Impact of distributed resources on the electric grid

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Future electricity grids will incorporate new energy sources, including renewable energy, and a wide array of equipment with embedded intelligence and communications systems. This evolution will make electricity grids more controllable and manageable, allowing them to better respond to new constraints, including climate change (the concept of smart grids). Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are a means of providing a source of clean energy, thus displacing fossil fuel based generation, used to produce more than half of all electricity consumed in the world. Renewable energy sources can be connected at the transmission level, as in the case of large wind farms, or at the distribution level. When associated with electricity storage, these resources, or distributed energy resources, can be embedded within the distribution grid. An integration approach, investigated in this proposal, is to create entities incorporating these resources, with well defined physical boundaries. These entities, or cells, can then be operated either as an integral part of the larger grid, or as autonomous systems. In addition to power generation, this approach would offer a number of benefits, including support of the grid under normal and emergency situations. In the case of a disruption in the main supply, the entity would be capable of operating as an isolated system, with at least the critical loads being supplied. If the entity, or cell, remains operational, it could be used to help restore the integrity of the main grid. This project will develop approaches and technologies to help integrate renewable energy and distributed resources into electricity grids, make a case for the added benefits of using such resources, and allow a transition towards an intelligent electricity grid. The new and large investments expected over the next years in the renewal of the electricity infrastructure will create significant opportunities for technology transfer and for the employment of highly qualified personnel, within electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, and energy consultants in Canada. Employment opportunities will also be created by the retirement of a large number of electrical power engineers within the next years.