Krzysztof BILLEWICZ
Intentional obsolescence of products vs reliable operation of critical infrastructure
Informatization of power industry is connected with the replacement of currently functionning equipment destined to protect and control of a power system with new, electronic ones possessing processors, operating systems and proprietary softwares. New devices will be functionally more complex and therefore more vulnerable to various damages. A worrying trend can be observed in the household appliances market – it is suspected that a part of new products is prepared so as to shorten their life-cycle. Here we can find a description of this process as well as of potential dangers and effects that can be caused by intentional obsolescence of the equipment that task is to ensure reliable work of a power network.
Keywords: power system, planned obsolescence, critical infrastructure
Zygmunt PARCZEWSKI
Energy efficiency – opportunities and threats of the new Act
Presented is a preliminary assessment of systemic changes expected in the Act of 20 May 2016 (Energy Efficiency Law) that comes into force on 1 October 2016. In the Author’s opinion the basic reason of a poor assessment of the current supporting system were bureaucratic as well as formal and legal – completely out-of-touch – provisions of the Law and of the bidding regulations, and to a lesser extent the difficulties resulting from the lack of understanding of the tender mechanisms. Crucial importance for the improvement of energy efficiency has the public sector including the buildings that are left to the discretion of public administration and which should play an exemplary role as it is emphasized in the Article 5 of EED Directive. Attention is turned to the fact that with no radical improvement or even changes in statistical priorities, including the ones designed from an outset as annual monitoring systems, the effects of public support schemes implementation will be faulty and of a very limited use for the assessment of an energy efficiency improvement and also of a range of other policies and strategies targetting the public buildings sector. The above mentioned considerations are a good benchmark for the preliminary assessment of the new Law including its key Bonus Policy mechanism (EEC/White Certificate system). The conducted here assessment of the EEC supporting mechanism is of a functional nature and it can make a reader understand it easier than in a way of studying often intricate provisions of the Law. One of the elements of its characteristic is a quality assessment of a compliance of the Law relevant provisions with the EED Directive legislation. The encountered and identified discrepancies are then analysed by the Author and shown is their potential impact on, among the others, carrying out of the duties by obliged entities. Some of these discrepancies might prove unfavourable for the Polish responsible parties and that fact was also signalled in relevant chapters. Additionally, shown are preliminary assessments of the White Certificates supported market value.
Keywords: energy efficiency, changes in the new Energy Efficiency Law, public support schemes
Ewa LUŚNIA, Bartosz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI, Sławomir PODSIADŁO
The Institute of Power Engineering works concerning reduction of NOx and SO2 emission level from grate-fired boilers
Energetyka 2016, nr 10, p. 599
More and more restrictive European regulations concerning air pollution emissions will soon involve small and medium heat generation sources represented mainly in the Polish power system by steam and water grate-fired boilers. For economic and technical reasons it is advisable to seek solutions that are tailored to the specific operation of this type of units. The Institute of Power Engineering has developed the concept of a denitrification and desulfurization system dedicated to grate-fired boilers. The first tests of a simplified installation have been carried out in industrial conditions on the EKM-64 boiler in EC Pruszków. The results of the work enabled achieving the NOx and SO2 emission level required by future legislation.
Keywords: SNCR, denitrification, desulfurization, grate-fired boiler
Don PLATTS, Dave HANSON
Where Does the Air Go? (how air bubbles get into transformer tanks and how to prevent it)
Oil sampling to measure insulating liquid quality and perform dissolved-gas-analysis has been a cornerstone of the typical transformer maintenance program for several decades. In that timeframe, several monitoring products have been developed that also require a connection with the oil inside the tank. There are many oil sampling procedures available from ASTM, transformer manufacturers, service providers, and oil testing laboratories. The typical transformer owner assumes that if the sampling is done according to any of these procedures, or the monitors are installed per the manufacturers’ instructions, that there is little or no risk involved. Recent investigations have confirmed that these procedures may not always prevent air bubbles from entering the transformer tank when the samples are taken, or the monitor is commissioned. Further, for some specific cases, following those procedures will ensure that air bubbles will enter the transformer tank. Obviously, there is a serious risk of failure when air bubbles enter an energized transformer. This paper and presentation will address the issues and define the conditions under which the ingress of air bubbles is certain to occur, even when the transformer is built according to IEEE standards, and the generally accepted procedures are followed.
Keywords: power transformers, transformer maintenance, analysis of gasses dissolved in a transformer oil, preventing air entry into a transformer tank
Water quality monitoring by the use of analytical measurements
Appropriate selection of measuring devices as well as ensuring their proper calibration belong to the most important elements influencing safety control of the conducted processes. Physico-chemical measurements also belong to this group and are successfully realised with the help of Endress+Hauser company’s equipment used in many heat and power generation plants.
Keywords: water quality, monitoring, analytical measurements
Andrzej WARACHIM, Krzysztof DEKARZ
New standards and functions of MV cable joints in MV networks
Designers of the contemporary power systems integrate all producers, consumers and prosumers taking part in renevable energy generation at all voltage levels. Growing areas of secondary distribution enforce creation of such solutions that would be able to meet requirements of modern information and communication technologies with particular reference to IT security and data protection. One of the objectives is to find a compromise between development of “conventional”networks and modernization realized with the help of modern protection and automatic control technologies. Operators will increasingly have to face such typical challenges like keeping voltage stability, voltage range, deficiency management and island maintenance of networks, reactive power control and dealing with overloads. All substantial data have to be recorded and processed in real time. And, to achieve the optimum load level, ICT networks must cooperate with “intelligent” substation automation systems and MV cable joints which are the main subject of this article.
Keywords: MV networks, cable joints, supply restoration automation in grid and loop networks