Publications
A Framework for Evaluating Electric Power Grid Improvements in Puerto Rico(2.58 MB)
July 1, 2019
Project Report
Summary
This report is motivated by the recognition that serving highly distributed electric power load in Puerto Rico during extreme events requires innovative methods. To do this, we must determine the type and locations of the most critical equipment, innovative methods, and software for operating the electrical system most effectively. It is well recognized that the existing system needs to be both hardened and further enhanced by deploying Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), solar photovoltaics (PV) in particular, and local reconfigurable microgrids to manage these newly deployed DERs. While deployment of microgrids and DERs has been advocated by many, there is little fundamental understanding how to operate Puerto Rico’s electrical system in a way that effectively uses DERs during both normal operations and grid failures. Utility companies’ traditional reliability requirements and operational risk management practices rely on excessive amounts of centralized reserve generation to anticipate failures, which increases the cost of normal operations and nullifies the potential of DERs to meet loads during grid failures. At present, no electric power utility has a ready-to-use framework that overcomes these limitations. This report seeks to fill this void.
Summary
This report is motivated by the recognition that serving highly distributed electric power load in Puerto Rico during extreme events requires innovative methods. To do this, we must determine the type and locations of the most critical equipment, innovative methods, and software for operating the electrical system most effectively. It...
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A framework for evaluating electric power grid improvements in Puerto Rico
July 1, 2019
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report 127164
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R&D area:
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Summary
This report is motivated by the recognition that serving highly distributed electric power load in Puerto Rico during extreme events requires innovative methods. To do this, we must determine the type and locations of the most critical equipment, innovative methods, and software for operating the electrical system most effectively. It is well recognized that the existing system needs to be both hardened and further enhanced by deploying Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), solar photovoltaics (PV) in particular, and local reconfigurable microgrids to manage these newly deployed DERs. While deployment of microgrids and DERs has been advocated by many, there is little fundamental understanding how to operate Puerto Rico's electrical system in a way that effectively uses DERs during both normal operations and grid failures. Utility companies' traditional reliability requirements and operational risk management practices rely on excessive amounts of centralized reserve generation to anticipate failures, which increases the cost of normal operations and nullifies the potential of DERs to meet loads during grid failures. At present, no electric power utility has a ready-to-use framework that overcomes these limitations. This report seeks to fill this void.
Summary
This report is motivated by the recognition that serving highly distributed electric power load in Puerto Rico during extreme events requires innovative methods. To do this, we must determine the type and locations of the most critical equipment, innovative methods, and software for operating the electrical system most effectively. It...
READ MORE
Component standards for stable microgrids
October 12, 2018
Journal Article
Published in:
IEEE Trans. Power Syst., Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 852-863. 2018.
Summary
This paper is motivated by the need to ensure fast microgrid stability. Modeling for purposes of establishing stability criterion and possible implementations are described. In particular, this paper proposes that highly heterogeneous microgrids comprising both conventional equipment and equipment based on rapidly emerging new technologies can be modeled as purely electric networks in order to provide intuitive insight into the issues of network stability. It is shown that the proposed model is valid for representing fast primary dynamics of diverse components (gensets, loads, PVs), assuming that slower variables are regulated by the higher-level controllers. Based on this modeling approach, an intuitively-appealing criterion is introduced requiring that components or their combined representations must behave as closed-loop passive electrical circuits. Implementing this criterion is illustrated using typical commercial feeder microgrid. Notably, these set the basis for standards which should be required for groups of components (sub grids) to ensure no fast instabilities in complex microgrids. Building the need for incrementally passive and monotonic characteristics into standards for network components may clarify the system level analysis and integration of microgrids.
Summary
This paper is motivated by the need to ensure fast microgrid stability. Modeling for purposes of establishing stability criterion and possible implementations are described. In particular, this paper proposes that highly heterogeneous microgrids comprising both conventional equipment and equipment based on rapidly emerging new technologies can be modeled as purely...
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Multi-layered interactive energy space modeling for near-optimal electrification of terrestrial, shipboard and aircraft systems
April 22, 2018
Journal Article
Published in:
Annual Reviews in Control, no. 45, 2018, pp. 52-75.
Summary
In this paper, we introduce a basic multi-layered modeling framework for posing the problem of safe, robust and efficient design and control that may lend itself to ripping potential benefits from electrification. The proposed framework establishes dynamic relations between physical concepts such as stored energy, useful work, and wasted energy, on one hand; and modeling, simulation, and control of interactive modular complex dynamical systems, on the other. In particular, our recently introduced energy state-space modeling approach for electric energy systems is further interpreted using fundamental laws of physics in multi-physical systems, such as terrestrial energy-systems, aircrafts and ships. The interconnected systems are modeled as dynamically interacting modules. This approach is shown to be particularly well-suited for scalable optimization of large-scale complex systems. Instead of having to use simpler models, the proposed multi-layered modeling of system dynamics in energy space offers a promising basic method for modeling and controlling inter-dependencies across multi-physics subsystems for both ensuring feasible and near-optimal operation. It is illustrated how this approach can be used for understanding fundamental physical causes of inefficiencies created either at the component level or are a result of poor matching of their interactions.
Summary
In this paper, we introduce a basic multi-layered modeling framework for posing the problem of safe, robust and efficient design and control that may lend itself to ripping potential benefits from electrification. The proposed framework establishes dynamic relations between physical concepts such as stored energy, useful work, and wasted energy...
READ MORE