With the growth of distributed energy resources (DERs), the industry needs one cohesive way to integrate and interact with the electric grid. On August 2, 2018, a consortium of national labs and nonprofit organizations announced the Plug & Play DER Challenge Call for Concepts to develop interoperability solutions to lower integration costs, increase system performance, and enhance capabilities.
Teams will devise specifications for an interface that supports DER integration, and then develop proposals for demonstrating the integration process with hardware and software. Qualifying submitters will be invited to present their concepts at North America Smart Energy Week in September.
The Plug & Play DER Challenge will conclude in 2019 with live, public demonstrations of the hardware and software interfaces for integrating DERs with a utility grid. Leading concepts are expected to influence future directions for standards, testing, policies, and product developments.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is organizing and administering the Challenge for GMLC, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Smart Electric Power Alliance, and the Electric Power Research institute.
Find more information on the Challenge, including timelines, specifications, and requirements.
Schedule
- 8/16/18 - Webinar about Challenge requirements
- 9/7/18 - Presentations and draft written concepts due
- 9/14/18 – Qualifying selected participants announced
- 9/24-27/18 - Selected participants present their solutions at North America Smart Energy Week, Anaheim, CA
- 10/31/18 – Teams may submit revised proposals for the demonstration phase
- 2019: Live demonstrations of Challenge concepts
