The 42nd Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA) Fall 2020 Conference, held on line November 09 – 12, 2020 was a huge success for this alliance, their members, and for OATI. PLMA gathers experts and practitioners dedicated to share knowledge and provide resources to promote inclusiveness in the design, delivery, technology, and management of solutions addressing energy and natural resource integration. OATI took part in the conversation as Silver Sponsors of this event.

Erik W. Hall from North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, along with OATI’s Walter Kalsow provided a presentation of the case study “Residential Microgrids for Resiliency and Peak Demand Management” talking about how residential microgrids are a win for the community and for the utility.

This project by North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives (the power supplier for North Carolina’s network of electric cooperatives) and Brunswick EMC (the local distribution cooperative) utilizes DERs to create a microgrid at a residential neighborhood, Heron’s Nest. On-site generation is provided by a community solar array and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). OATI GridMind™ microgrid controller software is used to island the neighborhood from the distribution system during a loss of power to the site. While in Island mode, the microgrid controller provides alarming notification and visualization of the system, exercises load shed, and executes command and control over the BESS and other system components to carry the system load for as long as possible. When not controlling for resiliency, the microgrid controller controls BESS charge and discharge during peak periods, allowing the microgrid to act as a callable Demand Response asset from the cooperatives’ centralized DERMS system.

OATI GridMind™ is a sophisticated microgrid control and optimization software system optimally schedules available energy resources and orchestrates the operation of prioritized loads to ensure reliable and economic operation of a complex microgrid. It also ties together a variety of DERs with multiple other control layers to balance production with demand. The robust GridMind™ solution can be targeted to maximize economic value, improve reliability, and/or minimize environmental impacts. It can also be configured to work in — and smoothly transition between — three different operational modes: Grid Connected, Isolated, and Grid Scheduled.

We would like to thank PLMA for allowing us the opportunity to share our progress towards the future of residential microgrids.

For more information about OATI GridMind™, contact Sales@oati.net.