Maximizing Wind and Solar

Modeling Greater Renewables Penetration

BY MARTIN ROSENBERG
Editor-in-chief, EnergyBiz

A new facility is opening on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado that will provide a huge assist to utilities interested in boosting their reliance on renewable sources of energy without compromising the reliability of their power supplies. David Danielson, the U.S. Department of Energy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, provides some insights into the significance of this undertaking.

EnergyBIz: What is the future of distributed generation?


David Danielson

Danielson: A century ago, when big power plants were being built to accommodate central station power, it was hard to envision how distributed generation � power generated in our neighborhoods and in our homes � would ever be connected to the grid. But that is the world we�re stepping into now, with cost-competitive solar power, fuel cells, batteries, smart appliances and electric vehicles just around the corner. The grid now needs to evolve to accommodate the benefits of distributed energy technologies, including the renewables that diversify our nation�s energy portfolio and boost our energy security.

EnergyBiz: What might the future look like?

Danielson: Imagine your home generating all the power your family needs, independent of the grid. Imagine no blackouts � ever again. Imagine your home trading energy with the grid, making you money every step of the way. And imagine fueling up your electric vehicle with solar power for a cost equivalent to $1 per gallon gasoline harvested right from the roof over your head. The United States is moving into an era of utilizing higher concentrations of renewable energy and distributed energy resources linked to the electric grid. Utility operators and equipment vendors aren�t sure exactly how boosting the use of renewables will affect the control strategies and operations of their current systems.

EnergyBiz: What role will the new Energy Systems Integration Facility on the campus of the Department of Energy�s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., play in boosting the deployment of renewables?

Danielson: This unique user facility, which represents a $135 million investment with another $20 million requested in the president�s 2014 fiscal year budget, welcomes researchers from industry and academia to work side-by-side with NREL scientists to modernize America�s energy systems. It offers industrial partners the chance to experiment with new technologies on an interactive power grid that operates at utility scale, working out all of the kinks as they seek to deploy devices on a smarter energy grid and in smarter energy homes. And it will allow investors to make financial decisions with greater confidence in the clean energy technologies that are rapidly making their way to the marketplace.

EnergyBiz: What is the significance of this undertaking?

Danielson: ESIF is the nation�s first dedicated facility that can conduct integrated utility-scale research, development and testing of the components and strategies needed to safely move clean, renewable energy technologies onto the electrical grid at the speed and scale required to meet our national goals. It will help utilities and vendors to determine how to effectively integrate these technologies with the grid, and it will demonstrate how to do so at a scale necessary to achieve significant energy, economic and environmental benefits. ESIF is a place for public-private partnerships, where vendors and operators can try out new ideas, new technologies, and new architectures in a setting that enables exploration and discovery. We can�t yet anticipate the nearly infinite number of combinations of technologies and devices that will interact in a smarter electric grid. But we know America�s best innovators are hard at work.

For more on the new federal facility that will spur increased use of renewable energy - reliabily please read our recent interview with the head of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

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