Overview
The Solar Aggregation and Advanced Inverter Pilot Project, an initiative of the PowerPath DC Pilot Projects Governance Board, aims to explore the benefits of advanced inverter equipment, including improved communications and the expansion of solar hosting capacity. The pilot project was created to provide insights to assist the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (DCPSC) in identifying technologies and policies to modernize the District's energy delivery system, address grid integration challenges, and increase sustainability.
Award Details
The DCPSC has awarded a $3 million contract to Ecogy Energy, in partnership with Ecosuite, to implement this pilot project. The project is currently in the implementation phase, focusing on three existing solar sites within the District to demonstrate advanced grid integration.
Project Details
This pilot project will aggregate a diverse array of distributed energy resources (DERs), including solar PV, building load flexibility, battery energy storage, and EV charging stations, across three locations in the District. Ecogy Energy will manage the operation and maintenance of this aggregation throughout the pilot term, continually monitoring performance metrics such as generation output, inverter functionalities, and participant satisfaction. The project will use Ecosuite’s open-source platform to enable secure, real-time, two-way communication between the grid and DERs.
Key Objectives
- The project will use advanced inverters and controls to increase the grid's solar hosting capacity, as well as install battery storage and EV charging stations where appropriate to test a "coordinated system" approach.
- A primary goal is to deploy and validate a replicable, lower-cost alternative to the cellular cabinet telemetry equipment currently required by utilities, thereby reducing interconnection costs.
- The project aims to prove the value of aggregated DERs as flexible assets that support grid reliability, help lower interconnection costs for future solar projects, and enhance reliability during extreme weather events.
Although this is a pilot initiative, the expectation is that the DER aggregation will continue to operate effectively after the conclusion of the pilot period.
Background
This pilot was part of a broader effort under the Pepco Holdings, Inc.-Exelon merger agreement, which established a $21.55 million Pilot Project Fund Subaccount to support energy modernization projects in the District.