The integration of increasing shares of renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar, along with the rising electrification through the use of electric vehicles and heat pumps, places unprecedented strain on the electricity grid. This necessitates a strategic approach to expanding and improving grid capacity. The solution lies in digitalization.

Digital Energy Hub, a national platform aimed at innovating and digitalizing the energy sector in Denmark, aspires to lead the Danish energy sector towards a more efficient and resilient future. A part of this strategy is their innovation project in which companies collaborated to develop a digital solution consisting of two micro-services to improve the capacity of existing electrical transformer stations:  

The first service is the IoT data service, which uses built-in technology to deliver live streaming data on electrical and temperature conditions of transformer stations. The analytics service then provides forecasts that predict when transformer stations will reach their maximum safe temperature and load capacity.
 

The temperature forecasts help Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to continuously assess the transformer’s condition, allowing them to safely run the transformer at 120 percent capacity for short periods. This means that more energy can be distributed through the grid at times of excess energy production, maximizing the use of renewable energy and minimizing potential waste.  

The Danish DSO TREFOR made their data available for the project and a Proof-of concept, conducted by the two companies Linc Systems and AI-nergy. Using TREFOR’s grid, they documented better surveillance of the transformers’ capacity load which enables the DSO to take qualified decisions regarding the operation and future investments.