Page 291 - From Smart Grid to Internet of Energy

Internet of things for smart grid applications Chapter 7 259

level to the Fig. 1.9. The critical applications and requirements on each stage are
tabularized considering the most widely researched studies. In the following
subsections, the specified topics are surveyed in order to present further reading
and understanding about the progress of smart grid applications. One of the
most important requirements of the generation stage is real time monitoring
[1]. There are several parameters of the power generators involving real time
monitoring to ensure the generation security. The integration of DERs and
microgrid improvements has provided several alternative monitoring systems
in addition to well-known SCADA system. Lu et al. presents a microgrid mon-
itoring system by using 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) mobile communica-
tion platform as an example of IoT and smart grid interaction in [11].
The noted study presents a middleware integrating heterogenous device and
communication protocols in smart grid and IoT architecture. Similarly, some
novel monitoring studies based on Ethernet and microprocessor interaction
have been presented in [12] that Garcia et al. introduces a local area network
(LAN) based microgrid monitoring system in as a IoT-assisted smart grid appli-
cation. Power plant control is also required to improve generation reliability in
smart grid as well as in conventional grid applications. However, the bidirec-
tional communication requirement of smart grid has induced new researches
on power flow control. Firouzi et al. proposed a unified interphase power con-
troller (UIPC) study in [13] which is required in wind farms. The conventional
droop control that manages the power sharing does not include any communi-
cation method in conventional grid applications. However, there are some novel
studies have been proposed to improve the conventional decentralized control
method and the wired and wireless communication infrastructures. The DER
and alternative energy sources integration to generation and transmission levels
sometimes involve particular solutions regarding to source type.
The small sized DERs are mostly connected at the distribution level and the
control of them is relatively easier comparing to the large penetration of renew-
able and alternative energy sources. The voltage and frequency stabilization of
large DERs forces generation suppliers to improve rapid monitoring and react-
ing solutions. The computational analysis methods, algorithms, agent-based
controllers and data centers are improved to provide more reliable and faster
control on demand.
One of the most important contributions of IoT to smart grid is on improving
ICT based requirements including semantic web, agent-based control, and
enhanced connectivity along M2M interaction. The responsibility, behaviors,
targets, and operation systematic of each agent are determined in order to pro-
vide connectivity and communication features with their operation area and
each other agents. This software-based approach facilitates detecting the faults
and system failures rapidly. It is noted in several papers that agent-based and
multi-agent system (MAS) oriented programming leverages intelligent pro-
gramming opportunities and facilitates system control in energy generation
and management operations in IoT and smart grid interacted infrastructure
[14]. Another significant requirement of smart grid applications is the quality