7 ms·
Continental Europe successfully synced with Ukraine and Moldova power systems
- tpmx 5y agoBackground article from a week ago: https://www.wired.com/story/the-race-to-rescue-ukraines-power-grid-from-russia/ https://www.wired.com/story/the-race-to-rescue-ukraines-powe... The Race to Rescue Ukraine’s Power Grid From Russia In late February, Ukraine began a long-planned 72-hour test to unhook its electricity grid from Russia’s. Then the invasion started.
- liketochill 5y agoMuch better article. It says they have a 2000 MW transmission line between Ukraine and Europe.
- Hnrobert42 5y agoI know almost nothing about this, so this is a genuine question. Why do you say 2000 MW instead of 2 GW? Convention? Is 2 GW incorrect?
- GauntletWizard 5y agoThey're equivalent. Neither is more correct. Megawatts are a bit more understandable to the layperson, for the same reason that "a million dollars" is more understandable than "a billion dollars". A megawatt is about 1000 homes[1]. A gigawatt is a city. [1]https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3 A US Household uses slightly more than a kilowatt on average, though obviously peaks and troughs are well off that.
- aix1 5y agoI guess it's similar to how we in the metric world would say "2000 kilometres" and not "2 megametres" (certainly not in an everyday context). > "a billion dollars" This is only tangentially related to your point, but the word "billion" often gets mistranslated due to its two distinct meanings (long vs short scale). This could be another reason to avoid it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion
- Hnrobert42 5y agoThe best distinction I’ve read between a million and a billion came from Bill Bryson. He noted that there are 1 million seconds in 11 days. There are 1 billion seconds in 32 years.
- spywaregorilla 5y agoHow secure is this? Is it actively supporting Kyiv? Eastern Ukraine?
- ISL 5y ago"and the adoption of risks mitigation measures." i.e. We really need this yesterday. Stand back, let's see if it works.
- mantas 5y agoLooking forward to switching Latvia/Lithuania/Estonia from BRELL.
- pilsetnieks 5y agoScheduled for 2025 but I do hope it gets accelerated.
- mantas 5y agoIt was already delayed several times because of EU fears of Kaliningrad and Russia response. Hopefully now our politicians have enough arguments to make it happen. While at it, it may be good to stop the special permit for visa-free train from Russian mainland to Kaliningrad.
- earleybird 5y agoIt might be a tactical distraction that is needed at this point in time.
- mantas 5y agoMilitary traffic is out of scope, so it'd be similar inconvenience as air space closure. But every tiny bit helps.
- Hnrobert42 5y agoI am curious. What effects will that have?
- flavius29663 5y agoThis seems like a huge engineering challenge, imagine synchronizing 40 million customers at 50 Hz
- liketochill 5y agoYou only need to adjust one generator to change the frequency, since Ukraine grid is in balance simply adding or removing additional power will alter the frequency. Controlling the voltage at the point of synchronization is probably done with tap changers on transformers but would be more complicated to ensure that power flows over the transmission line once it is connected are as desired.
- WJW 5y agoAll those 40 million customers are already on a 50 Hz grid, it's just that the phase of the Ukrainian grid might be slightly different from the European grid. You can (with the correct know-how, training and access to generator controls!) fairly easily get one of the two to speed up or slow down by 0.1 Hz or something like that, wait until the grids match phase and then bring the frequencies back together. Now that they are the same frequency and phase, you can connect the networks just by flipping a switch and provided they were both in balance before the procedure no current will flow initially. Afterwards the two separate networks have effectively merged into one bigger network. It seems very complicated, but bringing generators and subgrids into sync is something that network operators do all day long. (Ship engineers too, since they can't rely on shore power for obvious reasons! You can have some very "interesting" outages if you forget to synchronize a newly started generator before connecting to the rest of the ship electricity system.)
- flavius29663 5y agoI knew they were also on 50Hz, I was just thinking that if they are on a different phase it could blow up or something. But now that you mention some details, it doesn't seem that big of a deal anymore, thanks! What happens if they were to connect them while on opposite phases?
- 5y ago
- ethagknight 5y agoConsidering how quick this took place, it’s almost as if someone had actively interfered or otherwise prevented Ukraine from being in position to sell its excess/offpeak nuclear and gas electricity to countries further east!
- everybodyknows 5y agoRecall that someone seized one of the nuclear plants, and technical staff are now effectively their prisoners. https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3431207-invaders-keep-setting-off-munitions-mines-at-zaporizhia-npp.html https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3431207-invaders-keep-s...