Credit: B. Hayes/NIST
Whether it’s a new set of solar panels glistening on a neighbor’s roof or a freshly installed smart thermostat at home, burgeoning renewable and smart technologies represent steps toward a sustainable future. But much of their potential will remain untapped unless the power grid is managed in a much more flexible way.
The ability of systems to speak the same language and exchange information securely, known as interoperability — think syncing your phone to the cloud or your computer — is key to unlocking flexibility on the grid.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) aim to push interoperability on the grid further than before with the fourth and latest release of the Smart Grid Framework. The 4.0 version of the framework describes the economic and environmental benefits that could stem from enhanced interoperability and outlines a new strategy for supporting the development of interoperable devices and equipment. The authors also provide guidance and resources for grid cybersecurity, which is becoming increasingly important as greater numbers of devices connect with the grid.
A recent analysis has indicated that, even if all new power generators were zero carbon, continuing to operate the grid as we have for decades will cause us to fall short of a major goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 C (2.7 F). This finding underscores the need to displace emission sources with renewables. But several hurdles remain that make renewables a challenge for the current system to manage, such as how spread out they are and their fluctuating supply.
“Flexibility is needed to accommodate all of these new ..
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