ComEd announced that it has been selected by the United States
Department of Energy (DOE) to receive a $1.2 million grant to build a
master controller that could drive the operations of clusters of
microgrids. ComEd assembled a group of leading science and technology
partners for the DOE proposal including Alstom Grid, Argonne National
Laboratory, Illinois Institute of Technology, Microsoft, OSIsoft, Quanta
Technologies, S&C Electric, Schneider Electric and University of Denver.
A microgrid is a localized power system with the ability to self-supply
and operate independently of, or in concert with, the main grid to meet
the energy needs of multiple entities. Microgrids offer enhanced grid
resiliency and flexibility by mitigating the impact of power outages
resulting from severe weather or other disruptions. The master
controller is considered to be the brain of the microgrid as it collects
data from a variety of individual energy resources, centrally determines
how to control and operate those energy resources (i.e., generators,
energy storage, adjustable loads, smart switches, etc.) and sends out
the control signals that ultimately execute the power activity.
"Creating a master controller is a critical step in unleashing the value
and potential of microgrids," said Joe Svachula, Vice President,
Engineering and Smart Grid, ComEd. "While working with our technology
partners to develop a first-of-its-kind microgrid controller that could
work in a single or clustered environment, ComEd also will gain
essential insights into the foundational building blocks for deploying a
robust microgrid.”
Mohammad Shahidehpour, Director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for
Electricity Innovation and Bodine Chair Professor at Illinois Institute
of Technology, agrees.
“This award from the Department of Energy will allow IIT faculty and
staff to collaborate with ComEd, Argonne National Laboratory, and the
other partners in order to help position Chicago as a hub for promoting
energy sustainability and independence in the United States. Through
this award, IIT will be able to help further promote the Galvin Center’s
mission for excellence in smart grid education, research and workforce
development."
Microgrids can take power generation from the traditional electric grid
as well as from sustainable sources including solar and wind. They will
operate independently should disrputions occur on the main grid. For
example, even in the midst of the sweeping devastation of Hurricane
Sandy, some east coast communities were able to maintain power during
and after the severe weather impacts by leveraging micro grids.
Support for the ComEd proposal came from several Chicago officials,
including Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"ComEd’s community-based microgrid has the potential to provide benefits
to the city through improved reliability and enhanced resiliency in
response to weather related events,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “I look
forward to seeing the benefits of ComEd’s plan to the efficiency and
economy of energy systems in Chicago and across the country."
Each of the partner companies will contribute services to help make the
master controller a reality.
"There is no doubt that microgrids will be core components of the future
integrated grids and extensive research and development efforts will be
undertaken in upcoming years. The truly remarkable and distinguishing
feature of this project is that it is initiated and will be led by a
utility company,” said Amin Khodaei, Ph.D., Assistant Professor,
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ritchie School of
Engineering and Computer Science, University of Denver. “It is a
privilege for University of Denver to collaborate with ComEd as a
forward-looking utility and its visionary team on this important and
time-critical effort. This award will allow University of Denver to
collaborate with ComEd and leading authorities in various aspects of
microgrid controller design and planning to institute interconnected
microgrids as viable energy systems and help address ongoing challenges
of national energy security, sustainability, and resiliency."
"Quanta Technology greatly values this opportunity to support ComEd and
contribute to this important U.S. DOE energy initiative to advance the
utilization of microgrids in the U.S.,” said Damir Novosel, President,
Quanta Technologies. “ComEd's leadership role in the development of the
microgrid controller is an important step for safe, efficient and
reliable microgrid deployment. We thank ComEd for asking us to partner
with them to execute the planning, design, testing and deployment of the
controller."
“S&C is delighted to be working with one of the most forward thinking
utilities in the country on this microgrid project,” says David Chiesa,
director, Microgrid Business Development, S&C Electric Company. “This
project shows how utilities are not only embracing microgrids, but
leading the way in their wide scale adoption.”
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon
Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy
provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides
service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois,
or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information
visit ComEd.com,
and connect with the company on Facebook,
Twitter
and YouTube.
Copyright Business Wire 2014