GridBallast: Grid Edge Load Controls for System Stability

Simulation results showing the benefits of a new class of commercially available load control devices from Eaton, plus the benefits of these controls presented in two utility deployments. (Nov 2020)

FAQ

Date: November 2020

The growing deployment of distributed generation has created a management challenge through its impact on local power quality as well as its limited capabilities to provide bulk power system operating reserves. NRECA, in partnership with Eaton, SparkMeter, and Carnegie Mellon University, has completed a project funded by ARPA-E to develop a new class of load control devices that, by reacting autonomously to local voltage and frequency conditions, can mitigate concerns about integrating large quantities of distributed generation.

This session describes the simulation results that show the benefits of controls, as well as some of the commercially available hardware from Eaton that includes these controls. It also discusses the benefits seen in deployments at two electric utilities in California and South Dakota.

Speakers:
David Pinney, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Joseph Childs, Eaton