Emerging Smart Grid Technologies Research Articles

Incorporating Demand Response with Load Shifting into Stochastic Unit Commitment

High costs for fossil fuels and increasing installations of intermittent energy sources are imposing major challenges on power grid management. Uncertainty in generation and demand for electric energy require flexible generation capacity and stochastic optimization of generation schedules. Emerging smart grid technology is one mean to increase efficiency in power generation and to mitigate effects of increasing uncertainty. In this paper, we analyze the potential of demand side resources (DSRs) that can be dispatched to reduce load at peak times. We present a stochastic dynamic programming model for the unit commitment problem in a day ahead market and include dispatch decisions for DSRs. Unlike previous research, we model the stochastic load shifting effect to previous and subsequent periods that must be taken into account when making dispatch decisions. We also present a solution algorithm that combines an approximate dynamic programming algorithm with stochastic progressive hedging to solve the problem. We prove convergence results for our algorithms and derive a lower bound on the optimal solution. Using data from the California Independent System Operator region, we show that our approach can solve real world instances in reasonable time. We conduct an extensive numerical study using real world data to show that substantial savings can be achieved by utilizing DSRs.

A Review of Renewable Energy Development in PJM

As one of the world’s largest grid operators, PJM interconnection in the United State leads and promotes renewable energy and greener grid. The growth of solar, wind and other types are significant in recent years, as well as the continuing emergence of energy storage and energy efficiency technologies. All of this new growth is supported by adaptive market rules, stakeholder process, partnerships with industry groups and collaboration with members, state and federal agencies and commissions. With the emerging Smart Grid technologies, the U.S. electrical grid will evolve into a highly advanced, automated and interconnected network. Taking full advantage of renewable sources while dealing with the reliability challenges of the new resources will require a significant change in many aspects in power industry. The overview of the efforts to promote renovation and the ongoing and future renewable energy in PJM footprint is presented in this paper. The current state of art renewable energy development in operation and planning will also be discussed. Some renewable related projects such as on-going renewable integration studies, energy storage batteries and demand response will shed the light of the future trend.

A New Roadmapping Technique for Creatively Managing the Emerging Smart Grid

The ‘Smart grid’ has been described as the ‘Energy Internet’, combining energy technology with information technology. The promise of the smart grid is to upgrade ageing energy infrastructure through the use of emerging technology. The resultant smart grid would improve efficiency, the ability to use alternative energy sources, responsiveness and security of the system. The need for creating a smarter grid is clear. Yet the traditional tool used by policy and other decision makers to rapidly advance technology product platforms, the technology roadmap, is proving ineffective due to the unique regulatory and market structure challenges of the smart grid. If the smart grid is important and its development constricted, then there is cause for concern. Today, most smart grid development teams are focusing their roadmapping efforts at the local and national levels. Yet regional roadmapping efforts can create higher quality and better integrated outcomes. A more advanced roadmapping technique is required for the effective and efficient management of the emerging smart grid technology product platform. Here, a case study approach utilizing the Pacific Northwest smart grid regional planning effort is utilized to generate an improved technology roadmapping technique, one that addresses the needs of emerging multi‐root technology‐based products like the smart grid. This roadmapping technique is designed to more effectively include the market structure and regulatory challenges inherent in the smart grid. The new roadmapping model integrates multiple technology, business and policy concerns.