Owned by the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), the microgrid powers ~400 households with generation from hydroelectric, solar power and resources and also includes Li-Ion battery storage capacity to help with peak shaving, smooth switching, load shedding, islanding and other operations. The Khun Pae microgrid is located in an extremely remote part of Chiangmai province, Thailand. To reach Khun Pae from Bangkok, the journey is almost 700 km or 9-hours drive. PEA also does not employ staff at the microgrid substation, so remote monitoring is a key element of the project.
TrueWatts deployed a PQube® 3 with a 3G/4G cellular router to monitor the site. PQube 3 transmits threshold event reports and daily reports direct from device to email. The email presents either the daily report data or an event alert with waveform data – no additional software is required which makes the information incredibly easy to share and communicate. Everyone who receives the email has all the information they need on their laptop or smart phone.
Once connected with cellular 3G/4G, PQube 3 data are also available via webserver, which provides trend data in csv, gif and PQDIF file formats (demo webserver). These file formats are super easy to work with using commonly available software such as MS Excel. Additionally, a connected PQube 3 can deliver real-time measurements using Modbus, and a simple Modbus client software comes free with the PQube 3.
Using remote monitoring, Provincial Electricity Authority can better understand, adjust and optimize the microgrid in its different operating modes and under different climate conditions that affect generation. Persistent monitoring enables the utility to take actions that prevent and solve problems efficiently. If the utility does need to dispatch a worker to the site, they know what type of equipment to take with them to resolve the issue in one trip.
