Launch of weather-dependent dynamic line rating 3.0

Oldenburg/Stuttgart, 20 January 2020 – To make more efficient use of the existing power grid, the transmission system operator TransnetBW and the energy service provider energy & meteo systems have jointly defined meaningful locations for real-time monitoring of overhead lines in the TransnetBW network area. Weather stations and sensors are going to be installed at 250 power pylons and 48 substations to record the weather-dependent ampacity of the lines. TransnetBW will thus receive considerably more accurate data on the utilization of the power grid and will be better able to avoid grid bottlenecks.

The energy transition requires an even more efficient use of the existing power grid and, above all, optimal use of the transmission capacity of the overhead lines. The line rating of overhead lines, i.e. the maximum current, varies with the local weather conditions. On a cool, windy day, considerably more electricity can be transported through the line than on a hot and calm day. In order to make optimal use of this effect, TransnetBW is currently implementing a system that provides the necessary detailed information about the lines for improved grid management: weather-dependent overhead line operation 3.0 (WAFB 3.0).

Alexander Hofmann, WAFB 3.0 project manager at TransnetBW: "For our grid operation, we have so far only taken temperature at regional level into account. With WAFB 3.0 we record temperature and also wind on a small scale, which gives us much more leeway in our daily grid operation. The system initially helps us to check the forecast values used and adjust them if necessary. From 2023, it will then determine individually and in real time for each line which transmission capacities will be available if required".

TransnetBW has commissioned the experienced energy service provider energy & meteo systems to determine the best locations for representative measurements of ampacity for the overhead lines in the TransnetBW transmission grid. After a detailed analysis based on historical weather data over several years and GIS data on the exact route of the lines through the terrain, energy & meteo systems presented suitable locations with a precise assessment of their suitability. 

Matthias Lange, Managing Director of energy & meteo systems: "We were very pleased to be involved in this weather-dependent line rating, because especially when there is a high wind input, the wind provides cooling for the lines, so that they can transport more electricity. This ingenious effect can now be recorded online and in the next step it can also be predicted".

TransnetBW has now selected 250 line sections from this list, where weather sensors will be installed from 2021 onwards to determine the ampacity of the line bundles. In addition, weather data will be collected at 48 substations to supplement the network of meteorological information at the power pylons. The data will converge at TransnetBW's main control centre in Wendlingen.