The New York Independent System Operator on July 26 said that it has selected three pilot projects to demonstrate the capabilities of distributed energy resources and options for their integration into its wholesale markets.
The grid operator said that the pilot projects support the NYISO’s DER Roadmap, which sets a path for integrating DERs and, in so doing, will help New York achieve its goals for Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). REV, which was launched in the spring of 2014, entails a shift away from the traditional utility model of centralized generation, toward a more decentralized electric grid that relies increasingly on energy efficiency, demand resources and DERs.
The pilot program, which was unveiled in October 2017, is designed to inform the NYISO’s market design efforts, build operational DER experience among the NYISO, utilities and pilot participants, and demonstrate new or revised operational coordination processes among NYISO, utilities and DER aggregators.
A common objective of the pilot projects is to demonstrate the potential for DERs to offer services to both retail/distribution-level programs and wholesale markets.
The NYISO received ten proposals for consideration and selected the following DER aggregation projects to move forward:
- Front-of-the-meter batteries, managed and operated by Con Edison, to demonstrate the coordination of multiple DERs to be effectively dispatched by NYISO or Con Edison depending on system needs or conditions;
- Front-of-the-meter batteries co-located with solar to evaluate the ability of such aggregated resources to provide both wholesale and retail services. The system will be managed and operated by Borrego Solar, Inc.; and
- High-rise buildings with curtailable energy load, managed and operated by iES – Integrated Energy Services Corporation, which will evaluate the capability of building management systems to provide ancillary services.
The NYISO said the pilot program will be administered through a test environment that is not integrated into the NYISO’s production market and operations systems. “This will enable the pilot projects to test and demonstrate new operational processes and alternative communications solutions that may not be permitted under today’s market rules,” the grid operator said.
The NYISO is working with each project participant to evaluate facility interconnection and finalize preparations through the end of this year and it is expected that demonstration testing will begin in the first half of 2019.
Key findings from the pilot program will be shared with market participants and stakeholders as the NYISO works to develop operational processes and market rules to integrate DER as well other resources.
Additional information about the DER pilot program is available here.
