Control Algorithms for Autonomous Energy Systems

NREL's control algorithms for autonomous energy systems (AES) deconstruct large-scale, centralized control and operations into smaller decisions so that central operators are not overwhelmed by data and communications.

This is an efficient and cost-effective approach to controlling a future grid with large numbers of distributed energy resources and reaping the benefits of innovative technologies with variable generation.

To make this a reality, NREL developed cutting-edge control algorithms around key objectives:

Real-time operation to balance load and generation every second
Asynchronous data and control for variance in energy resources and delays in communications
Robustness, including tolerance to faults, outages, and communication failures and recovery from a failed state
Scalable design to control hundreds of millions of devices.

Illustration of the growing scale of connected renewable, conventional, electric vehicle, industry, commercial, and residential devices, ranging from hundreds at the local scale up to hundreds of millions at a regional scale.

Autonomous energy systems can scale from hundreds to millions of devices.

NREL's AES algorithms automatically connect and disconnect from the grid to operate in grid-connected or island mode, which can result in improved customer reliability, cost reduction, and resilience to grid disturbances. Additionally, researchers developed and tested an algorithmic framework for real-time optimization of distributed energy resources, so that wind turbines or solar PV could provide service to the grid within operational and engineering constraints.

NREL has made fundamental advances in areas such as: