UNIVERSITI
Brunei Darussalam (UBD) professors yesterday introduced an "Initiative for
Smart Grid in Brunei" to develop an intelligent technology for a more
economic and sustainable energy market.
On the sidelines of Korea-Brunei Energy Forum:
Feasible Green Energy Projects in Brunei, Dr Sathyajith Mathew, associate
professor in the Faculty of Science (FoS), told The Brunei Times that UBD and
its IBM Centre are working on an Intelligent Power Forecast and Dispatch System
as part of a "Smart Home" project.
The project works around the concept of a
Smart Grid, an electricity network that can intelligently integrate all
components of energy generation, distribution and consumption to efficiently
deliver sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies, he explained.
Dr Chandratilak De Silva Liyanage, an
associate professor who is also in the research team, said the Intelligent
Power Forecast and Dispatch System works according to weather patterns, and
estimates the national energy demand and the amount of output available from a
power plant to optimise energy consumption.
"We can optimise the generation according
to the demand, so this is a system that can act between the consumer and the
generator, which will sense the expected output from every source, which will
sense again the demand pattern of the people the next day and find a
solution."
Such a system, Mathew said, improves energy
efficiency and the reliability of the power supply to consumer so "we
won't have sudden surprises like power shortage or something".
Under the Intelligent Power Forecast and
Dispatch System, consumers have complete control over the amount of energy they
consume in the Smart Grid. It tells them when the price of electricity is
highest, giving them the option to lower consumption.
It also works according to a convenience level
for the consumers, he said. The higher the convenience level, the higher the
cost as more energy is needed to supply power to electrical suppliance in the
homes.
He explained: "If a hot day is expected,
then it is expected there will be a lot of air-conditioner running, so more
energy will be needed to power the air-conditioner which leads to higher cost.
"So far, it's only one way, say, if power
companies sell the power then you have to buy at the rate that the power
companies are selling," Liyanage said.
"But now, in the smart grid, they can
think whether we want to reduce power consumption and use it at a time when
they don't want to spend a lot of money. So the power of usage is given to the
user, and he can wisely plan his things in one direction."
The system is also more cost-efficient for
power suppliers, Mathew added, as the cost of power generation can be scheduled
according to the weather patterns. As the system predicts weather patterns, it
can also detect disasters such as floods in very specific locations with high
accuracy.
"Usually other systems give the
resolutions up to 10 to 10km wide, so you cannot include many micro parameters
into it. Our system can go up to one sq km, which is very specific so the
accuracy is quite high," he said.
However, the system also requires a very
reliable communication system between the nodes or connection points to work,
and also a strong maintenance team to ensure optimal performance at all times,
Liyanage said.
"If you have a smart grid, if the
communication network is broken then you can't operate anything and there will
be much disaster than a normal one.
"(We need) good reliability and good
maintenance team. So there should be good manpower in outstation, there should
people who know about it.
"A normal grid can run without any
problem but with smart grid, there ... should be technical people who can
handle such a situation."
The Smart Grid has been used in developed
countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea, he said.
LOW LENG MAY
BRUNEI-MUARA
The Brunei Times
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