Smarter Grid Solutions says it is deploying a fully operational active network management (ANM) system in North America as part of its ongoing work under the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) “Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology Experimentation” (INTEGRATE) project.
According to Smarter Grid Solutions, the three-phase project demonstrates how to increase electric grid hosting capacity for distributed energy resources (DER).
INTEGRATE is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s grid modernization initiative, supported by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, to promote the integration of clean energy technologies into the electrical grid.
The first phase, recently completed at NREL in Colorado, proved how ANM, deployed in a domestic setting, is capable of managing smart residential DER through ANM’s real-time distributed control approach.
Phase two demonstrates ANM’s ability to increase clean energy grid hosting capacity on a campus by managing the grid in real time for reverse power flow and voltage constraints. It will also demonstrate advanced, utility-enabled, non-wires alternatives under import constraints, says Smarter Grid Solutions.
This deployment will be demonstrated on March 31 at NREL. Smarter Grid Solutions will be joined on-site by project advisory members from several major U.S. utilities, DER developers, a number of smart grid consultants and advisors, and NREL’s INTEGRATE members.
“We are excited to use NREL’s [Energy Systems Integration Facility] and grid simulator with power hardware in the loop to emulate a distribution circuit,” comments Dr. Bob Currie, co-founder and chief technology officer of Smarter Grid Solutions.
“Phase two of the demonstration project proves the vast scalability of ANM in connecting and managing DER on the grid in real time. We are looking forward to the advisory members’ assessment of the outcomes and to showcasing how real-time active network management is an effective way to massively increase the amount of intermittent DER that can be connected without the need for extensive and expensive new infrastructure,” Currie says.
