With the successful start-up test of the "Edge Control Service Center", the first virtual substation in Hebei Province, China, was officially put into operation in Yingli Township, Pingshan County, realizing full-featured operation and opening a new mode of grid development at the end of the mountainous power supply. Yingli Township is located in the northwest of Pingshan County, at the end of the distribution network, with a long power supply radius and relatively poor power supply reliability. 2017, after the local poverty alleviation photovoltaic power station access to the grid, the phenomenon of backward transmission of photovoltaic power and caused overvoltage problems, which has a certain impact on grid security and PV consumption.

 In order to solve the problem of PV power consumption and improve the quality of power supply at the end of the grid, China State Grid Shijiazhuang Power Supply Company innovated the concept and construction idea of "virtual substation":  the technical means of "switch station + energy storage + edge control service center", five pro-poor photovoltaic power stations in Yingli Township are connected to the virtual substation energy management system. Moreover, through the full use of distributed power supply, energy storage and communication technologies, it is virtualized into a substation to provide double guarantee for power supply at the end of the distribution network and realize the coordination and optimization of network, source, load and storage.

The project started construction on December 3, 2019, with 1.94 km of new lines, 1 new 1.6 MVA distribution transformer, 3 energy storage cabinets, 3 500kw energy storage converters and other infrastructure.Megarevo’s PCS is the core of the energy storage power plant, using 3 500kw PCS in parallel, with software algorithm control to realize the virtual power plant remote black start. It realizes regional emergency power supply and guarantees the operation of microgrid in Yingli Township for more than 2 hours, which significantly improves the feeling of electricity for people in mountainous areas.

In addition, the intelligent control system of the virtual substation can effectively suppress new energy power fluctuations and realize regional power grid frequency regulation and peak shaving. When the light is sufficient, the excess PV power is stored in the energy storage device to balance the grid tide, and when the light is weak, the energy storage device releases the power, effectively solving the problem of grid-connected PV distributed power.