Micro-Transactive Grid Project

DERs — including solar panels, wind turbines, battery storage systems and other renewable technologies — provide flexible and resilient energy by generating electricity closer to the point of consumption. To better harness the DERs in the Spokane area, we introduced micro-transactive grid technology to connect them to microgrids that could generate, manage and redistribute the electricity locally.

Micro-transactive grid technology allows grid participants like homes and businesses to not only produce and consume energy, but also to trade it among themselves based on the real-time market dynamics of supply and demand. This creates a flexible local energy market that optimizes resource use, supports grid stability, encourages renewable adoption and provides economic incentives for participants.

Our role was instrumental in orchestrating a seamless integration of DERs into a cohesive microgrid system as well as fostering a thriving local energy market. This approach allowed for more efficient and economical energy management that surpassed traditional independent operations.

Our designs included a 100-kW and a 500-kW battery energy storage system (BESS) as well as two 100-kW nominal direct current output photovoltaic solar arrays. These were supported by a state-of-the-art microgrid control building that housed control system equipment, SCADA interconnections, protective devices and other technical components. The micro-transactive grid facilitated the frequency regulation and power balancing needed to deal with the fluctuations that come with integrating renewable energy sources.

This project achieved significant reductions in energy consumption at peak demand for minimal cost.