iCONTEST’s Post

#DISTRIBUTECH24 is NEXT WEEK! At this year’s conference, EPRI is bringing its industry-leading experts and research to a series of exciting panels, courses, and in-person greets.   Among the exciting discussions this year is a panel looking at how we can prepare and accommodate the electrification of medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Additional sessions will explore improving the resilience and management of our power grid—and how wide area distribution assessments and grid model data can support the planning phase. Plus, a special panel discussing the path toward low-latency reliable communication. And on February 28, leading energy companies will share their company's roadmap to adopt smart inverter grid support capabilities as mandated by the IEEE 1547-2018 standard—moderated by EPRI’s Devin Van Zandt Check out the full list of EPRI events at this year’s DISTRIBUTECH International by visiting www.epri.com/distributech. 

A recent study by EPRI forecasts data centers consuming up to 9% of US electricity by 2030 due to AI growth- more than double the amount currently used- highlighting the need for improved efficiency and sustainable solutions. At ECL, we are pioneering innovative technologies to responsibly power the future. Read the full report on the surge in data center energy consumption here: https://bit.ly/3Rzl29m

We're excited to attend the 2024 IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) T&D Conference. Come join us and discover the technologies that are making the grid of tomorrow a reality. We can't wait to see you there! #IEEEPESTD2024 #Innovation #EnergyTransmission #EnergyDistribution #PowerExperts #GridInnovation #c3controls #PowerProfessionals #EnergyProfessionals

Energy Systems Integration accelerates the efficient transition to future energy systems that are secure, resilient, reliable, affordable, and clean.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the conference on future electricity grids (Tagung Zukünftige Stromnetze #zukunftsnetz) which took place January 24-25, 2024, at Novotel Am Tiergarten, Berlin. It featured speakers from politics, industry, regulatory authorities as well as researchers, and provided many impulses for our research activities at the DLR-Institut für Vernetzte Energiesysteme. It is no exaggeration to say that this event is an important annual meeting place for key players in the energy sector with the core topic of the future development of the German #electricity grids. Also, a roadmap for the future #hydrogen grid was presented by gas transmission operator OGE. Some takeaways from the perspective of a grid modeler: • As one TenneT TSO GmbH representative stressed, we can expect enormous additional demand for reactive power compensation systems due to the shutdown of many conventional power plants, but also due to a generally higher grid load. • State Secretary Dr. Philipp Nimmermann announced that reactive power from #renewable energy plants would be subject to regulatory treatment still this year, meaning that operators of #photovoltaic systems will soon be able to provide reactive power to the grid. Next year, privision of spinning reserve will be tackled as well. • The German regulatory agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has inspired me to think about future grid modeling principles. One aspect is that loads will no longer be fixed but mostly be controllable in the future. What is the most practical way to represent such flexible loads in large-scale grid models? • Also the #resilience of our future energy system was addressed: What is the right social compromise between #security_of_supply and inferred #infrastructure costs? I personally think we could very well live with a slightly higher SAIDI here in Germany which stands very well in international comparison, as long as it keeps the costs of the #energy_transition manageable. In our own contribution (poster and proceedings), we reported from our progress in evaluating and developing model coupling methods and applying them to realistic models for the future electricity and hydrogen grids of Northwest Germany. To start off, we have implemented a coupled power-hydrogen test system with the #Python-based tools #PyPSA, #PandaPower and #PandaPipes. I can recommend the conference for all who want to stay up-to-date with the energy transition in Germany or establish new contacts within the electricity sector.

Transforming Utility Business Models  🙌 EPRI’s latest paper, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴 from Eric Brown, provides critical insights for utility decision-makers on how data and information flows can transform utility business models. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬: 💡 The shift towards a decentralised, digitalised energy system creates unprecedented challenges and opportunities. 💡 Traditional models centred on fossil fuels must evolve to prioritise low-carbon sources, energy efficiency, and customer engagement. 💡 Tools like Optioneer by Continuum Industries are instrumental in this transformation, helping utilities like SSEN Transmission and NGN make data-driven decisions. 💡 The Linear Infrastructure Planning Panel (LIPP) is referenced in the planning case study with support for its recommendations on data sharing. Download the paper now to explore the full insights ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eRe7bpuc #EnergyTransition #UtilityInnovation #NetZero

Morning of Day 1 of the CIGRE Grid of the Future Conference (https://lnkd.in/dmPd6Ymj) Keynote Speaker Chris Root showing the challenges of DER integration in a small grid (compared to other territories), for example the quick variation of solar generation caused by cloudy days and how the utility has to be able to match those variation with available generation. Limits in solar capacity when there is snow on panels. The new challenges that planners face, moving from planning based on summer and winter peaks to now having to plan for summer midday peak, summer evening peak, nighttime minimum and mid-day minimum. An interesting solution been adopted by Green Mountain power by renting storage to end users with the understanding that they can have access to that stored energy three times a month when needed by the system. The distribution innovation substation, feeder and end-use customer panel had an interesting discussion. The need to work with end users to solve the problems faced by the local utility, collaboration among all stakeholders, have a holistic approach to ensure the distribution grid is resilient when the goals set for NetZero are met. Session 1B talked about the need of understanding what is been measured and what output is been produced by machine learning algorithms is very important to fully take advantages of this technologies (no black boxes). The challenges on implementing Digital Twins for power systems was presented by Jeremy Till and the benefits of adding communications for DER was discussed by Dan Ernstmann. Prepared by Arturo Núñez #CIGREGOTF2023

John O'Donnell joined The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) on a recent webinar to discuss how heat batteries play a critical role in decarbonizing industry, especially US manufacturing. The Rondo Heat Battery serves 95% of the temperature range required for US manufacturing. This results in 1,200 GWs of new renewables to repower US industry with zero-carbon heat batteries, replacing gas-fired boilers. This is fundamentally a new type of load that benefits the grid, as they do not take on power continuously, they absorb curtailment, they're price-responsive, and they cut electricity costs for other grid customers. Watch the webinar here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/g9zYJjXc