Utility Use Case
As the Beneficial Electrification (BE) of space heating and transportation progresses, the world’s energy transition distribution grids are coping with new challenges. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US needs to accommodate 81% higher electricity system consumption in 2050 compared to 2018[1] and peak loads of 2 times larger than today.[2] The energy transition requires the upgrading of large portions of the US. distribution grid, requiring a minimum of 2 trillion dollars[3] to as much as 10 trillion dollars in the next 20 years.
A New England utility was challenged by constrained capacity on a substation with three circuits and limited ability to integrate new electrification projects. The project proposed would balance the substations’ supply and demand by shifting, shedding, and shaping load on the distribution grid using coordinated microgrids and third-party load assets. Using Dynamic Grid’s advanced Distributed Energy Resource Management System (aDERMS) coordination platform, the proposal uses our new developments in grid architecture, markets, and machine learning to solve this local distribution problem for less than 10% of typical utility upgrades while engaging 6 to 7 million in third-party investments to provide services to the grid.
The process coordinates load at scale, manages distribution grid variability, and increases local resilience and decarbonization. (aDERMS) technology platform uses real-time and locational pricing structures within a local “market,” incentivizing consumers/prosumers with Microgrids, Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs), and individual devices (heat pumps and EV chargers) to engage with the Distribution System Operator (DSO) and provide essential services to help the utility balance supply and demand, and system constraints, among other benefits, in a cost-effective method. Microgrids, GEBs, and individual devices become proactive agents that SHIFT, SHED, and SHAPE load at the proper times to benefit the building owner by lowering demand charges and the grid limiting infrastructure upgrades.
The Coordinated Local Price Reaction (CLPR) method combines locally developed “prices to devices” as a simplified Transactive Energy (TE) market approach to coordinate supply and demand. The project consists of at least 2 MW of grid flexibility (roughly 200 to 300 individual consumer-owned devices) and 4 to 8 third-party owned microgrids, and 2 MW of Solar installations. The proposed design includes 2.5 MWh of energy storage within the microgrids and utility-owned storage, all coordinated by Dynamic Grid’s aDERMS system. The benefits of the project include 1) lower peak demands, 2) higher distribution grid utilization, 3) lower cost, 4) extensible, and 5) adaptable as edge devices evolve.
This project aims to increase their community’s resilience and sustainability through electrification. The challenge is that the distribution grid is already at capacity and cannot accommodate the new loads required to meet the community’s sustainability and decarbonization goals.
The industry must integrate new technology innovations and infrastructure investments to support an orderly energy transition. The impacts of DERs and large numbers of flexible loads from electrification expose the inadequacy of the current operational paradigm and our aging critical infrastructure. As utilities contend with these new challenges, it is clear they are most acute on the distribution grid, including:
- Significant shifts in system peak demand;
- Two-way power flows;
- Excess renewable generation curtailment;
- Increase load ramps (duck curve); and
- Rapid fluctuations in variable resource output.
The famous California “Duck Curve” is an example of these phenomena, but they happen not just on regional scales but, more importantly, on the distribution system. There will not be a “single regional Duck Curve but a host of ‘Ducklings’ on individual circuits.”
While the industry navigates the energy transition, it must balance three urgent objectives for future electricity systems — decarbonization, resilience, and energy justice. However, the industry also needs to keep an unflinching eye on the technical requirements for balancing supply and demand on this new distribution grid and be able to deploy solutions at scale.
Expanding the capacity of the distribution grid enhances the resilience of the entire electric system. It enables decarbonization through the intelligent and cost-effective integration of beneficial electrification (BE) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER). Technologically advanced coordination at the edge (smart grid) increases the distribution systems’ ability to integrate BE and DER and minimize infrastructure investments. The thoughtful, cost-effective implementation is simple, scalable, and avoids future system disruptions.
[1] Zhou, Ella, and Trieu Mai. (2021), Electrification Futures Study: Operational Analysis of U.S. Power Systems with Increased Electrification and Demand-Side Flexibility, Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory -NREL/TP-6A20-79094., https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79094.pdf, p. 3.
[2] Nadel, Steven. (2023), Coming Electrification will Require the Grid to Evolve, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, https://www.aceee.org/blog-post/2023/02/coming-electrification-will-require-grid-evolve, Feb 10, 2023
[3] Aikin, Kay, (2023) The Future of Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings and Local Transactive Energy Markets, The Future of Decentralized Electricity Distribution Networks, Fereidoon Sioshansi, editor, Elsevier May, 23, 2023, p 437-p 461