skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Validated modeling of distributed energy resources at distribution voltages : LDRD project 38672.

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/918753· OSTI ID:918753

A significant barrier to the deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) onto the power grid is uncertainty on the part of utility engineers regarding impacts of DER on their distribution systems. Because of the many possible combinations of DER and local power system characteristics, these impacts can most effectively be studied by computer simulation. The goal of this LDRD project was to develop and experimentally validate models of transient and steady state source behavior for incorporation into utility distribution analysis tools. Development of these models had not been prioritized either by the distributed-generation industry or by the inverter industry. A functioning model of a selected inverter-based DER was developed in collaboration with both the manufacturer and industrial power systems analysts. The model was written in the PSCAD simulation language, a variant of the ElectroMagnetic Transients Program (EMTP), a code that is widely used and accepted by utilities. A stakeholder team was formed and a methodology was established to address the problem. A list of detailed DER/utility interaction concerns was developed and prioritized. The list indicated that the scope of the problem significantly exceeded resources available for this LDRD project. As this work progresses under separate funding, the model will be refined and experimentally validated. It will then be incorporated in utility distribution analysis tools and used to study a variety of DER issues. The key next step will be design of the validation experiments.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
918753
Report Number(s):
SAND2004-1266; TRN: US200825%%146
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English