NEXTSTEP - Smart-Grid Substation

The project presents several innovative aspects that are important to highlight, starting by the innovative housing, with high thermal, acoustic, physical and mechanical performance, including environment sensors and smart management of natural ventilation, as well as the use of sustainable materials. The housing roof and façades will be green, contributing to the above mentioned performance and, simultaneously, helping the mitigation of climate changes. The voltage regulation and the provision of grid services are performed by an innovative device suitable for flexible applications, either serving the secondary substation or throughout the LV feeder. Besides voltage regulation per phase, the device also includes mitigation of harmonic distortion, phase balancing, as well as compensation of voltage dips and of power factor. The "Tomorrow's Secondary Substation" includes a component for energy storage respecting Ecodesign criteria. This component adds dimension to the previous device function. Moreover, it offers other grid services towards energy efficiency, such as loss minimization and congestion relief, as well as capacity support during the LV grid service restoration, in the scope of the self-healing function.