Investigating the implications of electrified loads on electric grid expansion, reliability, resilience, and costs in addition to researching the mitigation of these impacts
Project location: CanmetENERGY Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
Timeline: 5 years (2023 to 2028)
Program: Funded by the Program of Energy R&D and the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program
Electrification and energy storage projects share the common goal of addressing the challenges associated with the changing electrical demand profiles and the provision of clean, resilient, reliable, and affordable electricity for all Canadians.
The Data development for Data Development for Decarbonization and Electrification Scenarios (D3ES) project focuses on leveraging existing CE-O projects to create data sets and information relating to electrified buildings and transportation loads as well as the renewable energy resources and energy storage systems which can be used to mitigate the increased loads on the power grid.
The other project, the Smart Renewables and Electrification Systems (SRES) project, looks at the integration of renewable energy systems, energy storage and modern electrified loads on the power grid.
Data Development for Decarbonization and Electrification Scenarios (D3ES)
Project Overview and Objectives
The D3ES project is cross-cutting, spans multiple technologies and sectors (buildings, transportation, renewables, and energy storage) and will provide data-driven insights on decarbonization and electrification pathways. This project’s objective is to compile and assess relevant energy datasets in order to provide value-added data analysis, gap analysis, and insight into how the data can be used more effectively and shared to a wider range of stakeholders. This project will extend the value and impact of CE-O’s knowledge generation activities.
Impact and Innovations
The dissemination of data and information generated during this task will help enable the wider energy modelling community and key decision makers (i.e., grid operators, utilities, regulators, and policy makers, etc.) to refine and enhance the development of electrification and decarbonization strategies to meet net zero targets by 2050 and to maximize the economic and social benefits achievable through long term modelling and planning.
This project will also aid in adding new capacities and knowledge to CE-O. Historically, CE-O research has focused on the technologies themselves, and less on the impact on electrical grids and power systems. This project will be focused on the topics of net-zero power systems and electrical grids to develop knowledge to assist other projects at CE-O to integrate their technologies into the nation’s electrical grids.
Results and Outcomes
The D3ES project contributes to the development of new policies and programs through the provision of state-of-the-art research and data to policy makers and other governmental agencies. Data is also provided to key players in the Canadian electrical sector such as grid operators and utilities, to enable them to make accurate predictions and strategies to support the modernization and development of Canada’s power grids.
Smart Renewables and Electrification Systems (SRES)
Project Overview and Objectives
The Smart Renewables and Electrification Systems (SRES) project was developed to study the integration of renewables into the electrical power grid, the electrification of energy loads, and the provision of grid services from renewable energy to ensure grid reliability. SRES also seeks to acquire, analyze, and derive strategic insights from renewable energy and grid modernization projects. This involves studying both resource adequacy (i.e., electrical power can be generated when and where it is needed to meet loads), and grid reliability (i.e., ensuring the power quality needed to keep all electrical equipment connected to the grid operating is maintained, even during the occurrence of unforeseen events on the grid). The project is structured as a partnership between NRCan CE-O and CanmetENERGY-Varennes (CE-V) laboratories and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), with guidance and funding from both NRCan’s Office of Energy Research and Development (OERD) and Renewable Energy and Electricity Division (REED).
Impact and Innovations
This project aims to develop new models, tools, and datasets to enable a better understanding of a modern power grid with large variable renewable energy resources and increased peak demands from electrified loads. New innovations in grid modelling at several levels will be developed to study:
- bulk power grids at the transmission level
- the provision of grid services from renewable energy sources
- electrified loads and peak demand mitigation technologies
- the integration of novel energy storage technologies on power systems, and
- the impacts of distributed energy resources (DERs) and electrified loads on distribution grids.
The bulk power grid modeling results will assess resource adequacy, grid stability, and power flow under large-scale renewable integration. This modeling helps identify grid congestion, evaluate the need for transmission upgrades, and understand the temporal and spatial impacts of renewable energy on grid performance.
Grid service modeling aims to simulate the dynamic interactions of power grids incorporating renewable energy systems. This includes assessing critical aspects like frequency regulation, voltage stability, and reactive power management to ensure reliable grid operations. These simulations will help define stability thresholds and highlight the role of flexible solutions, such as demand response and energy storage, in minimizing the effects of variable renewable generation on overall grid performance.
Results and Outcomes
By simulating interconnected grid behavior, the models will provide actionable insights for improving grid flexibility, maintaining resource reliability, and supporting decarbonization strategies, affordability, reliability, and resilience.
Grid service modeling outcomes will inform utilities and grid operators on the optimal deployment of energy storage, renewable resources, and ancillary services. These findings will help modernize grid operations, ensuring renewable integration enhances grid stability and resilience while meeting decarbonization targets and peak load demands.
The technical and economic assessments undertaken will develop recommendations for future R&D, demonstration, and deployment programs and will answer energy and electricity policy-related questions. Information will be shared with grid operators, technology developers, energy system modellers, utilities, and other key stakeholders in the Canadian electricity sector to provide data and guidance on pathways to a clean, reliable and cost-effective power grid for Canadians.
Contact CanmetENERGY in Ottawa
To learn more about this project, email our Business Office.