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Research Tracker

This tool is intended for researchers and program managers to quickly find research projects around the country that are relevant to their work. The four organizations who provided content for this purpose represent the largest energy efficient buildings research portfolios in the country. These organizations each provided the content that they were comfortable sharing publically. Therefore, upon clicking on a particular project, it is possible that certain pieces of content are not present. Where possible, a point of contact is provided so that specific questions can be directed to that person. We welcome your comments! If you would like to provide any feedback on this tool (positive or constructive) please email basc@pnnl.gov.

Showing results 1 - 3 of 3

PNW Smart Grid Demo

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Smart Grid project is a five-year demonstration led by Battelle and partners including BPA, 11 utilities, two universities, and five vendors. The cost is $178 million ($89 million private, $89 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded). The project will include 60,000 metered customers in five states. The project aims to substantially increase smart grid asset installation in the region by purchasing and installing smart grid technology. The project goals are to facilitate integration of wind and other renewables, quantify costs and benefits, develop two-way communication protocol, and advance interoperability standards.

TransmissionSmart Grid Related

This project is based on initial research done under TIP 50 and 51. The fraction of power electronic loads is expected to increase over the next decade. The project will evaluate the impact of power electronic loads on power system stability, including dynamic voltage stability, damping of power oscillations, and frequency response. The project will look at a wide number of power electronic loads, such as VFDs, consumer electronics, and electric vehicle charges. The project will simulate, test, and evaluate various designs that make electronic loads friendly to the power grid. This project is coordinated with a larger nationwide US Department of Energy (DOE) Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) project.

Using Distribution-Level Energy Assets to Help Optimize Regional Transmission Systems

The proposed project investigates using highly controllable resources, such as energy storage and demand response, located in BPA served distribution networks with the goal of providing technical and economic benefits to BPA such as: 1. Congestion management 2. Equipment upgrade deferrals 3. Increased system reliability, and 4. Assistance in developing a strategy to manage increasing amounts of distributed generation. This project is being pursued due to a timely confluence of several projects already under way. The University of Washington (UW) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) funded research project, Energy Positioning: Control and Economics, is developing techniques to optimize use of the energy storage (ES) and demand response (DR) assets to support transmission network operations and determine the economic value of such optimization. The Snohomish PUD is making an investment in ES and DR assets supported by Washington State, which will be managed by an advanced control and optimization system. These assets will provide a valuable real-world proving ground for the UW research and technology to be developed in this project.