RENEWABLE ENERGY
by our subsidiary , ASG Engineering .” Werlitz proudly adds , “ I manufactured the control cabinets for Menteroda 2 myself . With this approach , we are always kept fully up-to-date about the condition of the plant and can act largely independently , without outside help .”
During the planning phase , Christoph Werlitz attended a technical training course conducted by Phoenix Contact . “ The then-brand-new PGS controllers were introduced there . These generation system controllers are indispensable in the field of renewable energies . They make it possible to regulate the strongly fluctuating feeds into the power grid in such a way that there are no interfering peaks , for example when the sun is shining as intensely as it is today .”
Engineer Dittmann points towards a bright blue sky . “ The challenge of making the power grids of the future as bidirectional as possible is the curse and blessing of renewables . While in classical power generation with coal , gas , or nuclear energy finely tuned and long-plannable feed-ins into the power grids take place continuously , the activity of sun or wind is not linear and cannot be planned . So we need smart grids that are able to cope with strongly fluctuating feed-ins .”
Standardized and certified The three experts leave the elevated solar panels behind them and drive to the grid connection point . Burkhard Dittmann has technicians from Werlitz show him the PGS controllers used and explains , “ The special thing about our controllers is their ability to be adapted to very different parameters . The heart of the controller , which is certified in accordance with
the VDE AR N 4110 / 4120 standard , is our PLCnext industrial controller . Its ability to process different software protocols was particularly important here . ASG Solar defined guidelines on how the solar power plant should operate . And Christoph Werlitz was then able to download the appropriate PGS controller software from PLCnext ’ s own app store and adjust the parameters . The functionality for the controller was loaded into PLCnext and thus a solution was found that is precisely tailored to the situation here on site .”
Christoph Werlitz adds , “ It was particularly important to us that the controller could be adapted . With this capability , we do not lose any of the functionalities of the classic control technology but , on the contrary , we can use these controllers in other areas , such as wind turbine generators or combined heat and power plants . This means that a single technology can handle a wide range of energy mixes . This will increasingly be the challenge of the future – the electricity grids will be increasingly burdened by changing feeders and storage technologies . With the PGS controller from Phoenix Contact , we are ready for the future .”
The Menteroda 2 plant is one of the first plants to use the new PGS controller , because the technological work of art was only granted the necessary certification shortly before installation and commissioning . And so the small town at the foot of the Harz Mountains may soon gain a name in the field of regenerative energy production that sounds just as good as it did in the days of potash mining . ( lo ) •
Constant control of the location via remote diagnostics
Christoph Werlitz relies on PLCnext Technology in “ his ” control cabinets
The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine UPDATE 6 / 20 25