Interoperability checklist... Making the case for new transmission... Rising interest in microgrids

GridWise Architecture Council offers interoperability checklist. A key way to "future-proof" your grid is to make sure it can interoperate with all the important protocols and standards. The GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC) recently gathered 45 Smart Grid experts to lay out an interoperability framework. That effort led the GWAC to issue an interoperability check list to guide the interaction between the growing number of automation systems that manage electricity.

   QuickTake: Despite efforts over the years by EPRI, IEEE and, most recently, GWAC, setting standards has been difficult in the utility space. This is especially true in North America, which not only lags behind virtually every other industry, but even behind the electric power industries of Europe and China. We are eager to see the GWAC move beyond constitutions and frameworks to publish genuine, specific standards. That said, GWAC's checklist provides a cogent argument for the value of interoperability and should be required reading for every utility in the U.S.

   GWAC press release (PDF)

    GWAC Interoperability Checklist (PDF)

Why new transmission? The answer is blowin' in the wind. Every dollar spent for new transmission lines to support Texas wind resources will result in a $5 to $7 reduction in energy costs. So says recent testimony by the Electric Transmission Texas LLC (ETT). The ETT indicated that consumers would save between $221 million to $1.278 billion per year with the addition of 1,000 to 5,250 megawatts of wind. ETT is part of a proposed joint venture between subsidiaries of American Electric Power (AEP) and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. The conclusions are part of a joint analysis by ETT and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

   QuickTake: Utilities and transmission operators in other states may want to review the method ETT used to make its case to regulators.

   AEP press release

Businesspeople and legislators look to micro grids. A recent Associated Press (AP) story highlights a trend that will become more and more familiar around the country.  In microgrid districts, neighboring companies band together to produce their own electric power. Now Connecticut companies and officials are lobbying state lawmakers to pass legislation to allow communities to finance microgrids by selling municipal tax-exempt bonds. In these special zones, sometimes referred to as "energy independence districts," businesses, government buildings and office buildings operate a power source, such as a fuel cell or natural gas generator. The electric grid serves only as a backup. Such special districts help relieve pressure on an overtaxed electric grid. They are also looked at as a new alternative demand response approach.

   QuickTake:  The microgrid concept is already popular among communities in Europe. As we warned you last fall (see link below), they are now coming to the U.S.

   AP article

   SmartGrid Newsletter article on the microgrid trend

Cultures and borders at issue in European grid.  The European model for integrated electric systems includes “energy corridors” across countries, which require acceptance from multiple stakeholders. This may prove difficult because different cultures across different borders must find common ground. A new European Union (EU) study titled "ENERGY: Economic, social and policy-oriented research in Europe" looks at this and other obstacles to the large-scale integration of renewable electricity sources.

    EU Research Strategy report (PDF)

NETL R&D funding opportunity.  The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has released a funding opportunity on behalf of the Office of Research and Development within the  Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE). Awards will be issued under each of two program areas:

1. Secure Control Systems for the Energy Sector
   Improve the security of controls systems for energy delivery by performing research and development activities.
2. Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration
   Research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of distribution system configurations with the integration of significant amounts of distributed resources for providing power or load management during peak load periods and for other functions and services.

NETL announcement

NETL Funding Opportunity