System for supporting opinions on connections for a wind farm

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Ministry of Finance

Summary

The article discusses an information system for supporting processes connected to receiving a connection opinion for a wind farm and analysing the influence of a given farm on the power grid. These opinions, except for a multi-aspectual analysis of the influence of a wind farm on the grid, also require the logging of vari-ous data from different sources. The system improves the process of accepting orders and the control over receiving opinions, increasing the efficiency of their ex-ecution.

Keywords: Wind farm, connection opinion, wind energy, wind project, management project 1. Introduction

In the light of depleting natural resources, rising fossil fuel prices and increasing ecological awareness, alternative energy sources, including wind power, are becoming increasingly popular.

In comparison to other European countries – particularly the ones whose use of renewable en-ergy sources is advanced, such as Germany, Spain or Denmark – Poland is only beginning its adventure with wind power. This energy source was practically not used at all in Poland before the year 2000.

Large areas of the country characterised by favourable wind speed (from 5,5 to 7,0 m/s at the height of metres) make Poland one of the most attractive wind farm locations in Europe.

Poland has also witnessed a substantial rise of interest from domestic and foreign companies in the development of wind power-related projects.

According to the estimates of the Polish Wind Energy Association (PSEW) there are currently over 100 entities on the Polish market that are preparing wind energy projects or acquiring invest-ment areas, including subcontractors who develop wind farms and experts who draft environmental and energy studies as well as designers and service companies.

Obtaining connection terms and conditions is one of the most important stages of each in-vestment’s preparation, because they ensure that within a specified time it will be possible to connect a wind farm to the grid, and they also indirectly define the maximum power of facilities to be installed within the wind farm. Failure to obtain connection terms and conditions makes it impossible to obtain planning permission and makes it difficult to raise funds for the project.

In order to get connected to the grid, one must first of all apply to the distribution/transmission system operator operating in the area where the wind farm will be constructed for defining the extent of the opinion on the impact of the wind farm connection on the National Power System (“the Opinion”). The Opinion is prepared upon the investor's request and at his cost by a scientific and research institution of the investor’s choice. The extent and terms of the Opinion are

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deter-mined by the distribution/transmission system operator in consultation with PSE – Operator S.A. (transmission system operator) and remain valid from one year after they are agreed upon.

After the Opinion is prepared by a scientific and research institution, the investor should apply for connection terms and conditions to the distribution/transmission system operator operating in the area where the wind farm will be constructed.

2. Aim of initiating a system to support opinions on connections for a wind farm

Interest in the development of wind energy in Poland is great. According to the government, at the beginning of 2010 the total power of wind farms possessing the given conditions for annexa-tion has exceeded 12 000 MW; meanwhile, in the case of folded connecannexa-tion conclusions this value is several times higher.

Properly, so far, within existing law, a subject applying for extradition of conditions of the an-nexation of a wind farm to the grid is obliged to deliver an opinion on the connection analysing the evaluation of the influence of a given farm on the system grid, executed by an independent inves-tigative centre. The Institute of Energetic Brand Gdask is one of these opinion centres. Due to the afore-mentioned large interest in wind energy among investors, the number of delivered opinions is significant.

As a result of the necessity of parallel leadership, many projects connected with the realization of individual opinions, except for multi-aspectual analyses of the influence of wind farms on the grid, also require the logging of different sources from various data (the investor, Operator of the Connected Grid, distributional companies). A computer tool was created in Branch Gdask supporting processes connected with executing opinions. The tool is used internally in the cell of the Institute dealing with related opinions.

3. Basic information about system

The system of service of orders connected with connection opinions was created with the uti-lization of open and widely-applied technologies: the use of a database as well as promissory notes on a WWW server assuring access to its content. The basis of the system is a database holding all related indispensable information on individual projects. The system is installed on the internal server of the Institute. Access for users is possible via an internet connection, therefore it does not require installation of additional software on the user's computer.

Access to the system is possible only for a defined group of computers and it requires the user to log in each time. The tool possesses an implemented system of authorizations for individual users, assuring a suitable level of access to his individual functions. In spite of that, the system is accessible exclusively via the internal net of the Institute, and an additional guarantee of safety is the coding of every transport between the user's computer and server on which the tool is in-stalled.

