Nicosia: The KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus (UCY) coordinates a new research project titled ‘GridGnosis: Real Time Monitoring of Power Systems for Enhanced Stability’, which aims to develop a holistic monitoring and protection solution to enhance the resilience, integrity, and security of the power systems.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the University of Cyprus announced in a press release that the project is funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) of Cyprus through the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the EU. The GridGnosis project aims to develop a comprehensive monitoring and protection solution to bolster the power systems’ resilience, integrity, and security.
It emphasizes the importance of real-time and accurate monitoring of grid operating conditions and variable parameters, such as system inertia and transmission line parameters, which are crucial for ensuring the power systems’ security and reliability. This information enhances the situational awareness of power system operators and ensures grid resilience and stability by enabling remote protection scheme adjustments.
Furthermore, acquiring timely information about the type and location of faults in the power system is vital for swift grid restoration. Monitoring and protection functionalities are becoming increasingly important in modern power systems, which are prone to large disturbances due to their operation near physical limits and the high penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) that decrease system inertia.
To address these challenges, the GridGnosis project will develop a platform that incorporates innovative monitoring methodologies for accurately estimating system states, line parameters, and system inertia. The platform will also include adaptive protection and coordination schemes to enhance the reliability of line distance and underfrequency protection relays. Additionally, fault diagnosis schemes will be developed to enable automatic localization and classification of short circuit faults for rapid grid restoration.
According to the press release, all methodologies within the GridGnosis platform will rely on measurements from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) installed in the Cyprus transmission system. To ensure the platform’s effectiveness, its functionalities will be validated and demonstrated in an operational environment using real-time PMU measurements from the Cyprus power system. The KIOS CoE will lead the development of PMU-based methodologies and play a crucial role in integrating these methodologies into the GridGnosis platform.
The GridGnosis results aim to directly address the current and future challenges faced by power system operators. Applying the GridGnosis platform to the Cyprus power system will enhance system stability and promote an uninterrupted energy supply to end users, directly impacting the economic sustainability of Cypriot citizens. The project solution will also enable higher RES penetration in a reliable manner, resulting in reduced air pollution due to lower carbon dioxide emissions, positively affecting the quality of life in Cyprus.
For the project’s implementation, the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus will collaborate with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus and the Cypriot Small Medium Enterprise H. Wise Wire Energy Solutions Ltd.