9
№ 5 (8), сентябрь-октябрь, 2011
— Mr. Merlin, what is your opin-
ion about applicability of topics an-
nounced for discussion at the World
Electrotechnical Congress?
— The topics selected for this con-
gress cover a wide range of technical
domains in which the electric power
industry is facing very important chal-
lenges today.
Energy ef
fi
ciency and energy saving
(of session 1) are considered today as
an important source of sustainable de-
velopment as they reduce the amount
of energy required to provide the same
products and services, and in many
countries efforts in this direction have
given very positive results.
Modern intelligent power engineer-
ing systems (of session 2) are the key
elements of the smart grids, and a
lot of developments, innovations and
demonstrations are on the way in most
countries.
The energy supply of cities and me-
tropolises (of session 3) also requires
new developments and innovations in
underground technologies and is strong
driver for the emergence of supergrids.
Long transmission links, overhead lines
or cable systems, for the transmission
of large amounts of power are being im-
plemented in most parts of the world.
The topic of electro mechanics (ses-
sion 7) can be of interest if it shows in-
novations which improve the ef
fi
ciency
of the power generation and transmis-
sion processes.
EMF and society (the topic of session
5) is also a subject of great concern in
many countries, where the lack of infor-
mation of the public on the real impact
“Smart Grids will be the
enablers for the integration
of renewable energy sources”
In 2011 the venue of the World Electrotechnical Congress— WELC-2011 is Russia. On
the eve of this major event Mr. André Merlin, the President of CIGRE, a Congress par-
ticipant, has kindly agreed to answer some questions that are of considerable interest for
electrical power society.
9
№ 5 (8), сентябрь-октябрь, 2011
Андре
МЕРЛИН
,
президент
СИГРЭ
Андре
МЕРЛИН
,
президент
СИГРЭ
Mr. André Merlin, the President of CIGRE
Mr. André Merlin, the President of CIGRE
11
№ 5 (8), сентябрь-октябрь, 2011
of electro magnetic
fi
elds, makes it more
dif
fi
cult for grids developers to imple-
ment new transmission projects.
Power electronics and converter
equipment (session 6) are also key el-
ements for the implementation of both
smart grids and super grids. HVDC tech-
nology is a very promising solution to
connect renewable energy sources far
away from the consumption areas and
to increase the interconnection of power
systems. Electric mobility (session 4) is
seen today in many countries as a very
important enabler for the reduction of
CO
2
emissions due to transportation,
and its storage component has also the
potential of contributing to the balanc-
ing of power systems. Demonstration
projects are being implemented today in
different parts of the world.
As a conclusion, I can say that the
applicability of the selected topics for
the conference makes no doubt.
— What are strong and weak points
of this affair from the viewpoint of in-
ternational science achievements,
timeliness of issues considered, par-
ticipants involved?
— As I just mentioned before,the is-
sues considered during the congress
are timely, and they are in line with what
CIGRE recently de
fi
ned in its road map
to deal with the network of the future.
It is a good point that all the top-
ics are relevant with today’s concerns
in the electric power industry, and the
speakers are high level international
experts in their domains.
— What is your view of the Russian
National CIGRE Committee future-
proof development as part of interna-
tional CIGRE?
— The Russian National Commit-
tee of CIGRE has a strong technology
background and a large membership
base. However I believe that it should
be more present and active in the work-
ing groups of CIGRE.
— What role, in your opinion, does
the Russian National CIGRE Commit-
tee perform in the international CIGRE
activities? Is there any progress in
this respect?
— Our statistics show that today
the Russian National Committee has
only 26 experts participating in work-
ing groups and that there is no Russian
working group convener.
For years, Russia has been the
leader in technology and I encourage
the National Committee to attract more
Russian experts to CIGRE activities to
share the important knowledge result-
ing from this strong position.
I also encourage them to develop
more international meetings, as the
one on protection and automation
which is held every two years.
— What topics announced at WELC
might be of interest to the world com-
munity?
— As I said in the beginning most of
the topics considered in the congress
are of interest to the world community.
Therefore I invite the Russian ex-
perts to come and participate to CIGRE
working groups activities where they
will be able to share their knowledge
and experience with others, and in re-
turn bene
fi
t from the other members’
point of views.
— Today the term Smart Grid is a
big deal. Our readers want to know
what Smart Grid trends, from your
point of view, are important for the
Russian power industry development.
— There is not a de
fi
nition of Smart
Grids which makes a consensus at
the world level. However to make grids
smart consists in integrating the energy
systems and the participation of the us-
ers of the grids, in a more ef
fi
cient way.
The grids have to be deeply recon
fi
g-
ured to integrate the dispersed genera-
tion of renewable energy sources on a
large scale, and to favor an offer adapt-
ed to the demand, by providing the
fi
nal
user with tools and services allowing
him to know its own consumption, and
therefore to act on it.
The development of Smart Grids will
add value to the power system. They
will allow optimizing the use of the net-
works thanks to a precise knowledge
of the loads. By the installation of ad-
vanced meters which will allow detect-
ing and easily solving breakdowns, they
will improve the quality of supply and
the service of the distributionof power.
In a context of sustainable devel-
opment, they will facilitate the integra-
tion of renewable energy sources, the
intermittent pro
fi
le of which is an issue.
Finally, they will provide a better control
of the supply-demand balance.
Distribution networks will become
more active, resulting in bidirectional
fl
ows within distribution level and to
the upstream network, and massive
need for exchange of information will
be expressed.
HVDC and power electronics tech-
nologies will reach all voltage levels,
and large scale energy storage solu-
tions will be required to better control
the real time demand-generation bal-
ance in power systems.
— What is the actual state of
SMART GRID technologies and what
are the problems the leading world
R&D companies solve today?
— The technologies which enable
the development of smart grids cover
a wide range of domains, from power
electronics, energy storage, intelligent
metering, to communication networks
protocols and standards.
New concepts are also necessary to
implement these technologies, to allow
grid planners, protection experts and
system operators making the best use
of them.
As a consequence, new actors from
the telecommunication industry and
from the software services are interest-
ed in smart grids which offer them new
fi
elds for innovations and development.
— What topic would you recom-
mend as number one for the next
WorldElectro technical Congress?
— It is dif
fi
cult to pick one singletopic
as the big one, because the power sys-
tem of the future will result in the com-
bination of many different components
which all need further development or
adaptations to face new challenges.
Super Grids, Smart Grids will be the
enablers for the integration of renew-
able energy sources and energy ef
fi
-
ciency, but operating and maintaining
the existing power systems in the most
ef
fi
cient way will remain a strong driver
of the electric power industry.
— Finally, please, tell us your opin-
ion about importance of such events
like WELC-2011 for Electro technical
science evolution?
— Energy and especially electricity,
is more and more important for our
world. It is the main engine of the devel-
opment and welfare of mankind. This is
the reason why it is important to coop-
erate worldwide between experts and
exchanges by means of conferences
like this one.
As the President of CIGRE, I can only
repeat my creed in cooperation and
exchange: sharing experience and dis-
seminating technical knowledge and
technological innovations, addressing
future generation of scientists and en-
gineers, is the core of our Association
created 90 years ago.
Speaking Katya GUSEVA
11
№ 5 (8), сентябрь-октябрь, 2011
Оригинал статьи: “Smart Grids will be the enablers for the integration of renewable energy sources”
In 2011 the venue of the World Electrotechnical Congress— WELC-2011 is Russia. On the eve of this major event Mr. André Merlin, the President of CIGRE, a Congress participant, has kindly agreed to answer some questions that are of considerable interest for electrical power society.