Between the Poles

Accelerating Substation Design With Model-based Design

There are 14 000 substations in the US and over 1 300 in Canada.  The average age of the transformers in these substations is about 45 years old.  There is also the impetus of green energy and smart grid.  For these reasons all of these substations are going have to be rehabilitated, retrofitted, or replaced over the next decade. In addition with the expected buildout of new transmission and distribution capacity, new substations will have to be built. All of this is happening when the electric power utility industry is facing a serious manpower challenge.  The average age in many utilities is over 50 and experienced electric power designers are retiring faster than younger workers can be hired and trained.  In response utilities are turning to technology to improve the productivity of their design staff.  I blogged previously about Duke Energy which has implemented an integrated substation design system including 3D design that will reduce design time by at least 50% for both greenfield and brownfield projects just at the time when the company is accelerating its smart grid deployment.

Substation Design

Designing a substation involves a quite complicated design process requiring the collaboration of different disciplines such as electrical engineers, protection and control engineers, civil engineers, environmental engineers, and often transmission engineers.  The workflow typically begins with a concept drawing, which is used by the different teams to prepare detailed engineering drawings of the electrical, protection and control, physical and environmental aspects of the structure.  From the detailed drawings, a bill of materials (BOM) is compiled which is used to prepare job estimates. This is a critical and time consuming part of the design effort, because the engineers in all disciplines need to avoid underengineering, which can result in outages, and overengineering, which is expensive.

Substation Design at Nashville Electric Services

Nashville Electric Services (NES) is a publicly owned, nonprofit company that serves more than 355,000 customers in a large service area in Tennessee.  According to a recent article in Utility Products in 2007, NES decided to focus on improving substation design productivity.  NES has been an early adopter of 3D technology and has been using it to improve the susbstation design process for many years. Now with model-based design, for existing substation rehabilitation and when building a new one, designers create a digital model of the substation.  The model-based design application enforces design standards and automates parts selection.  Having a digital model makes the design process more efficient. For example, designers are able to generate BOMs up to 80 % faster, because the software automatically tracks part types and material quantities during design and designers can generate BOMs and export them directly as spreadsheets for procurement. Digital models also help operations after the substation construction or rehabilitation is complete. NES's goal is to have digital models for all of their 60 primary substations in their network because it will help them respond to operational needs faster and more proactively.

NES  recently compared the time-to-completion for a project before an after implementing model-based design and found that with the new design approach, the project was completed in half the time.

Substation Design at Autodesk University

I believe that both Duke Energy and Nashville Electric will be presenting on their substation design solutions at Autodesk University Nov 30 to Dec 2.

Greening Energy in the Czech Republic

I spent last week in the Czech Republic and had an opportunity to visit the site of a conventional coal-fired power plant, which at peak capacity,  of about a GW, consumes 1000 tonnes of coal and over 2000 tonnes of water per hour. 

But I was also able to get a feel for the impact of the Czech feed-in-tariff program on the deployment of photovoltaic (PV) panels and the cost of electricity. I have blogged previously about the Ontario feed-in-tariff program that also offers a highly subsidized rate for new sources of renewable energy, especially for PV.

Solar Power in the Czech Republic

 As directed by the European Commission, a 15-16% share of renewable energy in total primary energy consumption by 2030 has been set as a target by the Czech Government.  Toward that goal in 2005 the Government introduced a feed-in tariff for a range of renewable sources including small hydropower, biomass, biogas, wind and photovoltaic (PV).  The tariffs were to be guaranteed for between 15–30 years depending on the type of power.  The cost of PV power to the power company is expensive. In 2010 the highest tariff is 12.25 Czech Crowns (€ 0.50) per kWh for small photovoltaic power.  For comparison, the average rate that a Czech household paid in Nov 2009 for power is in the range € 0.087 to 0.116 per kWh.

The favourable fixed tariffs and the decreasing cost of PV panels has made installing solar energy a very attractive business to the point where the Czech Republic was the third largest developer of solar power in the EU last year.  It has been reported that a combination of a drop in the price of PV panels and high tariffs brought the return on the investment (ROI) down to as little as three years making it so attractive that Czech farmers have been installing PV panels rather than growing crops. Last month the largest solar power station in the Czech Republic and one of the largest in Europe, covering an area about the size of a hundred soccer fields and with a capacity to 35 MW, was opened in Veprek.

In response last year the Czech legislature passed a law which allows the energy regulator to significantly lower the solar-power tariff (feed-in-tariff)  for new PV installations beginning January 1, 2011.  Earlier this year the Czech Government started putting caps on renewable energy subsidies which means that there are limits for various renewable energy sources which when exceeded will terminate the subsidy program.  The Government also plans to completely cancel subsidies starting in March 1, 2011 for PV installations built on farm land.

Just this week the Czech government announced plans to tax solar power producers that installed PV panels in the last two years with the objective of using the money raised to subsidize power rates paid by consumers. In addition between 2013 and 2020, it plans to auction CO₂ credits to raise money to reduce power rates.  The Government says that with these measures households' and companies' electricity bills shouild not increase by more than 5.5 % next year.