The developed system permitted the improvement of the process of accepting orders and in turn larger control over the execution of opinions, which resulted in higher efficiency of their execution.

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4. A preview of project lists

The basic functionality of system is the preview of the content of the database. The tool offers several ways of previewing projects. The first of them is the projection of lists of all projects.

In this view, all the recorded projects in database the connected to connection opinions are presented. Opinions are divided into four groups, displayed in turn from top to bottom:

“Opinions on track” – projects at present running that is which already have an un-dersigned contract and for which all data indispensible to their realization have received. The presented data include the name of the wind farm, its indicative power, price for issuing the opinion, the investor's shortened name, name of the proper oper-ator of the grid, and display the deadline of realization resulting from the undersigned contract and date of validity of the range of the opinion, which is independent and superior in relation to conventional records.

“Opinions in preparation” – projects for which there is no undersigned contract yet and /or have not yet received all indispensable data. These projects are sorted accord-ing to the state of their progress, displayed in short descriptions, for example "expectation of models” (data received from the Operator, indispensable to issuing the opinion), the "sent offer” and similar ones. If the range of opinion realization has already been received, its validity date is also displayed. Projects for which realiza-tion has not yet occurred are also in this group.

“Sent Evaluations” – projects partly finished, that is such projects for which an opin-ion has been sent, however full payment was not received yet and/or realizatopin-ion of a supplement is necessary, for example with regard to altered conditions in the system grid.

“Finished Opinions” – projects entirely finished.

For every group of projects visible, there is also the total value of the indicative power of all wind farms, and for all groups besides „opinions in preparation” the sum of prices for all opinions.

Moreover, for the “sent opinions” as well as “finished opinions” groups, analogous partial sums for individual years are presented.

A subsite of the system presenting a list of all projects is personalized for individual users in the system. Depending on the person logged in, some data relating to individual projects can be hidden, and different data displayed, in accordance with the needs of the user. An example can be the display of additional information in the form of the contract number stored for realization of a given opinion when the person responsible for the formal side of orders is logged into the system.

All the displayed names of projects (the wind farms), the investors and the operators’ grids are simultaneously linked, and clicking them results in displaying detailed information on a given subject.

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Figure 1. Example of lists for all projects

Source: The technical documentation of system to support opinions connection of the wind farm, Institute of Energetic Branch Gdask, Gdask 2009.

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5. The preview and the actualization of project data

On the Subsite with detailed information about projects, the most important data is displayed relating to:

wind farm (the indicative power, planned place of connection, type of wind farm and similar data),

investor (name, contact persons – clicking surname causes the displaying of contact data, for example telephone number, e-mail address),

formal side of the project (the price for realization of the opinion, the time of realiza-tion, deadline – calculated automatically by system on the basis of dates of the contract and the receipt of data, workers, the leader of the project – authorized users can assign a leader),

history of preparation of the project (date of dispatch of the offer, writings with re-quests for delivery of indispensable data, date of receipt of data, signature on the contract and similar items),

history of correspondence relating to the project (written signs and their dates – clicking on the written signs causes the displaying of more information on the subject of the writing).

Figure 2. Example of appearance of site with related project information

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ac-tions relating to typical funcac-tions, for example dispatching the contract, receiving data, dispatching an executed opinion and similar actions. The list of accessible functions is dependent on the current state of the project, for example ”receipt of payment on account" is accessible only after bilateral signature of the contract.

Clicking on the name of an action connected to sending or receiving correspondence causes the displaying of a side form which should be filled in with related data in writing, such as the written sign, date of dispatch or receipt, description of content. The number and the type of form fields is dependent on the kind of writing, for example the proposed price and deadline of realiza-tion in case of a sent offer, date of validity in case of receipt of the range of the opinion’s realization and similar items. On the basis of the introduced information the appropriate records of the database are updated, which is immediately reflected in for example project letters. As an example, one can imagine a situation in which at the beginning of a project the undersigned contract has not been bilaterally concluded – after the receipt of the undersigned contract and the introduction of suitable data the project will be visible in the “opinions in track” group, with the deadline for realization calculated on the basis of the date of contract receipt.

Figure 3. Introducing information on the subject of a letter

For some types of letters (for example, an offer) automatic generation of a suitable letter is al-so possible on the basis of data introduced into the form (the number of the letter, price, deadline etc.) as well as contact data to the investor already present in the database.

