Killian McKenna is a member of the Distribution Edge Group in the Grid Planning and Analysis Center where he leads research into distributed energy resources (DERs), electrical distribution system planning and operation, and demand-side resources. As a principal investigator he has led projects on smart inverters, DER and solar PV integration, lithium-ion and flow battery energy storage, demand-side management, customer modeling, and volt-VAR optimization. His expertise includes modeling and simulation, field data analysis, technoeconomic analysis and laboratory testing of distributed energy resources. He has worked with electric distribution utilities both nationally and internationally, DER start-ups, non-profit research institutions and government agencies.

Research Interests

Electric distribution network planning and operation for realizing smart grid opportunities

Distributed energy resource performance characterization, control, and optimization

Behind-the-meter customer resources and demand-side management

Education

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland

B.E., Electrical Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland

Featured Work

Distribution System Research Roadmap, PNNL Technical Report (2022)

Preparing Distribution Utilities for the Future-Unlocking Demand-Side Management Potential: A Novel Analytical Framework, NREL Technical Report (2021)

OCHRE: The Object-Oriented, Controllable, High-Resolution Residential Energy Model for Dynamic Integration Studies, Applied Energy (2021)

An Analysis Framework for Distribution Network DER Integration Analysis in India: Distributed Solar in Tamil Nadu, NREL Technical Report (2021)

Time-of-Use and Demand Charge Battery Controller Using Stochastic Model Predictive Control, IEEE International Conference on Communications, Control, and Computing Technologies for Smart Grids (2020)

Analysis of Degradation in Residential Battery Energy Storage Systems for Rate-Based Use-Cases, Applied Energy (2020)

Open and Closed-Loop Residential Load Models for Assessment of Conservation Voltage Reduction, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems (2017)

Autonomous Plug and Play Electric Vehicle Charging Scenarios Including Reactive Power Arovision: A Probabilistic Load Flow Analysis, IET Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2016)

Residential Load Modeling of Price-Based Demand Response for Network Impact Studies, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid (2016)