Funding Program: SuNLaMP
SunShot Subprogram: Systems Integration
Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
SunShot Award Amount: $4,000,000

This project focuses on developing a modular, scalable, and interoperable tool for power system planning and operation that will seamlessly integrate with utilities’ existing tools to enable analysis of high penetration of distributed energy resources. The tool, Cyber Physical Co-simulation Platform for Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Grids (CyDER), will enhance current utility tools by providing a computationally efficient platform that will be capable of quasi-static time series simulation and smart PV inverter controls with in-feed data from real-time distribution sensor measurements.

Approach

CyDER will maintain and enhance the efficiency and reliability of power systems in a cost-effective and safe manner, built on three pillars: quasi-static time series (QSTS) co-simulation and optimization; real-time data acquisition; and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) applications. Specifically, CyDER will combine transmission and distribution system simulation, data collection and analysis, power generation and load forecasting, load flexibility, and real-time control of solar photovoltaics (PV) to accommodate high levels of PV penetration. CyDER will have two working modes: one that targets operations and one that targets planning. Before deployment, CyDER will be extensively tested through its interface with a hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure.

Innovation

Through the web interface of CyDER, the PV application interconnection analysis will be streamlined and automated, and interconnection approval times and cost will be substantially reduced while enforcing safety and reliability requirements. CyDER will create look-up tables for the accepted levels of PV penetration at every feeder, which will be frequently updated and reviewed. This will lead to costs below $100 for residential and below $1,000 for commercial applications, and approval times of less than one hour or five days, respectively.