IEEE Electrification - December 2022 - 37

lower energy consumptions; thus, it is more likely that the
loads can be picked up by normal feeders. Additionally, if the
faulted sections cannot be reconnected to the normal feeders
and suffer from isolation, we will leverage the grid-forming
resources to form microgrid operations and use the local
generation sources to energize the loads. Option 2 represents
another implementation, in which a holistic optimization
is performed to determine the on/off statuses of all of
the controllable switches and the operation settings of the
controllable DERs inside the areas that are affected by faults;
thus, Option 2 will completely overwrite the original FLISR
logics. It can be observed that option 2 results in the least
load shedding, followed by option 1 and then option 0. It is
clear that the grid-edge DERs can enable optimal segmentation
decisions by the system operator and can supply some
of the critical load requirements in the faulted segments,
thereby enabling optimal utilization of all of the available
resources in a distribution system to recover from faults
much more efficiently and quickly.
Conclusions and Future Research Road Map
Power systems are facing substantial changes because of
the proliferation of distributed solar, wind, energy storage,
EVs, and building automation at the grid edge. Through
research projects and field tests, we have validated that,
with appropriate management strategies, grid-edge DERs
can not only be integrated into the grid without causing
extra burden but also bring significant values to grid operations.
To use the capabilities of grid-edge DERs to the fullest,
the following areas need extensive investigation.
x Advanced data analytics to improve grid-edge DER models
and quantify flexibility: Grid-edge flexibility cannot
be reasonably utilized without accurate estimation of
flexibility itself. The deployment of advanced sensors
and the development of data-driven techniques offer
high volumes of data that could be processed and
analyzed to refine model accuracy.
x Interactive program design to incentivize grid-edge DER participation:
Grid-edge DERs, especially customer-owned
ones, are not obligated to coordinate with system operators
or provide services to the grid. A combination of one
or several existing and emerging schemes, including
demand response program, net metering, energy sharing,
transactive energy, and market products, could be
used to derive reasonable compensation for the contributions
from grid-edge flexibility. Also, better privacypreserving
aggregation mechanisms need to be
developed so that customers can feel comfortable about
participating in such programs.
x Reevaluation of grid architecture: Existing centralized control
structures and market clearing mechanisms have
great difficulties in integrating grid-edge DERs. In addition
to the efforts to make grid-edge DERs more civilized
to fit current business practices, it is also critical to think
about how the power grid should evolve to embrace the
changes brought by grid-edge DER integrations.
Acknowledgment
This work was authored by the Alliance for Sustainable
Energy, LLC, the manager and operator of the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) under Contract DEAC36-08GO28308.
Funding, used to conduct the research work mentioned in
the paper, was provided by the NREL Laboratory Directed
Research and Development Program, the U.S. DOE Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technologies
Office and Building Technologies Office, and the
U.S. DOE Office of Electricity. The views expressed in the
article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or
the U.S. Government. The publisher, by accepting the article
for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government
retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide
license to publish or reproduce the published form of this
work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
For Further Reading
F. Ding et al., " Federated architecture for secure and transactive
distributed energy resource management solutions
(FAST-DERMS), " Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA,
NREL Tech. Rep., NREL/TP-5D00-81566, Jan. 2022.
W. Liu and F. Ding, " Collaborative distribution system restoration
planning and real-time dispatch considering behindthe-meter
DERs, " IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 36, no. 4, pp.
3629-3644, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2020.3048089.
K. E. Antoniadou-Plytaria, I. N. Kouveliotis-Lysikatos, P. S.
Georgilakis, and N. D. Hatziargyriou, " Distributed and decentralized
voltage control of smart distribution networks: Models,
methods, and future research, " IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 8, no.
6, pp. 2999-3008, Nov. 2017, doi: 10.1109/TSG.2017.2679238.
Y. Yao, F. Ding, K. Horowitz, and A. Jain, " Coordinated
inverter control to increase dynamic PV hosting capacity: A
real-time optimal power flow approach, " IEEE Syst. J., vol. 16,
no. 2, pp. 1933-1944, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1109/JSYST.2021.3071998.
Y. Yao, K. Ye, J. Zhao, F. Ding, and J. Giraldez, " DERMS online:
A new voltage sensitivity-enabled feedback optimization
framework, " in Proc. IEEE Power Energy Soc. Innov. Smart Grid
Technol. Conf. (ISGT), New Orleans, LA, USA, Apr. 2022, pp. 1-5,
doi: 10.1109/ISGT50606.2022.9817506.
K. Utkarsh, F. Ding, X. Jin, M. Blonsky, H. Padullaparti, and S.
P. Balamurugan, " A network-aware distributed energy
resource aggregation framework for flexible, cost-optimal,
and resilient operation, " IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 13, no. 2,
pp. 1213-1224, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TSG.2021.3124198.
K. Utkarsh and F. Ding, " Self-organizing map-based resilience
quantification and resilient control of distribution systems
under extreme events, " IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 13, no.
3, pp. 1923-1937, May 2022, doi: 10.1109/TSG.2022.3150226.
Biographies
Fei Ding (fei.ding@nrel.gov) is with the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401 USA.
Weijia Liu (weijia.liu@nrel.gov) is with the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401 USA.
Utkarsh Kumar (utkarsh.kumar@nrel.gov) is with the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401 USA.
Yiyun Yao (yiyun.yao@nrel.gov) is with the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401 USA.
IEEE Electrification Magazine / DECEMBER 2022
37
IEEE Electrification - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification - December 2022