UK Budget Includes Capital Spending on Green Infrastructure

The UK Government is proposing to keep the Government's science budget fixed at £4.6 billion per year in cash terms.  It has also proposed three new green energy initiatives

• Up to £1bn to be set aside for a green investment bank
• Up to £1bn to be invested in carbon capture and storage technology
• Up to £200m set aside for offshore wind technology and manufacturing at port sites

UK Budget Cuts Will Not Affect Capital Spending on Infrastructure

The spending cuts in the UK government are expected to eliminate at least 25% of staff and programs from many departments for a projected total of 490,0000 public sector jobs and £83-billion.  However, it appears that some areas will not be cut including the National Health Service, foreign aid, military spending directly affecting the war in Afghanistan, and capital spending on infrastructure.

Japan Chapter of OSGeo Wins Award

The Information Technology Promotion Agency of Japan (IPA), a government agency, has announced that the OSGeo Japan Chapter will be awarded the “Japanese OSS Encouragement Award” prize on 28th October 2010.  The Japan Chapter of the OSGeo was established in late 2006 and the local community has been growing steadily since.

The IPA awards the “Japanese OSS Encouragement Award” to the individual or group which has contributed in an outstanding way to the development and spreading of open source software.

Report Supports National Infrastructure Bank

A report released last week released by the US Treasury Department and the Council of Economic Advisers supports the development of a National Infrastructure Bank as proposed by President Obama last month.

Its first conclusion is that Americans want more infrastructure investment and cites statistics to support this assertion.

• In 2008, over 80 percent of the 59 transportation infrastructure projects proposed in local referenda were approved by the voting public
• 98 percent of the funds requested for these projects was approved by the voting public
• Americans’ satisfaction with their public transit system ranks 25th out of 32 OECD nations.
• Americans’ satisfaction with their roads and highways system ranks only 17th out of 32 OECD countries
• 19 out of 20 Americans are concerned about America’s infrastructure
• 84 percent of Americans support greater investment to address infrastructure problems
• Poor conditions of roads cost the average motorist who drives in cities on a regular basis over $400 a year
• A two adult household using public transportation could save an estimated $6,250 a year compared to a similar family that is unable to use public transportation

The report says that the average American annually spends $8,600 a year on transportation, one-third more than on food, and concludes that public investments which lower the cost of transportation would reduce transportation-related costs including car maintenance and fuel consumption.

Compared to other major economies the US underinvests in infrastructure and this affects its international competiveness. 

• US         2 % of GDP 
• China     9% of GDP
• Europe   5% of GDP

President Obama first proposed a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank in his presidential campaign that would invest $60 billion over ten years in "a world-class transit system, green energy technology, ports, roads, and high-speed rail."

The President's current proposal for renewing the transportation network includes

• $50 billion up-front investment connected to a six-year reauthorization of the surface transportation program
• National Infrastructure Bank
• Rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads,
• Constructing and maintaining 4,000 miles of passenger rail
• Rehabilitating/reconstructing 150 miles of runways
• Upgrading the air traffic control system

The objectives of the National Infrastructure Bank is to increase investment in infrastructure by attracting private capital, secondly, to implement a merit-based selection process for infrastructure projects, and thirdly to encourage investments in multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional infrastructure projects.

The report suggest that investing in transportation infrastructure creates middle class jobs.  The distribution of jobs among the various sectors of the economy most affected is estimated to be

• 61 % of the jobs in the construction sector
• 12 % in the manufacturing sector
• 7 % in retail trade

The report estimates that 90 percent of the jobs in the three sectors most affected by infrastructure spending would be middle class jobs.

Bipartisan Call for Infrastructure Investment in US

In these days when initiatives with bipartisan support are uncommon, a bipartisan report has been released that calls for “a fundamental overhaul of America’s transportation policies and programs.”  The report estimates a federal shortfall of up to $194 billion a year in infrastructure spending on roads, rail, and air transportation through 2035. Given the poor state of current US transportation infrastructure, as described in the ASCE's Infrastructure Report Card, it is estimated that an investment of $262 billion per year will be required to actually improve the US transportation network.  The report cites lack of  a vision and underinvestment as compromising US productivity and its ability to compete internationally.  The report says that it is time to "rethink existing systems for the 21st century and create an agenda for enacting change."

The benefits of redesigning and refinancing the US transporation system include increasing international competitiveness, improving US productivity by reducing congestion and at the same time reducing pollution, creating a more equitable "pay as you go" financing system to replace the current fuel tax, improving reliability, and reducing costs.  The report emphasizes long-term, sustainable changes instead of short-term “stop-gap” measures.