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6. Graphic representation of every project

Apart from a preview of the list of projects, the system also makes it possible to display in graphic form projects at present running and with potential for realization in the nearest time.

The graphic representation of every project consists of a symbolic axis of a time length of about 30 weeks, beginning at the current moment and divided into one-week periods for follow-ing months. The projects are grouped accordfollow-ing to the leaders of the workers, the additional ones are groups of projects to which a performer has not been assigned yet (“lack of allotment”).

Figure 4. Example of appearance of site with graph of executed works

The time of duration of a project is displayed in dark red rectangles representing individual weeks to the deadline for realization (resulting from a conventional deadline or date of validity of the range). If the conventional deadline falls before the end of the validity of the range, bright pink rectangles are displayed informing that in the case of, for example, a change on the investor's side, a possible extension of the deadline of realization without risk of breach resulting from the validity of the range opinion.

The graph of works permits a quick estimation of the degree of accessibility of individual workers, which is a particularly useful functionality for management.

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7. The state of project works

For projects in the realization phase a visualization of the state of their realization is accessi-ble. In the process of realization every evaluation is distinguished by key elements, relating both to details related to data on the planned wind farm and/or the power grid, as well as the realization of individual component parts of an opinion (the preparation of computational models, realization of the included calculations, dynamics, preparations of dissolution maps and similar items).

Figure 5. Sample of site with schedule of the stage of projects

The additional information in the schedule are deadlines for the end of projects – analogous to the deadlines displayed on lists for all projects.

A user with authorization to actualize the base can alter the state of advanced individual work stages by clicking the appropriate symbol. A change of state at the advanced stage of a project attributed to it can also be executed by the leader of a given project.

The state of all stages is represented in one of four graphic symbols with the following mean-ings:

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Symbol Meaning n/a

execution not yet begun

execution in track / expectation of answer finished stage

The state advanced of individual order can be displayed across clicking link the “Card of real-ization” on subside with detailed information about project.

The principles of actualization of data are the same how in case of schedule with all projects.

Figure 6. Sample card of realization of order

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8. Remaining functions of system

Along with the main possibilities described above, the system of order service also offers nu-merous other functions, such as:

addition to database of new projects, new investors, new contact persons;

the display of the lists of wind farms connected with data from the investor, operator of grid or type of wind farm;

searching the content of the database – the indicated phrase is found in the names of wind farms, places of connection, investors' names, surnames of contact persons and similar items – this function makes it possible to quickly receive detailed data on the basis of only residual information;

management of system users – only for system administrator. Access to individual functions is dependent on users’ authorizations. 9. The chosen aspects of management of the system

The organization and effective utilization of those appointed to manage the system should be considered from the point of view of both the specialist skills they bring to the system, and also their personality.

For management to be effective and react to changes in settings, and for individuals to under-stand exactly what awaits them, one should define in terms of team structure the ranges of system management responsibility.

In the system for support of connection opinions for wind farms developed at the Institute of Energetic Branch Gdask, the ranges of responsibility for the system are defined in categories of roles, and not by individuals’ positions. Organizational conditions determine the assignment of roles to people.

The clearly-defined ranges of responsibility and the persistent commitment to achieving aims are the most important factors for success.

10. Conclusions

The process of information system management follows the business process. Similarly, as all business processes, it should be constantly improved.

The following was gained from the computer project initiated 1:

increase in the efficiency of work and the lowering of organizational costs, proper execution of the schedule and budget,

ease of adaptation of to changing organization of the project,

well-supplied documentary evidence for the project in all phases of its construction and exploitation.

To realistically initiate the plan, and also make best use of the accessible supplies, we should optimize it from the perspective of the proper combination of quality, costs and time, depending on what the customer and (or) the sponsor decides as to which of these elements has the highest

1

G. Wójcik: Zarządzania jakoĞcią w urzĊdach skarbowych, Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA, Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7151-845-4, s. 102.

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priority. This means that modifications can be made to the result, deadline, the budget and sup-plies, with tools and techniques which allow development of a realistic and optimum plan, to reach stated aims. Plans should be elastic, so to as permit fully-documented evidentiary changes 2.

