Advanced Power System Laboratory

With more modern power loads and green energy sources being introduced to the market every day, the existing power grid is becoming increasingly strained. Compounding this problem is aging utility infrastructure and consistent growth in energy demand. Such stresses are applied across major utility assets (transformers, transmission lines, feeders) as well as protection/control apparatus. To accommodate these emerging challenges, leading utilities worldwide have recently adopted the concept of substation automation (SA), with IEC 61850 as the governing communication protocol. However, more research is required to demonstrate the reliability of the automated substation concept and the interoperability of multi-vendor schemes with IEC 61850. To validate the performance of a real-world automated substation system in a controlled lab environment, Mohawk College and McMaster University (B. Tech. Energy), in cooperation with local utilities, are developing an Advanced Power System Laboratory (APSL). The APSL will be used for teaching, training and research functions.