POWER April 2016 - 72

RESILIENCY
Entergy Tests Fiber Optic Cables to Slash Copper Use
A unique pilot under way at a substation in
New Orleans, La., uses fiber optic cables in
a way that could help utilities reduce the
use of copper wire. But it's not what you
might think: According to Entergy Corp.,
which is spearheading the project, the fiber
optic cable doesn't actually transmit power.
Rather, it's a channel for transferring data.
" Currently, we have devices in our breakers
called merging units, " the company
told POWER in February (Figure 1). " These
merging units complete analog-to-digital
conversion of data. Traditionally, copper
wire transmits current to the control house
(analog data). We used the merging unit to
convert that analog data to digital data.
From there, we're streaming the data from
the breaker cabinet back to the control
house using the fiber optic cable. "
Entergy's project began in early 2014
with a team of engineers' mapping ambitions
to make new devices and systems
work together. For one, explained Dr. Chan
Wong, an Entergy senior engineer, fiber is
leaner than copper and is energized at a
lower voltage level. " This leads to neater
facilities and reduced safety risks. After a
severe weather event, it's quicker to restore
fiber, which lies in buried channels
in a substation. " In comparison to copper,
fiber can also be designed and installed for
about half the cost, and fiber is less likely
than copper to be stolen due to its lower
resale value.
By August 2015, the company had initiated
a field pilot at the Joliet substation
in New Orleans. That project is still in the
evaluation and testing phase, so the pilot
equipment isn't actually controlling any
operations. However, Entergy is convinced
the technology holds promise. " The installation
of fiber in America's substations
would advance substation automation and
staff home for 24 hours to handle their personal
planning for their families, then allow
the other half to go home 24 hours later when
the first group returns.
Whether to shut the plant down entirely depends
on a number of things, including how
close the storm would pass over the plant.
" If we knew the storm was going to hit us directly,
the plant would be shut down, period,
and everybody would be sent home, and we
would come back afterward to pick up the
72
1. Powerful plant fiber. Entergy is testing how it can expand the use of fiber to
reduce the use of copper wire in its assets, particularly in regards to international industry
standards for substation automation and communication systems in substations. This image
shows the inside of one of the fiber cabinets at the company's pilot project at its Joliet
substation in New Orleans, La. Courtesy: Entergy
communication for all utilities, " said Wong.
(Entergy isn't the first, nor the only utility,
that is investigating the use of fiber
technology to cut copper use.) " In addition,
it would help us achieve interoperability
and compatibility between different
manufacturers' equipment. Think of it as
an Ethernet network for substations, one
that connects multiple systems and has encrypted
protocols to control the passage of
information. "
So far, the pilot has shown that fiber optic
cable can reduce substation construction
materials, allowing for a shorter and easier
commissioning and testing process. Also,
and perhaps crucial for teams working to
pieces. That's just the way we operate. " If
there wasn't enough warning to shut down the
plant-Toms said they needed 36 hours for a
safe shutdown of Crystal River-then a skeleton
staff of five or six people would remain
on site in the control room to ride it out.
Long-Term Horizons
Working from its experiences with Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, Entergy sent some
waves through the power sector in 2010
www.powermag.com
restore power, equipment and device testing
have been automated without the need
for test leads changes. System debugging
has also been simplified, and any alarms
within the system are easy to analyze.
Meanwhile, Entergy has collaborated with
utilities, research institutes, vendors, and
consultants-including the IEEE standard
committee and security experts-to probe
the possibilities and explore options that
meet security compliance and regulations
while maintaining the robustness of the grid.
The team is also working with the Electric
Power Research Institute to set up a global
design standard for using fiber technology.
-Sonal Patel, POWER associate editor
when it launched an initiative to analyze and
quantify the risk its service area along the
Gulf Coast faced from future climate change.
What it found was that the region could expect
more than $350 billion in potential damages
from all environmental factors by 2030.
This represented a combination of increased
hurricane severity (as a result of ocean warming),
subsidence, sea-level rise, and other
factors. One projection had New Orleans effectively
turned into an island by 2100 as a
POWER | April 2016

http://www.powermag.com

POWER April 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER April 2016