Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) is the generic name of a technology that the power industry has identified as a possible solution to one of today’s most pressing problems: How to detect and counteract the first signs of grid instability. ABB’s wide area solutions are the first and only WAMS solution to address and solve this problem.
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| ABB`s WAMS improve power transmission capacity by up to 20 percent. |
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Assigning the resources
ABB invests hundreds of millions of US dollars a year in the research and development of power technologies. R&D centers in Europe, Asia and the United States work closely with customers and selected university partners to create products and solutions that solve specific industry needs.
ABB’s technology base
Wide area solutions draw on ABB’s vast experience in developing control and protection systems for power technology applications. It is based on proven ABB technology in phasor measurement, advanced application software, and the innovative use of the Global Positioning Satellite system.
The technology
ABB’s wide are solutions are based on modular solutions using phasor measurement information from different collection points in a power system, located mainly in substations or at the critical nodes of a grid. The measurements are taken in real time with a synchronized time accuracy of <1s - for measuring voltage and current input.
An incorporated communication system provides data transmission links between individual PMUs located in substations to the wide area monitoring system.
Pilot installations
Customer projects prove that ABB’s wide area solutions help to significantly improve grid utilization during phases of peak transmission while enabling the detection of critical factors influencing network instability.
Online monitoring applications will significantly reduce investment cost for utilities while safeguarding high levels of dynamic grid loading and availability. In this context, wide area solutions extend the capability of existing local monitoring, protection and control equipment to higher levels of asset utilization.