LF Energy Summit 2024

Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) are a key element of a Digital Substation Automation System (DSAS), managing voltage regulation and performing line protection. Today, mostly due to the rise of renewable energy and the adoption of electric cars, a new generation of DSAS is needed. The shift toward virtualization was chosen for its flexibility and adaptivity. Thus, the code developed for a physical IED has to be rewritten for a virtual one. This talk will go through GE Vernova and Savoir-faire Linux experience in creating, tuning and testing a protection algorithm for a virtual IED (VIED) on LF Energy SEAPATH. Savoir-faire Linux will present the technical strengths and weaknesses of a virtualized environment and the different solutions available to push back its limitations. It will also explain the testing process developed to ensure that a VIED meets the desired criteria in terms of latency, determinism and robustness. GE Vernova will present its experience in designing the architecture of a VIED and porting the existing code from a physical to a virtual device. It will question the differences between the two in terms of power, redundancy, and algorithmic.