NREL's OptGrid is Designed to Control Distributed Energy Resources for Grid Optimization
A new product developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has industry-shifting potential to help manage today’s increasingly distributed energy infrastructure. OptGrid has been trialed in rigorous lab experiments and on real power systems, and it has emerged as a commercial solution for real-time coordination of distributed energy resources (DERs).
Analogous to a software that operates a household’s smart devices, OptGrid is the operating system for the new grid, which is being defined by distributed energy technologies in large numbers and great variety. OptGrid manages the complex connections between those technologies, facilitating efficient energy exchange and flexible power systems. With OptGrid, communities, utilities, microgrids, and residents are closer than ever to realizing a power system that operates at the full potential provided by modern energy resources.