3D Models with a Digital Camera

Project Photofly is a technology preview of a web service that allows you to convert digital photographs taken with a consumer digital camera into a 3D image (point cloud).  You take pictures around the object you're interested in and then use a free download Photo Scene Editor to upload your images to the Project Photofly server, where the 3D point cloud is generated from your images.  Using the Photo Scene Editor, you can manually stitch photos by identifying 3D points in common, add reference geometry, and make measurements. You can also view the 3D point cloud using the Photo Scene Editor.  The 3D model can be exported to a DWG file so you can continue to work with AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, or other design application.

Last month Autodesk held a Project Photofly contest.  People were asked to submit photo scenes of buildings. This month Autodesk is holding a second contest, but this is bit different from the first one.  This time it's not limited to buildings. Anything that is designed can be submitted.

3D Is Helping Address the Aging Workforce Challenge

One of my takeaways from the annual GITA ANZ 2010 conference in Brisbane earlier this year was from Graeme Anthonsen's presentation in which he outlined the cadet program that City West Water has implemented to attract and train replacements for the experienced water and sewer network designers that are retiring and leaving the company at a rapid rate.  If I remember correctly, City West Water brought twelve young people from high schools into the cadet program last year, and have brought nine more in this year.  A recent article describes initiatives at Toronto Hydro, Duke Energy, and other utilities who are setting up programs for workforce development and training for existing and new employees in the same spirit as what Graeme Anthonsen has done at City West Water.

 Earlier this year when I had a chance to speak to a group at the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL), I asked whether they were experiencing a manpower problem.  The response was unanimous and indicated this was a major challenge in the power utility industry in Brazil.  Similarly when I spoke at the Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas (IIE) during my last visit to Mexico, I asked the same question.  The response was similar and specifically identified a shortage of electrical engineers.  According to a recent report by the U.S. Power and Energy Engineering Workforce Collaborative, over the next five years 45 percent of engineers in electric utilities will be eligible for retirement or could leave engineering for other reasons.  In the same period some 50 senior faculty members of the 170 engineering faculty working full‐time in power engineering education and research in the US will be retiring.  A report Workforce Trends In the Electric Utility Industry by the US Department of Energy, has forecast a serious shortage of line workers in the US.

There are two trends at work here.  One is what is referred to as the shrinking or aging workforce, which is affecting many of the world's advanced economies.  In countries like Germany and Japan, the population is aging and shrinking.  In others such as the US, the participation rate has declined as life expectancy has increased.  The result is a shrinking workforce.  The problem is exacerbated in the utility industry, where the average age of utility workers in many advanced economies is over 50.  The second challenge is that as we expand and replace our existing electric and other utility networks with renewable energy and intelligent networks (smart grids), new skills, especially digital technology skills, are required.

The challenge that utilities are facing is how to attract and retain younger workers in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market place.  What I am seeing is that 3D technology can help.  The net generation is conversant with communications, media, and digital technologies and in particular have been brought up with gaming technology, PSPs, XBoxes, and Wiis. Many modern 3D design applications, which use the same 3D visualization tools that were developed for the gaming industry, provide an environment that is much more familiar and stimulating for the millennial generation, who may perceive traditional 2D design as something left over from the dark ages.  In the last few months I have come across several utilities who are finding that for this reason 3D engineering design technology can contribute to attracting and retaining younger workers.

Green Power and Smart Grid in Ontario - How Is It Being Financed ?

As I have blogged on several occasions Ontario is in several ways leading the charge in the green power/smart grid revolution in North America. Ontario’s roll-out of smart meters together with time-of-use electric power rates is the largest in the world.  By the end of 2010 smart meters will have been installed in all homes and small businesses.  By June 2011, an estimated 3.6 million customers will be  buying their power using time-of-use rates. Secondly, the Ontario Government committed to phasing out coal generation in the province by 2014. Thirdly, the Green Energy and Green Economy Act mandated a feed-in-tariff (FiT) program including both micro and large scale renewable energy generation.  The bill was intended to enable smart grid investments that would better equip the electricity grid to handle distributed generation, make the grid self-healing, collect and send load information enabling demand response programs and help reduce consumption during peak hours.

Traditionally investments in the power grid in Ontario have been financed by borrowing the cost of which was recovered over an extended time after the grid or generation expansion was completed.  For example, this is how nuclear power generation was financed by Ontario Hydro.  In February of this year ago a ruling of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) permitted electric power utilities in the province, crown-owned and private, to charge consumers for facilities that are under construction, but not yet in service. 

The OEB has changed the formula it uses for setting return on equity (ROE) levels for Cost of Service applications.  The previous formula resulted in an ROE of 8.39% for 2010. The new formula resets the return on equity (ROE) to 9.85% this year. The OEB says that the increase was in order to attract the investment that utilities require to upgrade the grid, because their ROE needs to be competitive with other jurisdictions.  Apparently this ROE is more in line with ROEs in the US.  The ROE directly determines the rates that consumers pay for electric power.  The OEB estimates that the increase due to the new ROE will not exceed $1.27 on a monthly utility bill, but an independent estimate puts the expected increase closer to $5/month.