NIST Smart Grid and CPS Newsletter - March 2020

• NIST Released Publication on Economics of Smart Grid Interoperability
• NIST Published Paper on Compositional Models for Power Systems
• NIST Participates in IEEE Working Group Pursuing Automated Vehicle Safety Model
• ASHRAE Developed Guide on Integrating Buildings with Smart Grid, Aided by NIST Staff 
• NIST International Associate Awarded Best Demo at Luxembourg Conference
• NIST Staff to Aid SEPA'S Council on Smart Transition to Clean and Modern Energy

NIST Released Publication on Economics of Smart Grid Interoperability 

NIST's Economics of Interoperability in the Context of Smart Grid Architectures was published as NIST Special Publication 1900-604, in December 2019. Its key finding is that the smart grid's many potential benefits – from local to global levels – depend on interoperability. The report also noted that the more barriers to interoperability that exist, the greater the grid's transaction costs can be, which may affect accessibility in some grid service markets. The report examines the significance of interoperability for five possible grid architectures, developed by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and focused on:

• advanced bulk generation and transmission systems;
• implementations highly resilient to disasters and attacks;
• inclusion of multiple distributed energy resources (DERs);
• microgrids; and
• urban networks, including converging electricity, natural gas, transportation, water, and waste networks.

The report identifies a need to translate definitions of interoperability into product development and operations metrics for validating performance. It also identifies a need to determine whether interoperability enhancements will change transaction costs and reduce barriers to economic opportunities.

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NIST Published Paper on Compositional Models for Power Systems 

The NIST paper, Compositional Models for Power Systems, by a team which included three NIST researchers, was released in late 2019 and presented at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The paper focuses on the problem of integrating multiple overlapping models and their data, which is the case with the power grid's transition to the smart grid. The paper provides a methodology for managing a grid with multiple models of distributed energy resources, with different energy sources – photovoltaic systems, batteries, conventional loads, and more. A presentation of the paper can be viewed on YouTube. The paper has been accepted for publication in the journal, Compositionality.

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NIST Participates in IEEE working Group Pursuing Automated Vehicle Safety Model

NIST's Automated Driving Systems (ADS) researcher Ed Griffor participated in the launch of the Standards Working Group, IEEE P2846: “A Formal Model for Safety Considerations in Automated Vehicle Decision Making,” at Intel in San Jose, California on January 30, 2020. The Working Group is co-sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society and the Vehicle Technical Society. The Working Group's goal is to define a parameterized formal model for automated vehicle decision making. This model will help industry and government align on a common definition of automated vehicle driving safety, while balancing safety and practicability. The model is intended to be formally verifiable, which would contribute to automated vehicle safety assurance. In June 2019, Intel, NIST and other ADS community partners held a workshop on Consensus Safety Measurement Methodologies for ADS-Equipped Vehicles.

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ASHRAE Developed Guide on Integrating Buildings with Smart Grid, Aided by NIST Staff 

ASHRAE Developed Guide on Integrating Buildings with Smart Grid, Aided by NIST Staff 
In January 2020, ASHRAE published its Smart Grid Application Guide: Integrating Facilities with the Electric Grid. NIST’s Steven Bushby chaired the committee that developed the publication. The Guide is based on the expertise of those in research, utility regulation, building operation and building science. The Guide is designed to help building professionals understand the smart grid's ongoing transformation and the opportunities it offers. Notably, the Guide helps users:

• Understand the changing regulatory landscape and grid services, today and tomorrow
• Evaluate potential economic opportunities regarding how buildings are operated
• Become aware of design and code requirements for PV and flexible loads
• Choose from a range of topics, those relevant to their building and situation
• Develop expertise in building and grid interactions, which will increase in demand

The Smart Grid Application Guide can be accessed online.

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NIST International Associate Awarded Best Demo at Luxembourg Conference

NIST's Sebastian Barillaro and colleagues were recognized with a best demonstration award at the International Conference on Ad-Hoc Networks and Wireless in Luxembourg, on October 1-3, 2019. There, Barillaro demonstrated a Low Power Wide Area Network for city-wide monitoring of key activities, supporting municipal decision making. With prior permission, Barillaro deployed network hardware, barely larger than a postage stamp, on Luxembourg's trams and collected data on their operations. The network offers capabilities for the Internet of Things, beyond regular telecommunications like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, V-Sat, 4G, which Barillaro detailed in the paper, A Demonstration of Low Power Wide Area Networking for City-Scale Monitoring Applications. Barillaro was a NIST guest researcher from Argentina's National Institute of Industrial Technology.

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NIST Staff to Aid SEPA's Council on Smart Transition to Clean and Modern Energy

In January 2020, Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) announced its launch of a Research Advisory Council intended to facilitate a smart transition to clean and modern energy. The Council will provide strategic insight into the evolving clean energy market, provide guidance on research priorities, and identify opportunities for SEPA's constituents. The Council will be comprised of industry representatives and other stakeholders, including government. NIST participants in the Research Advisory Council include Avi Gopstein, Cuong Nguyen, and Nelson Hastings. Ultimately, the Council seeks to bring together the necessary stakeholders to accelerate progress.

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