Swiss multinational technology company Hitachi Energy launched a new digital substations solution geared toward helping transmission utilities roll out digital substation technology.
According to a release from Hitachi, the modular SAM600 3.0 consolidates three units into one process interface unit (PIU), enabling it to be configured as a merging unit, a switchgear control unit, or a combination of both, supporting different installation approaches.
With one device to engineer, wire up, test and commission, users can speed up their improvements on traditional substations.
The device is capable of converting analog signals and digitally distributing current and voltage information throughout the substation and to the control center.
According to Hitachi, digital substations offer utilities and power grid operators improved safety, lower capital costs and smaller footprints.
As a switchgear control unit, the SAM600 3.0 directly interfaces circuit breakers, disconnectors and earthing switches in the field. This helps to cuts the need to wire the control building by providing an IEC 61850 digital interface to operate and monitor such equipment.
New features of the SAM600 3.0 include:
- Redundant communication architectures and industry standards including IEC 61850 Ed 2.1 and IEC 61869
- Two compact form factors for installation in indoor and outdoor panels
- Modular hardware architecture to adapt to different application needs
- Direct breaker tripping with trip coil supervision and a high-accuracy analog input system
- Supports IEC 61869 by default and legacy sampled value publishing profiles simultaneously
- Integrated disturbance recorder with 4.8 kHz recording frequency
- High level of security, including secure boot, user management, and role-based access control
- Browser-based user interface (WebUI) and device diagnostics
- Consistent configuration, operation, maintenance, and a shorter learning curve and time to deploy with the well-established PCM600 tool.
