Abstract:
‘Real Time Power and Energy Systems Innovation Laboratory’ is a unique facility housed, Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Researchers at INL perform cutting edge research related to real time co-simulation of power and energy systems for analyzing complex component and system level behaviors. The test bed provides the necessary infrastructure for performing Controller-Hardware-In-the-Loop (CHIL) and Power-Hardware-In-the-Loop (PHIL). INL performs active research related to microgrid modeling, microgrid controller development, electric vehicles, controller prototyping, etc. in this facility. Within the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory complex INL is leading the way in real time related research in myriad ways. One prime example is pursing the connectivity between RTDS® racks that are geographically distributed. INL and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have collaborated to connect RTDS® racks at the two sites based on the GTNETx2 (TCP-IP/UDP) that was recently introduced. The motivation of connecting the two labs using the RTDS® platform are multifold – larger simulations, integration of hardware assets, connecting analytical tools, etc. The integration of hardware assets in real time sense is especially of a greater significance to the national labs as it helps utilize the suite of hardware that are located at different locations. The collaborative effort between INL and NREL are currently focused on performing distributed real time simulations using hardware such as electrolyzers, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. We are also pursuing connectivity with other national labs and academia (Florida State University, Colorado State University, and Washington State University) and to integrate assets in a real time framework to leverage respective assets and facilitate open research opportunities of a larger scale.
Manish Mohanpurkar – Idaho National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
