Generation technology has evolved considerably since Thomas Edison developed the prototype large-scale models to drive his utility enterprises more than 100 years ago. Those were direct-current models, but they set the pattern for utilities -- large, centrally located generators feeding power through transmission and distribution lines to businesses and homes. That model expanded rapidly, evolved to alternating current, and worked well for more than 100 years. It still is predominates worldwide.

As information technology came to the fore in the 1970s and later, large-scale software systems were employed to improve the efficiency and productivity of the central generation model, such things as asset management, preventive maintenance, work management, document management and regulatory reporting. These were incremental steps in improving the original Edison-inspired model.

Today, however, a new generation technology seems to be emerging after a long time in the embryonic phase - distributed generation (DG). And, it will require utilities to adopt another new set of technologies to make it widespread.

The first co-generation plant, burning garbage to generate steam and electricity began operation in downtown Nashville, TN, in 1974. Since then many more have been developed and installed. Limited wind and solar-powered systems have been in place for many years. Today, however, political, regulatory and social forces are forcing utilities to embrace distributed generation and develop the computer systems to maintain reliability and stability on their grids, while accommodating distributed generation on a much wider scale.

In a recent Sierra Energy Group survey, it was found that distributed generation already is much more widespread than many might have thought. The survey of 150 utilities found that 80 percent of investor-owned utilities, 70 percent of municipal utilities and about 50 percent of co-operatives already have various types of distributed generation attached to their local distribution (not transmission) grids.

The distributed generation already attached is very eclectic and it includes - among others -- combined cycle gas, hydro, hydro-biogas, landfill gas, landfill methane and tidal. Wind and solar, though are the largest components of existing distributed generation installations, comprising 27 percent of them.

Although non-hydro electric contributions of total U.S. electric demand is still very small (2.3 percent according to the latest Department of Energy Figures), the current political climate is to push these technologies very hard through legislation and regulation. It is estimated that the U.S. would require between 1,500 and 3,000 new large generating plants to meet anticipated demand over the next 20 years or so. To generate an equal amount of power through smaller distributed generation plants could require 150,000 or more such facilities.

The Answers

To date, utilities have had little difficulty in dealing with the relatively small numbers of distributed generation facilities. For example, Dennis Klinger, vice president and CIO, Florida Power and Light Co., Juno Beach, says FPL "doesn't have much live experience with distributed generation. You will need proper monitoring equipment to alarms and alerts, be able to dispatch help as needed, it would be similar to any SCADA system. Billing could change depending on how DG is marketed, for example to closed communities or franchises."

Klinger says his responsibility would be to "come up with" structures that are friendly to existing information technology structures, but he doesn't anticipate that being a serious problem.

Mike Carlson, CIO of Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, sees the issues as: 1) How to control DG remotely to turn on and off, assuming thousands of generation points in a real-world model; 2) A billing model (for two-way sales), 3) Supporting outage management and field activities systems to include inventory control and safety management. .

All of these systems are well within the expertise of utilities because most of them constitute engineering issues. Utilities are very good at engineering.

City Water, Light & Power of Springfield, IL, already is developing a set of standards to deal with DG. Springfield was developing specifications for software changes this year and expects to have them implement by August 2008, in accordance with requirements of the Energy Policy Act.

Whether distributed generation ever replaces, or even heavily supplements, the existing large-plant-transmission-distribution model remains to be seen. The answers lie with political, regulatory, economic and other forces in society. But if instead of 1,500-to-3,000 new large plants the industry is forced to deal with 150,000 or more small scale distributed generations, the technology to do so already is pretty much in place and it shouldn't be a major problem.


 

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