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August 29, 2012

The Big Reveal: Alstom Showcases Five New Products at CIGRE 2012

Paris-based power generation giant Alstom develops smart grid systems by interconnecting all equipment and players on the grid, “supergrid” projects by transporting large amounts of electricity across energy highways, and next-generation “digital substations” by continually monitoring and  regulating electricity loads and distribution.

In line with these core capabilities, Alstom is launching five new products at CIGRÉ 2012 in Paris this week—a biennial trade show and professional meeting that is expected to draw more than 3,000 senior executives and experts from the worldwide power industry.

 1. Digital Substations. Alstom is introducing “the [next]-generation ofdigital substation solutions,”with new components for air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and gas-insulated switchgear (GIS),  as well as substation automation solutions (SAS (News - Alert)), which the company promises, “[offer] unprecedented levels of reliability, security and performance through real-time monitoring, automation and interoperability.” The latest digital substation integrates high-performance primary equipment, including Alstom’s COSI (Compact Optical Sensor Intelligence). Information acquisition, processing and output are performed in real-time through a digital architecture with multiple layers of automation units. 

2. Software for the Smart Control Room.
A new software platform for the smart control room called e-terra 3.0 is fully integrated with a variety of modules— Energy Management System (EMS), Distribution Management System (DMS), Market Management System (MMS) and Demand Response (DR) — for easy installation into enterprise IT systems and any other third-party back- or front-office applications. This latest version uses a secure, scalable and adaptable design based on industry standards, such as IEEE, IEC’s CIM and Multispeak. 

3. Digital Control System
. The DS Agile (News - Alert) range is the latest-generation Digital Control System (DCS) for the digital substation. This smart grid solution relies on fast Ethernet networks with IEC (News - Alert) 61850 communication standards and offers topology-orientated automation combined with electrical security, to minimize outages.

4. Intelligent Electronic Devices
. The MiCOM P40 Agile range of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) provides an integrated feeder management solution for complete protection, control and monitoring of electrical power systems. The MiCOM S1 Agile relay optimizes configuration and maintenance of substation automation assets.

5. Vacuum Circuit Breaker
.- Alstom’sfirst VL 109 72.5 kV Vacuum Circuit Breakerfor substations uses a vacuum bottle instead of SF to interrupt the current in an air-insulated substation, thus strongly reducing the environmental footprint at substation level.

Discussions at the CIGRÉ 2012 are expected to center around the industry’s current challenges and among them is the reduction of global CO2 emission through increasing integration of renewable energy sources (wind, solar), the need to respond to growing energy demand in all economies, the push to interconnect national electrical grids across long distances to develop international energy exchanges, and finally, the challenge of integrating new digital technologies (smart control room, automated functionalities and seamless telecommunications).

CIGRE 2012 is a great opportunity for us to highlight our smart solutions, as we commit ourselves to a sustainable future and take our next step in building the smart grid of tomorrow,” said Grégoire Poux-Guillaume, president, Alstom Grid. “The new solutions we present are at the forefront of today’s challenges in energy and the environment—making our customers’ grids more reliable, cleaner and smarter”.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.

 

 

 


Edited by Jamie Epstein
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