At LF Energy Summit 2024, Tamás Russ of SprintEins presented a session on OpenSCD, a tool designed to enable fully digital substations through seamless design, commissioning, maintenance, and replacement workflows. Russ highlighted the tool’s compatibility with IEC 61850 standards and its broad utility for companies and individuals involved in substation design. A summary of the session follows, and a full video is at the end of this post.
OpenSCD Overview
OpenSCD aims to streamline the entire substation lifecycle by offering a graphical interface, reducing manual XML editing, and enhancing validation through error checking. This is particularly useful for electrical engineers and technicians, improving efficiency and reducing errors. Russ discussed three key perspectives on OpenSCD: the engineering, company, and developer views.
The Engineering Perspective
From the engineering standpoint, the tool’s graphical interface simplifies design, while its validation features ensure that substation designs adhere to both technical and company-specific standards. The interoperability of OpenSCD also allows for seamless collaboration with other tools that support IEC 61850, which further promotes industry standardization.
The Company Perspective
From a company perspective, the cost-saving benefits of open source software were emphasized, particularly in reducing infrastructure setup times and lowering overall project costs. OpenSCD’s open source nature also enhances reliability and safety, allowing organizations to maintain compatibility and continuity even if vendors or partners change.
The Developer Perspective
The developer perspective focused on the flexibility OpenSCD offers through its plugin architecture. This modular approach enables developers to create custom functionalities without altering the core system, allowing for high levels of customization and independence. Developers can quickly create, test, and deploy plugins, which significantly reduces development risks and time to market.
The Importance of Collaboration
Russ underscored the importance of collaboration within the OpenSCD community, which includes vendors like Omicron, utilities such as TransnetBW and TenneT, and contributors from SprintEins. This collaborative approach has led to continuous innovation and improvements in OpenSCD, and it encourages new users and developers to contribute to the tool’s future development.
In conclusion, OpenSCD’s open source, plugin-driven architecture, coupled with its community-driven development, makes it a powerful tool for the future of digital substations. Russ’s presentation encouraged attendees to explore and contribute to this evolving platform, ensuring that OpenSCD remains a central tool for the global energy transition.