Every new system of information technology (IT) brings with it many changes. They can be changes in business processes and procedures, new roles and responsibilities, change in organiza-tional structures, new equipment, co-ordination or new skills to acquire. This all affects people, and it is people in every organization that make the key to success in the use IT. Without paying attention to this, meaning that the new system should be designed and implemented well, “human failings” ensure that the undertaking will be sentenced to failure.

The management of change concerns problems connected with people as well as people get-ting involved in the undertaking at every stage with the aim to assure realization of full advantages for a firm. Information systems are only tools enabling people to make better decisions, and so dealing with this duty in the face of people who will use a given system is enormously important for the success of an undertaking.

Management of changes means taking an active role in defining and planning changes, which must happen in a firm after the introduction of a new system. Many problems coming into being after implementation result from inappropriate preparation of workers at the organization to changes – for example, a lack of training or communication or lack of support and agreement on the changes from the side of key users of the system. These problems can be avoided by develop-ing a programme of changes at the beginndevelop-ing of the undertakdevelop-ing and realizdevelop-ing this programme during the duration (life) of the undertaking and for a period after its end.

A programme of changes should consider the following key issues:

Plan the programme of changes in the same manner as the study and the realization of the system - these processes are not separate but integrated.

Ensure that the programme of changes contains communication and training, and that the influence of changes on users of the system is taken into account also: a schedule for initiating new system methods should be planned, to make the transition period for users of the system as gentle as possible.

Divide the introduction of changes into stages, to not surprise people by making many changes simultaneously, as well as permitting them time to adapt, make sure they are accustomed to new duties, processes and conditions and feel confident. Include the users in the planning and initiation of the programme of changes, because

they know the problems of their organization: this means that the workers control the change and they have influence on it, and are not only observers of something which is forced on them.

Economic changes are occurring all around us, and their pace is growing unceasingly. The time of entry onto market of new products is shorter from year to year, privatization has brought radical change to organizations and growing globalization in many sectors has brought the relating challenge of management across borders of nations and cultures. Organizational changes are at present general, and in the face of this we can assume that certain relative universal principles of planning of new undertakings will affect IT in the changing business environment.

2

G. Wójcik G: MaXXIme methodology recommended by the EU DG XXI (now DG TAXUD), Polish Journal of Environ-mental Studies, Vo. 15, No. 4C, 2006, ĝwinoujĞcie 2006, p. 212.

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The business context will be the largest influence on sticking to the life cycle of the strategies applied, as well as the manner of establishing the priorities of teamwork.

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[1] Wójcik G., MaXXIme methodology recommended by the EU DG XXI (now DG TAXUD), Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, Vo. 15, No. 4C, 2006, winoujcie 2006. p. 211–214.

[2] Wójcik G., Zarządzania jakoĞcią w urzĊdach skarbowych, Dom Wydawniczy ELIPSA, Warszawa 2009 ISBN 978-83-7151-845-4, s. 1–205.

[3] The technical documentation of system to support opinions connection of the wind farm, Institute of Energetic Branch Gdask, Gdask 2009.

SYSTEM WSPOMAGAJĄCY EKSPERTYZY PRZYŁĄCZENIOWE FARM WIATROWYCH

Streszczenie

W artykule omówiono system informatyczny wspomagający procesy związane z wykonywaniem zleconych ekspertyz przyłączeniowych dla farm wiatrowych anali-zujących wpływ danej farmy na system elektroenergetyczny. Ekspertyzy te, oprócz wieloaspektowej analizy wpływu farmy wiatrowej na sieü, wymagają równieĪ pozy-skiwania rozmaitych danych z róĪnych Ĩródeł. System usprawnia proces przyjmowania zleceĔ i kontrolĊ nad wykonywaniem ekspertyz, podwyĪszając efek-tywnoĞü ich wykonywania.

Słowa kluczowe: farma wiatrowa, ekspertyza przyłczeniowa, energetyka wiatrowa, projekt wiatrowy, zarzdzania projektem.

Grayna Paulina Wójcik

Zakład Organizacji i Zarzdzania Produkcj Katedra Organizacji i Inynierii Produkcji Wydział Inynierii Produkcji

Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego w Warszawie ul. Nowoursynowska 164, 02-787 Warszawa