to all
substations over the next four years.
Crow Wing Power decision makers found
the Great River Energy offer increasingly
compelling as it became clear they could
achieve the efficiency and reliability
upgrades they wanted by simply plugging
into the Arcadian network connection ports.
The wireless network would meet the need
to communicate across a widely dispersed
service territory, and it appeared that
the installation would be far easier than
anticipated. Best of all, Crow Wing Power
could contain costs while investing in a
proven private network specifically designed
to serve the energy space and already in use
across their rugged and challenging central
Minnesota terrain.
Deployment
Beginning in October 007, Crow Wing
Power began connecting to the 700MHz
licensed broadband network for two-way
wireless data communication with 5
substations, supplying approximately 55,000
member customers. Communicating with
Arcadian’s network was fast and efficient,
due extensively to its highly interoperable
features. Within minutes of installation,
engineers were able to provision modems
and set up full operation on the network.
(Great River Energy actually installed the
units.)
Most substations were up and running
by June 008. Working aggressively to
finish infrastructure improvements before
winter 008, the Crow Wing Power team
began to see immediate benefits from the
new 700MHz communications platform.
Moreover, engineers reported it was not
only possible, but relatively easy, to get the
wireless system up and running.
figure 3: Field Communications with Arcadian Wireless Architecture
March-April 2009 Issue I
Smart Grid Takes Flight at Crow Wing Power
Bridge to a Smart Grid Future
Crow Wing Power knew the future depended
on the ability to have high-speed, two-way
communications and control with their
substations. But achieving that goal took some
investigation and some innovation to make it
a reality. The 700 MHz licensed wireless IP
communications network turned out to be a
smart choice for achieving those goals.
reliability: Like Connexus, a neighboring utility
with estimated up-times of nearly 99 percent,
Crow Wing Power has seen increased reliability
and faster data delivery. A year into the project,
data delivery has been consistent, even in the
worst of winter freezes and storms.
Load control: The co-op has succeeded in
supporting high-speed communications for
critical peak load control voltage management
programs coordinated with Great River Energy.
They have also expanded their capability and
reliability for two-way advanced metering
back-haul and more.
applications accessible: Installing the
equipment, Crow Wing Power noted the
potential to interconnect with virtually any
present or future applications, including AMI,
VoIP, SCADA, and WIFI. They all hook into
the Arcadian network, opening a window to a
variety of smart grid projects and promising
increased efficiency and further cost benefits
in the future.
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