POWER July 2023 - 27

DISTRIBUTED ENERGY
variable renewables, such as solar and
wind power, is a challenge for an industry
that cannot afford to lose power for
even a millisecond.
GE
Vernova's
aeroderivative
gas
turbine technology, derived from the
well-proven GE aviation platform, and
microgrid controls can meet that challenge.
In a thermal hybrid system, thermal
energy is reduced when renewable
energy comes online. The microgrid
controls monitor the various interconnected
loads and DERs in real-time
to maximize efficiency, reducing the
amount of carbon-generating fuel consumed.
That lowers both the costs and
the carbon emissions.
2. The Cruise division of MSC Group joined a consortium with GE Vernova's Power Conversion
business, Lloyd's Register, and Ceres Power Holdings to explore how to address the barriers to
adoption of fuel cells in large ship applications. Courtesy: MSC Cruises
tons of carbon emissions. The shipping industry
could reduce the carbon emission
from berthed vessels in the European
Union and Britain by 60% through the
installation of shore power (Figure 1), according
to a 2021 study by ETH Zurich's
Institute of Energy Technology.
At the busy port of Brest in France, the
Defense Infrastructure Service Establishment
(Brest ESID) installed a unique
shore power system equipped with GE
Vernova's converters. The system delivers
electric power to ships when they
are in port, enabling them to turn off
their engines. It reduced both carbon
emissions and noise pollution. The system
has dynamic power management
capability, enabling conversion systems
to be reconfigured automatically to meet
the energy demands of different ships,
sharing available power where and when
it's needed without interruption.
On the shipping side, GE Vernova's
Power Conversion business worked with
cruise operators (Figure 2) and large ship
architects to integrate multi-megawatt
solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) into ships to
provide electric power for ships, replacing
the need for carbon-emitting diesel
generators. The system has the potential
to reduce CO2
emissions by 47%, and reduce
air and noise pollution when ships
are in port. SOFCs are also flexible. They
can burn gas today, but without changing
infrastructure they can transition to
hydrogen as it becomes available and
meet their zero emissions target.
July 2023 | POWER
Reliable and Resilient Systems
In the U.S., energy security and resilience
are driving microgrid adoption.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery,
Maine, which overhauls, repairs,
and modernizes the U.S. Navy's nuclearpowered
attack submarine fleet, sought
out microgrid technology to ensure grid
resiliency and reduce downtime during
base-wide commercial grid outages.
GE Vernova's microgrid control and
energy management system integrated
four substations and 50 feeders to manage
peak loads of 18 MW. The microgrid
control system is intelligent-it can select
which loads to shed to ensure critical
systems remain powered by available
on-site generation. It also included a
1-MW battery energy storage system
(BESS) to provide on-demand power capacity
during transitions from grid power
to island power. The system is expected
to save the shipyard $6 million a year.
One of the most exciting areas for
microgrids is also one of the most energy
intensive. Data centers, ever more
essential in our lives, can consume as
much energy as a small city. They must
operate reliably, uninterrupted 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Data industry
analysts predict data centers will need
to store 175 Zettabytes or 175 billion
Terabytes of data by 2025. Decarbonizing
this industry is essential if the world
wants to meet its ambitious climate
goals, but integrating intermittent and
www.powermag.com
Advanced Technology for the Evolving
Energy Landscape
GE Vernova's Energy Consulting team
works with regional authorities and state
leaders in the U.S. including the New
York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) and the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
(MassCEC) to develop and promote the
broader use of DERs and microgrids. The
team has performed numerous technoeconomic
feasibility studies for various
municipalities in the region in an effort to
design best-in-class microgrids that bolster
the resilience of critical local infrastructure
while minimizing system costs
to the customer and environmental impact.
As the broader microgrid industry
continues to grow within the U.S. and
abroad, so too will the need to provide
these carefully modeled, thoughtfully
designed microgrid systems, capable of
interracting with the larger power grid to
provide grid support and/or firm capacity
reserves, while still providing self-sufficient,
reliable, clean power to a community
in need at a moment's notice.
As
these
examples
demonstrate,
advancing technology is allowing us to
think about harnessing energy in dozens
of combinations. Ultimately, the best
end-to-end solutions demand expertise
that can deliver flexible technology solutions.
At GE Vernova, we're thinking
about energy from every angle. We have
the energy to change the world. ■
-Olivier Jamart is executive director,
Digital Solutions and Microgrids at GE
Vernova's Power Conversion business,
and Mital Kanabar, PhD, PE is senior
director of Innovation at GE Vernova's
Grid Solutions business. For more
information on GE Vernova's microgrid
development efforts, please visit:
www.gemicrogridsolutions.com.
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POWER July 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER July 2023