What is Integrating Solar into Day-to-Day System Operations?

Integrating solar into day-to-day system operations refers to the ability of utilities and bulk power system operators to have real-time information about the amount of solar generation being produced at any given moment and at any location. In addition to having that information, being able to optimally allocate, schedule, and control the solar generation on the grid helps to achieve more reliable and predictable operation of the electric power system during both normal and abnormal conditions. As increasing amounts of solar are added to the grid, electric networks that have robust communication and sensing capabilities and controls to address solar uncertainty are able to operate more reliably. Learn more about the basics of systems integration.

Why is Integrating Solar into Day-to-Day System Operations Important?

With rapid growth of solar and other renewable energy resources, the U.S. electrical grid is gradually shifting away from the few, large, central electricity generators of the past. Many of the installed solar systems are “behind-the-meter,” meaning they are owned by customers and therefore are not directly visible or controllable by utility operators. This creates challenges for utilities to track and predict the exact amount of solar being generated and ultimately impacts their ability to balance the supply and demand for electricity. A lack of real-time and predicted knowledge may also lead to inaccurate estimates of utility solar hosting capacity and operation reserves, leading to compromised reliability, security, and resilience in grid operation, as well as less optimal utilization of installed assets.

Large amounts of solar and other renewable energy resources requires an increase in flexibility of power systems that can provide enough ramping capacity and accommodate more frequent cycling between maximum and minimum capacity of other generators to compensate for the uncertainty and variability. More operational flexibility can be unlocked through optimal coordination of energy storage, transmission system expansion, enhanced system utilization through grid enhanced technologies, and better forecasting of renewable resources.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) funds research to improve day-to-day grid operations in order to meet its goal of improving the ability of solar energy to integrate into the country’s electric grid, and to combine solar technologies with storage, efficiency, and other value-adding technologies that allow solar to contribute to enhanced grid reliability and resilience. Learn more about SETO’s goals.

SETO Research in Integrating Solar into Day-to-Day System Operations

Projects in this topic area deal with control and coordination of solar generation at both bulk power and distribution levels so the grid is able to balance generation and demand in real time. Projects are focused on sensing and communication, system protection and fault recovery, dynamic power flow control, operational planning, and data analytics and decision algorithms. Several of SETO’s funding programs have projects that focus on day-to-day system operation:

  • Operation and Planning Tools for Inverter-Based Resource Management and Availability for Future Power Systems (OPTIMA) funding program - addressing emerging challenges and opportunities for grid planning and operation engineers and technicians arising from the power system’s transition to variable renewable energy sources and inverter-based power electronic grid interfaces.
  • Solar and Wind Grid Services and Reliability Demonstration funding program – supporting demonstration projects that integrate variable renewable generation with other large-scale or aggregated distributed energy resource (DER) technologies to provide critical grid-supporting services.
  • American-Made Net Load Forecasting Prize – increasing adoption of the state-of-the-art in net load forecasting by incentivizing forecast providers to demonstrate the quality and performance of their probabilistic forecasting tools to the larger forecasting industry.
  • Advanced Systems Integration for Solar Technologies (ASSIST) funding program – developing tools and models to improve situational awareness and enhance resilience in power systems, including sensor technologies, secure and robust communications, and advanced data analytics.
  • American-Made Solar Forecasting Prize – incentivizing solar forecast providers to develop and potentially commercialize tools that predict how much energy solar power plants will need to generate days in advance, so grid operators can plan for and manage it.
  • Solar Forecasting 2 funding program – improving the management of solar power’s variability and uncertainty, enabling its more reliable and cost-effective integration onto the grid.
  • Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2019 funding program – supporting projects that improve the affordability, reliability, and performance of solar technologies on the national grid.
  • Solar Energy Technologies Office Lab Call FY19-21 funding program – providing foundational analysis and evaluation of solar integration challenges, as well as strategies for advancing power system planning and operation, power electronics, sensors and communication technologies, and cybersecurity.

To view specific projects that support system planning and operation, search the Solar Energy Research Database.

Additional Resources

Learn more about systems integration research, other solar energy research in SETO, and current and former funding programs.