In this project

1. A Reactive Future
University of Idaho: Senior Design Team
Grad Student: Jacob Dolan
Undergraduate Students: Maximilian Schnitker, Nick Flynn, Tianyi Chen, Barjas
Alruwaili
Principal Investigator: Dr. Brian Johnson
Co Principal Investigator: Dr. Herbert Hess

2. Mission Statement
&
First Steps
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In response to new ideals from consumers regarding the utility companies we are
conducting research into providing non-wire solutions and reform how the utility
plays a role in energy distribution.

3. Beginning research
● Location Value Analysis
● Distributed Resource plans
● Non-Wire Solutions
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4. Locational Value Analysis
● DER value by location
● Avoided costs
● Deferring transmission and
distributions expenditures
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5. Projects with Possible DER Deferral
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6. Separate Research
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7. Generation Resource Strategy
● Current Generation
▪ Eight hydroelectric developments
▪ Partial ownership in two coal-fired
units
▪ Five natural gas -fired projects
▪ One Biomass plant
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By: Nick Flynn

8. Future Generation Resource Strategy
● Preferred Strategy for the Future
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9. Transmission Load Studies and
Seasonal Operational Constraints
● Native load variations
- Peak hours mainly in winter and
sometimes during the summer days.
- 1,821 MW as the highest peak load in
winter 2009.
- Growth percentage in the 20 years.
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By: Barjas Alruwaili

10. Winter Balancing Authority
Area load variations
- Peak load is 2,350 MW in 2008.
- Forecasted average peak load is
roughly 2,500 MW between 2018 and
2030.
- Maximum forecasted peak load is
approximately 2600 MW in 2030.
- Forecasting based on data of 2014.
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By: Barjas Alruwaili

11. Summer Balancing Authority
Area load variations
- Max Peak load is 2,109 MW in 2014.
- Forecasted average peak load is
roughly 2,300 MW between 2018 and
2030.
- Maximum forecasted peak load is
approximately 2,350 MW in 2030.
- Forecasting based on data of 2016.
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By: Barjas Alruwaili

12. System Flexibility
● What is Flexibility?
● Applications
● Future plans
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By: Maximilian Schnitker

13. A Flexible Grid
Smart Grid
● Many customer choices
● Digital
● Two-Way communication
● Self-monitoring
● Adaptive and Islanding
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Existing Grid
● Few customer choices
● Electromechanical
● One-Way communication
● Manual monitoring
● Failures and blackouts

14. What happens next?
What happens next?
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15. Distribution Planning
● Primary goal
○ Safe and reliable service to all customers, efficiently at lowest life cycle cost
● DER Planning in the IRP
○ Solar, Storage, Conservation, C&I Backup Generation, C&I Demand Response
○ costs vs. benefits
● Optimizing DER Value
○ Foundational Enabling Systems
○ Future Enabling Systems
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By: Tianyi Chen

16. 16
Optimizing DER Value
By: Tianyi Chen

17. Optimizing DER Value
pilot projects
(1)Turner Energy Storage Project –
Washington Department of Commerce
Clean Energy Fund I
(2)Shared Energy Economy –
Washington Department of Commerce
Clean Energy Fund II
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By: Tianyi Chen

18. Future Considerations
● Data needs depend on analytics,
efficiency, and operational flexibility
required
● Current project under consideration to
upgrade to 3 phase SCADA on all
circuits, $115M
● Evolution towards more data
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Distribution Planning
Current State Analysis Capabilities
● Varied data available per circuit
● 346 Circuits
○ 94 Circuits with Distribution
Management System Control
○ 101 Circuits with 3-Phase
Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA)
○ 83 Circuits with 1-Phase SCADA
○ 68 Circuits without SCADA

19. Design Directions for Future
●Smart Inverters
▪Voltage regulation through reactive power
manipulation
●Energy Storage
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20. Future Work:
●GridLab-D Model
●Chosen direction
▪Products and Services development
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21. Possible Design Ideas
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● Create an algorithm in Gridlab D that uses locational value analysis
to identify the best locations of distributed energy resources
● Use a Method that San Diego G&E utilizes for integration capacity
to analyze the Gridlab_D and CIM models, (or Synergi).

22. References
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● Avista System Planning Assessment Report.
● Avista Integrated Resource Plan(IRP)
● San Diego Gas and Electric Distribution Resource Plan(DRP)
● Smart Grid — The New and Improved Power Grid: A Survey
● Southern California Edison Distribution Resource Plan

23. Questions?
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