The software-defined power grid: How software and sensors are bringing century-old grid technology into the modern age

Abstract

BALANCING ACT: Electricity demand and generation near Onslow, in Western Australia, are continuously balanced thanks to a software-based microgrid controller. It monitors grid conditions at the millisecond scale, allowing efficient use of a 1-megawatt solar farm [left] and a 2.5-MW battery storage facility [middle]. A similar microgrid controller on Jeju Island in South Korea [right] maximizes the use of wind power, despite its intermittency.