Power system static and dynamic security studies for the 1st phase of Crete Island Interconnection

The island of Crete is currently served by an autonomous electrical system being fed by oil-fired (Heavy fuel or light Diesel oil) thermal power plants and renewables (wind and PVs). The peak load and annual electric energy consumption are approximately 600 MW and 3 TWh respectively; wind and photovoltaic parks contribute approximately 20% of the electricity needs of the island. Due to the expensive fuel used, the Cretan power system has very high electric energy generation cost compared to the Greek mainland. On the other side the limited size of the system poses severe limitations to the penetration of renewable energy sources, not allowing to further exploit the high wind and solar potential of the island. According to the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) of the Greek TSO (Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. IPTO S.A.), the interconnection of Crete to the mainland Transmission System of Greece will be realized through two links: A 150 kV HVAC link between the Peloponnese and the Crete (Phase I) and a HVDC link connecting the metropolitan area of Athens with Crete (Phase II). The total length of submarine and underground cable of the HVAC link will be approximately 174km; it is at the limits of the AC technology and the longest and deepest worldwide at 150 kV level. A number of studies have been conducted by a joint group of IPTO and Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the design of this interconnection. This paper presents briefly the power system static and dynamic studies conducted for the design of the AC link and its operation. Firstly, the paper presents the main results of the static security study regarding the calculation of the maximum power transfer capability of the link and the selection of the reactive power compensation scheme of the cable. Results from dynamic security analysis studies are also presented. The small-signal stability analysis concludes that a new (intra-area) electromechanical oscillation is introduced to the National System after the interconnection. The damping of the electromechanical oscillations is sufficient; however the operation of power system stabilizers at power plants located both at the mainland and at Crete power system can increase significantly the damping of important oscillation modes. Finally with respect to the risk of loss of synchronism after a significant disturbance in the system of Crete, such as a three-phase fault (“transient stability”)- enough safety margin is estimated by means of Critical Clearing Time calculations

Power system static and dynamic security studies for the 1st phase of Crete Island Interconnection

The island of Crete is currently served by an autonomous electrical system being fed by oil-fired (Heavy fuel or light Diesel oil) thermal power plants and renewables (wind and PVs). The peak load and annual electric energy consumption are approximately 600 MW and 3 TWh respectively; wind and photovoltaic parks contribute approximately 20% of the electricity needs of the island. Due to the expensive fuel used, the Cretan power system has very high electric energy generation cost compared to the Greek mainland. On the other side the limited size of the system poses severe limitations to the penetration of renewable energy sources, not allowing to further exploit the high wind and solar potential of the island. According to the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) of the Greek TSO (Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. IPTO S.A.), the interconnection of Crete to the mainland Transmission System of Greece will be realized through two links: A 150 kV HVAC link between the Peloponnese and the Crete (Phase I) and a HVDC link connecting the metropolitan area of Athens with Crete (Phase II). The total length of submarine and underground cable of the HVAC link will be approximately 174km; it is at the limits of the AC technology and the longest and deepest worldwide at 150 kV level. A number of studies have been conducted by a joint group of IPTO and Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the design of this interconnection. This paper presents briefly the power system static and dynamic studies conducted for the design of the AC link and its operation. Firstly, the paper presents the main results of the static security study regarding the calculation of the maximum power transfer capability of the link and the selection of the reactive power compensation scheme of the cable. Results from dynamic security analysis studies are also presented. The small-signal stability analysis concludes that a new (intra-area) electromechanical oscillation is introduced to the National System after the interconnection. The damping of the electromechanical oscillations is sufficient; however the operation of power system stabilizers at power plants located both at the mainland and at Crete power system can increase significantly the damping of important oscillation modes. Finally with respect to the risk of loss of synchronism after a significant disturbance in the system of Crete, such as a three-phase fault (“transient stability”)- enough safety margin is estimated by means of Critical Clearing Time calculations

Evolving towards a critical point: A possible electromagnetic way in which the critical regime is reached as the rupture approaches

International audienceIn analogy to the study of critical phase transitions in statistical physics, it has been argued recently that the fracture of heterogeneous materials could be viewed as a critical phenomenon, either at laboratory or at geophysical scales. If the picture of the development of the fracture is correct one may guess that the precursors may reveal the critical approach of the main-shock. When a heterogeneous material is stretched, its evolution towards breaking is characterized by the appearance of microcracks before the final break-up. Microcracks produce both acoustic and electromagnetic(EM) emission in the frequency range from VLF to VHF. The microcracks and the associated acoustic and EM activities constitute the so-called precursors of general fracture. These precursors are detectable not only at laboratory but also at geophysical scales. VLF and VHF acoustic and EM emissions have been reported resulting from volcanic and seismic activities in various geologically distinct regions of the world. In the present work we attempt to establish the hypothesis that the evolution of the Earth's crust towards the critical point takes place not only in a mechanical but also in an electromagnetic sense. In other words, we focus on the possible electromagnetic criticality, which is reached while the catastrophic rupture in the Earth's crust approaches. Our main tool is the monitoring of micro-fractures that occur before the final breakup, by recording their radio-electromagnetic emissions. We show that the spectral power law analysis of the electromagnetic precursors reveals distinguishing signatures of underlying critical dynamics, such as: (i) the emergence of memory effects; (ii) the decrease with time of the anti-persistence behaviour; (iii) the presence of persistence properties in the tail of the sequence of the precursors; and (iv) the acceleration of the precursory electro-magnetic energy release. Moreover, the statistical analysis of the amplitudes of the electromagnetic fluctuations reveals the breaking of the symmetry as the theory predicts. Finally, we try to answer the question: how universal the observed electromagnetic critical behaviour of the failing system is

Collision sellar lesions: experience with eight cases and review of the literature

The concomitant presence of a pituitary adenoma with a second sellar lesion in patients operated upon for pituitary adenoma is an uncommon entity. Although rare, quite a great variety of lesions have been indentified coexisting with pituitary adenomas. In fact, most combinations have been described before, but an overview with information on the frequency of combined pathologies in a large series has not been published. We present a series of eight collision sellar lesions indentified among 548 transsphenoidally resected pituitary adenomas in two Neurosurgical Departments. The histological studies confirmed a case of sarcoidosis within a non-functioning pituitary adenoma, a case of intrasellar schwannoma coexisting with growth hormone (GH) secreting adenoma, two Rathke’s cleft cysts combined with pituitary adenomas, three gangliocytomas associated with GH-secreting adenomas, and a case of a double pituitary adenoma. The pertinent literature is discussed with emphasis on pathogenetic theories of dual sellar lesions. Although there is no direct evidence to confirm the pathogenetic relationship of collision sellar lesions, the number of cases presented in literature makes the theory of an incidental occurrence rather doubtful. Suggested hypotheses about a common embryonic origin or a potential interaction between pituitary adenomas and the immune system are presented

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

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