NYSERDA Announces Future Grid Challenges with Con Edison and National Grid

As the New York State electricity grid evolves with the rise of electrification of buildings and vehicles and the introduction of distributed energy resources (DERs), the grid faces new challenges related to resilience and reliability. Peak demand levels are rising, and new loads on the grid can complicate utilities’ duties to meet customer needs while decarbonizing the grid in accordance with the Climate Act. Con Edison and National Grid have identified two opportunities to develop technologies that will strengthen the grid and help utilities adapt to the changing grid landscape.

 

In collaboration with NYSERDA, up to $8 million in funds are offered for product development and demonstration projects in accordance with the challenge areas described below. Proposals for either of these Challenges must be submitted by 3:00 PM Eastern Time on October 17, 2024. Detailed information, including specifications for each Challenge, proposal information, and submission instructions, can be found in the documents on this page.

 

Con Edison: Dynamic Control of Direct Current (DC)-Tied Interconnections for Enhanced Resiliency and Hosting Capacity

New York City’s peak demand levels are rising as we electrify heating and vehicles. Peak demand also increases when needs for space cooling increase, such as during heat waves. In meeting these needs, the New York City grid’s resiliency will continue to be tested each summer.

 

Grid infrastructure is less resilient during peak demand periods due to infrastructure strains and if there is a lack of adequate technology to manage power loads effectively. In the summer, feeder overloading poses a risk if a grid lacks the ability to dynamically manage power flow.

 

DC infrastructure can improve grid resilience by allowing utilities to effectively manage energy loads and power flows during peak demand periods. Con Edison is looking to increase the role of DC infrastructure in power distribution and advance the development of hardware and infrastructure components to reach full-scale deployment.

 

The key project activities are divided into two stages:

 

Initial Development

 

• Hardware-in-the-Loop testing to ensure effective operation and dynamic power routing
• Developing communication protocols between customer and utility equipment
• Establishing performance metrics and collecting data

Full-Scale Deployment

 

• Developing plan for deployment onto existing grid infrastructure in priority areas in the Bronx
• Establishing continuous improvement mechanisms to address challenges observed in testing
• Validation testing to ensure reliability and safety of technology before broader rollout

 

Con Edison targets that this Challenge will produce a scalable solution to reduce interconnect costs, increase DER hosting capacity, and enhance grid resilience. This Challenge has a particular focus on the Bronx in New York City as the primary area for deployment. More information on the Con Edison Challenge can be found here.

 

 

National Gid: Grid Interactive Efficient Building Demonstration

As utility customers electrify appliances, forecasting peak demands and meeting customer needs become more complex. In supporting New York State’s commitment to ambitious carbon reduction goals, utilities must adapt to managing an electric grid that meets more needs at higher levels of demand.

 

To address increased loads and ambitious renewables goals, utilities will look to leverage customer-owned equipment including building management systems (BMS), electric vehicle chargers, inverters, storage, and other smart devices as flexible resources. These behind-the-meter technologies present utilities with new system capacity challenges, but with the right solutions, they can serve as valuable tools for utilities and customers to meet reliability challenges presented by increased loads.

 

National Grid invites collaboration to drive the specification, development, and implementation of a scalable technology solution to connect a portfolio of behind-the-meter customer equipment. A solution that enables Distribution Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) interactions with grid-interactive efficient buildings can enhance grid reliability by reducing localized distribution peak loads and mitigating generation backfeed.

 

National Grid is looking for a partner with experience managing DERs and integrating them with utility DERMS platforms to:

• Identify technical requirements for a solution that integrates BMS and utility DERMS for monitoring and dispatch
• Develop a hardware or cloud-based solution that enables a customer facility to interface with the proposer’s BMS
• Develop a protocol for translating utility-informed event dispatches to customer BMS/non-BMS integrated devices
• Review existing BMS at a pilot location and propose modifications if necessary

 

If you’re interested, more information on the National Grid Challenge can be found here.