Integrating Front-of-the-Meter Energy Storage with Smart PV Inverters and Solar Forecasting
Integrates front-of-the-meter energy storage with behind-the-meter PV, smart inverters, and solar forecasting to demonstrate value stacking of the system
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Recipient
Palo Alto, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
23rd
Assembly District
$1,265,620
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project has made significant progress, and several milestones were accomplished in 2024.
In June 2024, all critical project equipment, including the 150 kVA transformer and recloser, were acquired by the project team. In August 2024, the project team started the construction onsite, which included replacing the existing 75 kVA transformer with the newly purchased 150 kVA transformer. The team is currently working to address some challenges interfacing with PG&E to replace the transformer, and the project is expected to complete commissioning in 2025.
The Issue
Front-of-the-meter and community-scale energy storage projects can benefit the grid and may be able to provide higher value to customers, but it is not yet clear what those values are, how they can be maximized, or how to minimize the impacts of high penetration of renewables (e.g., in a community).
Project Innovation
The project will design and install front-of-meter energy storage with smart photovoltaic (PV) inverters and solar forecasting. The system will participate in the California Independent System Operator's (CAISO) wholesale energy and ancillary services markets. In addition, it will provide backup to the school during planned and unplanned outages. The research will demonstrate a cost-effective and scalable solution that integrates distributed energy resources to address grid needs and identify cost reductions and revenue-generating opportunities for developers and commercial customers. The project will also identify barriers to the integration of front-of-the-meter resources and strategies to overcome these barriers.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The project will demonstrate an interoperable solution that integrates front-of-the-meter energy storage with smart PV inverters and satellite-based solar forecasting to address grid limitations. The system will participate in CAISO's wholesale energy and ancillary services markets and help maximize the value proposition of the overall project through market participation. In addition, it will provide backup power to the school during planned and unplanned outages. The results will provide strategies for aggregating larger amounts of distributed energy resources on the grid with front-of-the-meter energy storage to support the state's goal of achieving zero-carbon electricity by 2045.
Affordability
This project will demonstrate the wholesale market participation for front-of-the-meter storage. The demonstration will evaluate revenue streams that can defer the cost of the system and provide additional energy savings in a facility by reducing daily load.
Reliability
This project will explore several value stream opportunities for front-of-the-meter storage, including critical power services during grid outages. The intent of this type of solution deployed at scale is to provide benefits to the customer and distribution system. In particular, for the local system, benefits can include mitigating adverse PV impacts such as voltage violations.
Key Project Members
Ramakrishnan Ravikumar
Haresh Kamath
Subrecipients
Trimark Associates, Inc.
Match Partners
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Sonoma Valley Unified School District
