Energy storage substations represent the future development direction of power grids, integrating modern information systems with traditional energy networks to address the limitations of conventional power systems—such as low energy utilization, limited interactivity, and insufficient controllability. As a pioneer in smart power equipment, CHH Power recognizes energy storage substations as the core of the new power system, with smart substations (a key component) penetrating all links of power generation, transmission, transformation, and communication. Below is a detailed breakdown of the working principles, core components, and reliability assurance measures of energy storage substations, integrated with CHH Power’s technological practices.
1. Core Architecture of Energy Storage Substations: Layered Construction of Smart Equipment
Energy storage substations adopt a two-tier architecture: smart primary equipment and networked secondary equipment. This design enables information interconnection and intelligent management, a framework that CHH Power has optimized in its substation solutions.
(1) Smart Primary Equipment: The Foundation of Substation Intelligence
Smart primary equipment refers to traditional power equipment integrated with sensing, measurement, and communication functions—critical for real-time data collection and control. CHH Power’s key offerings in this category include:
- Smart Transformers: Equipped with embedded sensors to monitor oil temperature, winding temperature, and load current. These transformers connect to control systems via communication optical fibers, enabling instant access to status parameters and operating data. For example, CHH Power’s 500kV smart transformer can transmit 12+ key operating indicators to the substation control center within 100ms, supporting predictive maintenance.
- Smart High-Voltage Switchgear: Integrates intelligent monitoring units to track mechanical status (e.g., contact wear) and electrical performance (e.g., partial discharge). CHH Power’s switchgear uses IoT technology to realize remote operation and fault self-diagnosis, reducing on-site maintenance frequency by 60%.
- Electronic Transformers: Replaces traditional electromagnetic transformers with optical sensing technology, offering higher accuracy and faster response. CHH Power’s electronic current transformers (ECTs) and voltage transformers (EVTs) have a measurement error of ≤0.2%, meeting the strict requirements of smart grid dispatching.
These devices form a modern substation ecosystem where intelligent electrical equipment shares and intercommunicates information internally, laying the groundwork for centralized control and optimization.
(2) Networked Secondary Equipment: Standardized Communication for System Integration
On the basis of primary equipment communication, networked secondary equipment relies on universal, high-performance communication protocols to achieve interoperability. CHH Power emphasizes two core aspects in this layer:
- Protocol Standardization: Adopts international standards such as IEC 61850 (the global communication standard for smart substations) to ensure that equipment from different manufacturers can “speak the same language.” CHH Power’s secondary equipment—including protection relays, measurement and control devices, and communication gateways—all comply with IEC 61850, enabling plug-and-play and reducing integration costs by 30%.
- Hierarchical Network Design: Builds a three-layer network (process layer, bay layer, station control layer) to rationalize data flow. The process layer connects primary equipment sensors; the bay layer handles protection and control logic; the station control layer manages overall substation operations. CHH Power’s networked secondary equipment uses redundant Ethernet to ensure data transmission reliability, with a communication failure rate of less than 0.01% per year.
This standardization ensures seamless system connection, realizing the full intelligence of the energy storage substation while making project implementation standardized, unified, and transparent.
2. Safety & Reliability Assurance: Testing and System Joint Commissioning
Safety and reliability are non-negotiable principles for energy storage substations, especially given the integration of equipment from multiple manufacturers and the critical role of cross-device interoperability. CHH Power ensures system stability through rigorous testing and joint commissioning, tailored to the three-layer structure of smart substation equipment.
(1) Key Testing Items for Smart Substations
CHH Power’s testing protocol covers three core areas, addressing the uniqueness of smart substations:
- Process Layer Equipment Testing: Verifies the performance of sensors, electronic transformers, and smart actuators. For example, tests include accuracy calibration of ECTs/EVTs, response time of smart switchgear, and data transmission stability of optical fibers. CHH Power uses specialized test benches to simulate various operating conditions (e.g., short circuits, overloads) to ensure equipment reliability.
- Station Control Layer Equipment Testing: Evaluates the functionality of the substation’s central control system, including data acquisition, human-machine interface (HMI) operation, and remote communication. CHH Power tests the system’s ability to process 10,000+ data points simultaneously, ensuring no delays or data loss.
- Main System Function Testing: Focuses on cross-layer coordination, such as protection logic execution, automatic voltage regulation, and energy storage dispatch. For energy storage substations, CHH Power specifically tests the coordination between the substation control system and battery energy storage systems (BESS), verifying peak-shaving response time and smooth renewable energy integration.
(2) System Joint Commissioning: Ensuring End-to-End Reliability
Beyond individual equipment testing, CHH Power conducts comprehensive system joint commissioning to validate interoperability and response speed:
- Multi-Vendor Equipment Interoperability Test: Simulates real-world scenarios by connecting CHH Power’s equipment with products from other manufacturers (e.g., batteries, renewable energy inverters). This test ensures that communication protocols and data formats are fully compatible.
- Dynamic Performance Test: Applies fluctuating loads (e.g., sudden changes in wind/PV output) to test the substation’s ability to adjust in real time. CHH Power’s joint commissioning has shown that its energy storage substations can stabilize grid frequency within ±0.1Hz within 200ms of a load change.
3. CHH Power’s Vision: Energy Storage Substations as the Core of Future Grids
Energy storage substations are set to become the backbone of the future smart grid, and CHH Power is committed to advancing their development through technological innovation. By optimizing smart primary equipment (e.g., upgrading smart transformers with AI-based predictive maintenance) and refining networked secondary equipment (e.g., developing 5G-compatible communication modules), CHH Power aims to enhance substation controllability, efficiency, and flexibility.
In practice, CHH Power’s energy storage substation solutions have been deployed in pilot projects across China, such as a 100MW/200MWh grid-side energy storage substation in Inner Mongolia. This project integrates CHH Power’s smart transformers, switchgear, and control systems, achieving a 15% improvement in grid peak-shaving capacity and a 10% reduction in renewable energy curtailment.
Through its focus on layered equipment design, protocol standardization, and rigorous testing, CHH Power is driving the safe, reliable, and intelligent development of energy storage substations—laying a solid foundation for the new power system centered on renewable energy.
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