Geomagnetic Disturbances Impacts on Power Systems

Book excerpt: Geomagnetic Disturbances Impacts on Power Systems: Risk Analysis & Mitigation Strategies provides a full risk assessment tool for assessing power systems confronted geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) and specifies mitigation opportunities for various stakeholders. “This book deals comprehensively with the threat of solar storms on the world’s power systems. It provides a context to GMDs with respect to other natural hazards, and describes methods to evaluate a particular grid’s risk factors in a straightforward fashion. This is extremely useful to power grid operators, as they are not experts in the field of space weather, but they must be able to deal with its impacts. This is the critical message of this extremely valuable book.” – William A. Radasky, Ph.D., P.E., IEEE Life Fellow, Metatech Corporation, California USAAimed at risk engineers, policy-makers, technical experts and non-specialists such as power system operators, this book seeks to provide an insight into the GMD as a natural hazard and to perform the risk assessment of its potential impacts on the power systems as critical infrastructures. The reader gets familiar with how the Sun can endanger ground-based technological systems and the physics of solar activity manifestation on the Earth as Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs). The reaction of power systems to GMDs and mitigation strategies aiming at reducing and controlling the risks are then addressed. The GMD mitigation strategies, the power systems critical factors analysis, the high-risk zones identification and an estimation of economic loss, which is a valuable input for the (re)insurance sector, are also brought to the attention of the reader. Thereby, this book provides a full risk assessment tool for assessing power systems confronted with space weather risks. Key features: • Brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on the topic in one, cohesive book • Practical guideline on mitigation actions for diverse users and even non-specialists • Dealing comprehensively with the threat of geomagnetic disturbance on the worlds power systems • Introducing unique methods to evaluate a particular system risk factors in a straightforward fashion Authors Olga Sokolova, Ph.D., is a risk analyst and electrical engineer with expertise in the domain of critical infrastructure risk assessment to natural catastrophes. Nikolay Korovkin, Ph.D., is a full professor and head of Theoretic Electrical Engineering Department at Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU). Masashi Hayakawa, Ph.D., is an emeritus professor of the University of Electro-Communications, and also CEO of Hayakawa Institute of Seismo Electromagnetics, Co.Ltd.