Distributed Grid Services for a Decarbonized Grid
- December 6, 2021
Minneapolis, MN: December 06, 2021
Demand Response (DR) and distributed energy resources (DERs) are cost-effective options to achieve the grid flexibility needed for a decarbonized electrical grid, says Ali Ipakchi, Ph.D., OATI Executive Vice President of Smart Grid & Green Power. Speaking last month during the first in a three-part Grid Services webinar series, Dr. Ipakchi says that DR and DER utilization as an energy balancing and reliability grid services source allows further wind, solar, and other intermittent resource integration for a greener grid. Secure broadband data communications provides for real-time monitoring, dispatch and distributed resource control, and when aggregated as a virtual power plant (VPP), they can be well integrated into power system operations.
“Electrification of transportation will significantly increase demand for electric power, and managed charging will be an additional source of grid services” says Dr. Ipakchi. “Demand-side battery energy storage systems, and smart thermostats are additional types of resources that can provide the needed flexibility, and also economical ways to address decarbonization challenges.”
Aggregating the available, demand-side systems for use on the grid provides:
- Enhanced distribution reliability & resiliency
- Improved supply economics
- Better support for decarbonization initiatives
- A way to balance energy, ramping, and ancillary services
- Added value to distributed energy resource (DER) owners
He notes that based on the current energy market conditions, aggregated DR/DERs can deliver a stacked value of $154,000 to $253,000 per MW per Year.
“We are excited to help DER owners and Grid managers optimize their systems and bring more sustainable, decarbonized energy resources to consumers,” says Sasan Mokhtari, President and CEO of OATI. “We look forward to working together to implement current and future technologies that help to make this possible.”
The next two OATI Grid Services webinars will occur on Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Wednesday, Dec. 15, with specialized content for distribution operations and wholesale markets. The Dec. 8th webinar will address how DERs can be utilized to enhance distribution reliability and resiliency, and the Dec. 15th webinar will cover supply of ancillary services and balancing energy by DERs in support of bulk power operations.
About OATI
OATI provides innovative solutions that simplify, streamline, and empower the operational tasks required in today’s energy commerce and Smart Grid. Serving more than 2,000 customers in North America, OATI successfully deploys and hosts diverse mission-critical solutions committed to industry standards and stringent security guidelines.
OATI (www.oati.com) is a leading provider of Smart Grid, Energy Trading and Risk Management, Transmission Scheduling, Congestion Management, Distribution, and Market Management products and services. OATI is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with offices in California, Punjab, Telangana, and Singapore. For more information, please contact sales@oati.net.