Virtual Power Plants & the Road to DERMS: It’s a Distributed Energy World

Distributed energy resources (DERs) give us the opportunity to build a clear, more nimble and responsive grid and to make sure the grid maintains a constant state of reliable balance. But those resources need to orchestrated so that they are optimally aggregated, optimized and controlled for the grid services that are needed – precisely when and where they are needed.

This webinar will explore the current state of virtual power plants (VPPs) and distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), with a focus on why they are different and why these differences matter when it comes to DER orchestration and associated DER management plans and investments.

Alectra’s Vikram Singh will discuss his utility’s VPP project, which is being used to control a microgrid incorporating solar, wind, battery storage, EV charging, flexible loads and other DERs. He’ll talk about why the utility decided to implement a VPP to control the microgrid and how the VPP will enable Alectra to scale the project to incorporate increasingly more DERs as a means to provide more value and services to their customers, while ensuring greater grid stability and environmental sustainability. He’ll discuss factors such as quantifying ROI for the project, building internal support, and quantifying the grid services and market participation values. He’ll also provide insights on evolving from the VPP to a DERMS solution – and how the approach taken by the utility will help achieve its DSO objectives.

Enbala’s Bud Vos will delve into the differences between a VPP and a DERMS, with VPPs providing grid services that are not highly dependent on specific DER asset locations and a DERMS providing active and reactive power control for grid services that ARE highly dependent on the specific location of each asset. He will talk about why these distinctions matter and how understanding these differences enables a logical VPP-to-DERMS migration path that can deliver higher value and avoid large up-front investments.