Large Investor Owned Utility Manages Renewable Energy on the Grid
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Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS)
- Distribution Management System (DMS)
- Smart Inverters
Tech Stack
- Sensors
- Smart Meters
- Energy Boxes
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Environmental Impact Reduction
- Innovation Output
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
Applicable Industries
- Utilities
Applicable Functions
- Facility Management
- Maintenance
Use Cases
- Energy Management System
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
The customer is a large investor-owned utility company based in the United States. The company operates in three southern states and has been experiencing a significant increase in the penetration of distributed generation. The company's grid has been dealing with the volatile nature of renewable energy, particularly during low load periods when feeders with high photovoltaic (PV) penetration could exhibit reverse power flows. This has the potential to cause problems with protection systems. Additionally, intermittent solar production could result in voltage swings, leading to increased cycling of regulation equipment at feeders and distribution substations.
The Challenge
A large American utility owner was experiencing a substantial increase in the penetration of distributed generation within three of the southern states that it served. The nature of renewable energy is volatile and during low load periods, feeders with high photovoltaic (PV) penetration could exhibit reverse power flows, potentially causing problems with protection systems. Intermittent solar production could also result in voltage swings, increasing the cycling of regulation equipment at feeders and distribution substations.
The Solution
The utility collaborated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and GE on two pilots. The first leveraged sensors, energy boxes and smart meters to integrate DER with the current Distribution Management System (DMS) in order to enhance optimal performance of the emerging distribution system. The second identified and mitigated challenges with distributed solar PV using smart inverters and volt-VAr control. The project included detailed system modeling, combined with Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop verification to compare local vs. centralized management of voltage with utility-scale inverters located in the utility’s service territory.
Operational Impact
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