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Distributed Generation & Microgrids

Digest (November 2014)

Siemens will provide the grid connection for an offshore wind farm off the coast of the U.K.; ABB will supply gas-insulated switchgear for substations in New Jersey; A team from the Microgrid Institute will design, simulate, and test microgrid control systems for two Maryland suburbs; Plus solar power developments by Xcel Energy, SunEdison, ReneSola, and Duke Energy; and others…

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Start the Conversation

The regulator’s role in a world divided by distributed generation.

A state utility commissioner urges her colleagues to begin planning now for distributed generation – before it’s too late.
Byline: 

Hon. Sherina E. Maye

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Intelligent Protection

Local network security in the age of microgrids and distributed generation.

With the local grid infused with distributed generation, static relay settings must yield to a more dynamic approach to ensure network security.
Byline: 

Bijoy Chatt and Ken Horne

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From ISO to DSO

Imagining a new construct – an independent system operator for the distribution network.

A new utility industry construct – the Distribution System Operator (DSO) – could help maximize the benefits of distributed energy resources.
Byline: 

Farrokh Rahimi and Sasan Mokhtari

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Working at the Edge of the Grid

How to find value in distributed energy resources.

Distributed resources create a new multi-directional power grid, achieving the sort of scale-driven cost levels and ease of installation that portend of future mass deployment.
Byline: 

Rick Fioravanti and Nicholas Abi-Samra

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The End of an Age

Survival in the new market requires embracing new technologies and practices.

New technologies are opening the utility domain to innovation and competition. Traditional utilities will shrink as outsourcing providers and competitors grow. Survival in this new market requires embracing new technologies and practices.
Byline: 

Charles E. Bayless

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Community Renaissance

When one age ends, another begins.

Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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Distributed Generation: Benefit Values In Hard Numbers

In the second of three articles, Oak Ridge National Laboratory reviews the economics and financial issues related to DG.

In the second of three articles on DER, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory examines the effect of DER and combined heat and power on a large power pool.
Byline: 

S. W. Hadley, J. W. VanDyke, and T. K. Stovall

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Toward a 21st Century Grid

Producing value with advanced distribution management systems.

Changing demands from regulators, customers, and shareholders are driving utilities toward better operational technologies to manage an increasingly complex grid. Advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) promise nearly real-time operational insight for maintaining reliability, safety, and security.
Byline: 

Nicholas Abi-Samra, et al.

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Customer First

Is the current regulatory compact in anyone’s best interests?

Serving customers’ needs should be a top priority for power companies, irrespective of the regulatory construct and business model. Transformation doesn’t change this basic fact, but how do we break the model without breaking the system?
Byline: 

Charles Dickerson, Darren Brady, and Jamie Wimberly

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