Ruggedised Servers and Embedded Substation Computers from Crystal Group, Inc, leveraging VMware and placed in substations, provide the security-enabled real-time platform needed to manage and enhance the energy grid.
The power grid is evolving to incorporate an influx of distributed energy resources (DERs). Such as bi-directional input/output from solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and integrated microgrids. Combining this evolution with the need to reduce cost and improve safety and security has resulted in a more complex operation.
Substation Computers Solution
These new demands on the grid could make performing operational and maintenance tasks more challenging and costly using traditional operational technology. Therefore, overcoming these challenges requires a convergence of information and operational technologies that includes distributed computing to augment centralised SCADA performance and analytics. Edge servers located in transmission and distribution substations can collect all real-time data from sensors and intelligent electronic devices. Plus generate alarms and adjusting control set points to rapidly respond to situations and continuously monitor the condition of equipment. Also generate historical knowledge of equipment behaviour. These actions can help optimise the maintenance strategy and enable new operating modes such as islanding sections of the grid during emergency situations.
To produce these benefits, the edge servers must perform under extreme environmental conditions. Such as temperature, dust, humidity, electromagnetic interference and other factors specific to transmission and distribution substations. Crystal Group, Inc designs and manufactures such ruggedised edge servers. Built with the latest Intel® Technology. That not only withstand sever conditions. But can deliver the compute power needed to evaluate mission critical infrastructure along the grid.
Advantages of Ruggedised Servers and Embedded Substation Computers
Demands placed on the grid will continue to increase. To help get ahead of the curve, utilities can deploy ruggedised servers and embedded substation computers that are designed, tested and built to with stand the austere conditions found in substations. By monitoring mission critical infrastructure and analysing data at the edge. Utilities can achieve real time awareness to prevent or rapidly respond to incidents. Also perform predictive maintenance enhance security for remote, unmanned infrastructure; simplify data management and reduce data transfer costs. Crystal Group, Inc and Intel are partnering. To enable the convergence of information and operational technologies that empower utilities. Therefore, to take advantage of data and prepare for the grid of tomorrow.
Finally, to learn more about the Substation Computers for tomorrow’s world, contact us.