Title: Robust and Resilient Coordination of Feeders with Uncertain Distributed Energy Resources: From Real-Time Control to Long-Term Planning
Funding Opportunity: ENERGISE
SunShot Subprogram: Systems Integration
Location: Burlington, VT
Amount Awarded: $1,424,285
Awardee Cost Share: $506,220
This project develops a predictive optimization and coordination framework to manage flexible grid resources and legacy control devices available in a low-voltage distribution system to ease the fluctuations and variability of solar generation. Resources will be organized locally, regionally, and system-wide.
Approach
A three-layered approach will be designed, where a system-wide energy market mechanism called the grid market layer (GML) coordinates more than one million flexible resources. The GML determines the optimal market interaction by the distribution system operator depending on net-load forecasts. A feeder’s expected market contribution serves as the reference signal for aggregated resources in the operational layer. Each element in the layer computes set points for all of its local dispatchable distributed energy resource hubs and represents local control of resources.
Innovation
This three-level, scalable framework will organize millions of resources relying strictly on market signals. The proposed technology will reinvent the traditional utility from a volt/VAR-focused loss-minimizer into a full-service empowered energy coordinator.