FERC Order 827 and reactive power

Federal energy regulators have issued a final rule requiring all newly interconnecting non-synchronous generators to provide reactive power, which supports the reliability of the electric grid.  The rule adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Order No. 827 primarily affects wind generators, who have previously been exempt, and some solar projects.

Reactive power -- and generators capable of supplying or consuming it -- play an important role in controlling system voltage for efficient and reliable operation of an alternating current transmission system.  Previously, as a condition of interconnection under the FERC's pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Agreement and Small Generator Interconnection Agreement, most generators have been required “to maintain a composite power delivery at continuous rated power output at the Point of Interconnection at a power factor within the range of 0.95 leading to 0.95 lagging.”

But historically, the costs to design and build a wind generator that could provide this kind of reactive power were high.  In recognition that requiring wind generators to provide reactive power could have created an obstacle to the development of wind generation, the Commission previously exempted wind generators from the general requirement to provide reactive power, absent a study finding that the provision of reactive power is necessary to ensure safety or reliability.

But in 2014, a FERC staff report found that the cost of providing reactive power no longer presents an obstacle to the development of wind generation.  So-called Type III and Type IV inverter-based turbines now offer inherent reactive power capabilities.  As described in Order No. 827, "The resulting decline in the cost to wind generators of providing reactive power renders the current absolute exemptions unjust, unreasonable, and unduly discriminatory and preferential."  The Commission also noted that integrating increasing amounts of wind increases the potential that some systems will need more reactive power.

Acting under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act, on June 16, 2016, the Commission found "that wind generators should not have an exemption from the reactive power requirement which is unavailable to other generators." At the same time, the Commission recognized technical differences that would add costs if non-synchronous generators were required to provide reactive power at the Point of Interconnection -- and that these "added costs will ultimately be borne by customers, whether through reactive power payments in regions that compensate for reactive power capability, or through elevated prices for capacity or energy in regions that do not compensate for reactive power capability."

It thus adopted reactive power requirements for newly interconnecting non-synchronous generators, but let non-synchronous generators provide dynamic reactive power at the high-side of the generator substation, as opposed to the Point of Interconnection.

The Commission described its expectation that non-synchronous generators may meet the dynamic reactive power requirement by utilizing a combination of the inherent dynamic reactive power capability of the inverter, dynamic reactive power devices (e.g., Static VAR Compensators), and static reactive power devices (e.g., capacitors) to make up for losses.

The Final Rule will become effective 90 days after its publication in the Federal Register.  Its requirements will apply to all newly interconnecting non-synchronous generators that have not yet executed a Facilities Study Agreement as of the rule's effective date.

Cybersecurity, solar energy and the electric grid

A group of Russian hackers claims to have identified security gaps in widely-used solar panel monitoring software.  The monitoring platform's developer is said to be fixing the gaps -- but can hackers damage the electric grid?

Solar panels supporting Goblin Valley State Park, Utah.

German company Solare Datensysteme GmbH makes a series of devices to track and monitor solar panel performance.  Its "Solar-Log" product line monitors the performance of solar photovoltaic systems and uses an internet connection and software to offer users additional management tools.  According to the company's website, Solar-Log systems manage roughly 229,300 solar plants that producing an aggregate average of 5.66 terawatt-hours (TWh) per day.

According to an article on tech website The Register, a Russian hacking firm known as Positive Security has warned that the previous Solar-Log software was vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks that could cause power grid reconfiguration and cascading blackouts.  The article claims that attackers could download and modify Solar-Log configuration files without needing propert authentication.  Files could be compromised to change user passwords and run code provided by the attacker.  The article suggests that malicious hackers could manipulate "specific power-generation related values", letting users could overstate the amount of power pumped back into grids by their solar installations.

The exact details of the weaknesses identified by Positive Security is being kept secret until the Solar-Log maker can distribute a patch shoring up system security.  As with past bugs, it is likely that Solare Datensysteme and other product makers will continue to plug holes in their cybersecurity, as new flaws are exposed and as systems evolve.  But solar panel monitoring systems are not the only energy-related infrastructure vulnerable to hacking; items ranging from utility smart meters to utility-scale power generator controls may be at risk of compromise from outside forces.

A series of regulations are designed to protect the grid against these threats.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved mandatory cybersecurity reliability standards for the U.S. bulk power system.  Acting under its authority pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, through Order No. 706 the Commission has approved a series of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) cyber security reliability standards proposed by electric reliability organization North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).  Both NERC and the Commission continue to evaluate further changes to those standards, along with other standards bolstering the physical security of the electric grid.

New cybersecurity threats crop up regularly, prompting product developers, service providers, and regulators to engage in a continual effort to identify, block, and protect against threats to the electric power system.  For developers of energy technologies or projects, compliance with key regulations is a critical element of this protection, as is taking a proactive view to ensure safe and reliable operations.  While it is hard to predict the next front in this war, count on it to be ever shifting.

Copper thief apparently zapped

Copper wires and other electricity-related assets can be attractive targets for thieves -- but stealing electrical infrastructure carries risks beyond the legal realm.

The Associated Press is reporting that police have found evidence of an attempt to steal $100 worth of copper wiring from an electrical substation in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  The evidence, which reportedly includes a melted hacksaw covered in soot, suggests that a thief broke into the substation and came in contact with live wires carrying 23,000 volts.  Yesterday's incident apparently caused a small explosion and temporarily disrupted the power supply to the local area.  The police have stated that the would-be thief is likely severely injured or dead.
 
Copper thieves are presumably hoping to cut the metal out of its installation and sell it for scrap.  While the value of bulk quantities of scrap copper has been at a relative historic high, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that copper pricing has fallen due to expected decreases in European economic activity, selling on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division for $3.39 per pound.  It would be a desperate thief indeed who risks electrocution for any price, let alone copper's scrap value.

This incident follows on a report earlier this month of the arguably more sophisticated theft of solar panels, inverters and batteries from U.S. Forest Service facilities in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire.