Geomagnetically induced currents in a power grid of northeastern Spain

Using the geomagnetic records of Ebro geomagnetic observatory and taking the plane wave assumption for the external current source and a homogeneous Earth conductivity, a prediction of the effects of the geomagnetic activity on the Catalonian (northeastern Spain) power transmission system has been developed. Although the area is located at midlatitudes, determination of the geoelectric field on the occasion of the largest geomagnetic storms during the last solar cycles indicates amplitudes that are higher than those recorded in southern Africa, where some transformer failures on large transmission systems have been reported. A DC network model of the grid has been constructed, and the geomagnetically induced current (GIC) flows in the power network have been calculated for such extreme events using the electric field at Ebro as a regional proxy. In addition, GICs have been measured at one transformer neutral earthing of the power grid, so that there the accuracy of the model has been assessed. Although the agreement is quite satisfactory, results indicate that better knowledge of the ground conductivity structure is needed. This represents the first attempt to study and measure GICs in southern European power grids, a region considered to have low GIC-risk up to the present.

[1]  Kentarou Kitamura,et al.  Measurements of geomagnetically induced current in a power grid in Hokkaido, Japan , 2009 .

[2]  C. R. Clauer,et al.  Dst of the Carrington storm of 1859 , 2006 .

[3]  C. Beggan,et al.  Generation of 100‐year geomagnetically induced current scenarios , 2012 .

[4]  V. Vasyliūnas.  The largest imaginable magnetic storm , 2001 .

[5]  John G. Kappenman,et al.  Storm sudden commencement events and the associated geomagnetically induced current risks to ground‐based systems at low‐latitude and midlatitude locations , 2003 .

[6]  Vladimir O. Papitashvili,et al.  A revised corrected geomagnetic coordinate system for Epochs 1985 and 1990. , 1992 .

[7]  John G. Kappenman,et al.  Great geomagnetic storms and extreme impulsive geomagnetic field disturbance events – An analysis of observational evidence including the great storm of May 1921 , 2006 .

[8]  Bruce T. Tsurutani,et al.  The extreme magnetic storm of 1–2 September 1859 , 2003 .

[9]  John G. Kappenman,et al.  An overview of the impulsive geomagnetic field disturbances and power grid impacts associated with the violent Sun‐Earth connection events of 29–31 October 2003 and a comparative evaluation with other contemporary storms , 2005 .

[10]  A. Viljanen,et al.  Geomagnetically induced currents in the Finnish high-voltage power system , 1994 .

[11]  L. McKinnell,et al.  Geomagnetic activity indicators for geomagnetically induced current studies in South Africa , 2011 .

[12]  O. Amm.  Ionospheric Elementary Current Systems in Spherical Coordinates and Their Application , 1997 .

[13]  Antti Pulkkinen,et al.  Determination of ground conductivity and system parameters for optimal modeling of geomagnetically induced current flow in technological systems , 2007 .

[14]  K. Mursula,et al.  A new reconstruction of the Dst index for 1932-2002 , 2005 .

[15]  H. W. Kroehl,et al.  What is a geomagnetic storm , 1994 .

[16]  E. Cliver,et al.  The 1859 Solar–Terrestrial Disturbance And the Current Limits of Extreme Space Weather Activity , 2004 .

[17]  C.T. Gaunt,et al.  Transformer failures in regions incorrectly considered to have low GIC-risk , 2007, 2007 IEEE Lausanne Power Tech.

[18]  S. A. Nechaev,et al.  Geomagnetically induced currents in power lines according to data on geomagnetic variations , 2006 .

[19]  J. Ledo,et al.  Electrical resistivity model of the crust and upper mantle from a magnetotelluric survey through the central Pyrenees , 1995 .

[20]  R. Pirjola,et al.  Currents produced in earthed conductor networks by geomagnetically-induced electric fields , 1985 .

[21]  P. Riley.  On the probability of occurrence of extreme space weather events , 2012 .

[22]  Murray Sciffer,et al.  A preliminary risk assessment of the Australian region power network to space weather , 2011 .

[23]  Risto Pirjola,et al.  Calculation of geomagnetically induced currents in mid‐ to low‐latitude power grids based on the plane wave method: A preliminary case study , 2009 .

[24]  A. Chulliat,et al.  International Geomagnetic Reference Field: the eleventh generation , 2010 .

[25]  Risto Pirjola,et al.  Review On The Calculation Of Surface Electric And Magnetic Fields And Of Geomagnetically Induced Currents In Ground-Based Technological Systems , 2002 .

[26]  P. Hejda,et al.  Geomagnetically induced pipe-to-soil voltages in the Czech oil pipelines during October-November 2003 , 2005 .

[27]  Risto Pirjola,et al.  Statistics on geomagnetically-induced currents in the Finnish 400kV power system based on recordings of geomagnetic variations. , 1989 .

[28]  Antti Pulkkinen,et al.  Estimation of geomagnetically induced current levels from different input data , 2006 .

[29]  Alan W. P. Thomson,et al.  Quantifying extreme behavior in geomagnetic activity , 2011 .

[30]  R. Pirjola,et al.  Geomagnetically induced currents in an electric power transmission system at low latitudes in Brazil: A case study , 2007 .

[31]  Magnus Wik,et al.  Calculation of geomagnetically induced currents in the 400 kV power grid in southern Sweden , 2008 .