Space Weather Impact on Power Grids

Solar activity can cause strong geomagnetic storms on Earth, which can affect ground-based critical infra-structures, such as power grids, railways and pipelines. Currents induced by geomagnetic disturbances can have a major impact on high voltage transmission networks, potentially damaging components and possibly leading to power system collapse. The aim of this study is the analysis of solar storm impact on power grids by means of complex network theory. This analysis could help in identifying system vulnerabilities and in understanding where and how to apply mitigation measures in order to increase the resilience of the system to space weather impact. The Finnish transmission network served as a benchmark model for the quantitative assessment of the impact of space weather on power grids. First results indicate that the grid is robust also during strong geomagnetic storms. Work is underway to extend this study to assess the resilience of the EU power grid to space weather.

PICCINELLI Roberta;  KRAUSMANN Elisabeth; 

2015-11-10

Taylor & Francis Group

JRC95527

978-1-138-02879-1,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC95527,