Planning & Operations Analytics
Break down traditional utility silos and streamline access to DER data and insights across the utility
The increasing presence of DERs such as solar PV and energy storage are causing concerns about maintaining grid reliability and managing uncertainty. Utility planners and operators are operating in a new environment that requires connecting accurate DER data with traditional engineering and planning tools. Traditional utility silos—from DER program management to system operations and planning, load forecasting, and integrated resource planning—present barriers to informed decision making.
Broad visibility to DERs at the grid edge can improve utility decision making, and cloud-based automations make it efficient to launch integrations.
When considering DER analytics and insight solutions, utilities should consider these factors:
Automate PV operation assessment with historical time-series data and forecasts
Rapid growth of behind-the-meter PV is making utility operators think twice about old assumptions and predictable load characteristics. “Load” as seen by operators may contain hidden solar production, making it less predictable and more variable than expected. The ideal solution provides short-term operational load forecasts for behind-the-meter PV fleets that are automatically updated with recent interconnections. By accurately disaggregating distributed PV generation from load in historical data for planning and in real-time for operations, utilities improve short, medium and long-term decision-making.
Leverage historical DER adoption data to account for DER growth and enhance medium- and long-term load forecasts
Annual or semiannual load forecasting is foundational to utility planning efforts. Medium- to long-term load forecasts feed into other important utility efforts such as distribution planning, resource planning and rate cases. That’s why it’s so important to account for DER growth as part of the load forecast. Part of that accounting is to establish a baseline of true load, distinct from behind-the-meter PV production.
Many utility load forecasts today don’t explicitly account for DER growth, instead relying on old assumptions about load growth alone. PV production reduces apparent load and also changes the load shape. Accounting for PV and other DER adoption and operation in the load forecast increases trust in the load forecast and downstream planning processes.
Reduce reporting burdens like hosting capacity analysis through automation
For many utilities, hosting capacity analysis (HCA) is a manual process performed by the distribution engineering team. Because HCA requires significant engineering effort, it is often out of date or not performed at all, resulting in interconnection applications that get delayed often resulting in a confusing experience for the end-customer.
Utilities can solve this problem by integrating and automating the connection between their DER interconnection system-of-record and their distribution engineering software tool. Automated HCA and interconnection application technical screens not only save valuable time for utility engineering teams, but also improve the customer experience.
Clean Power Research’s cloud-based software products—including FleetView®, PowerClerk® and WattPlan® Grid—provide a solution for utilities to de-silo DER data and deliver critical insights to engineers, planners, load forecasters and operators.
Go behind-the-meter and gain unprecedented insight into the impact of distributed PV on grid operations. Using PV system specifications and SolarAnywhere® data, FleetView models and forecasts production of distributed PV fleets to cost-effectively support utility and ISO planning and load-balancing requirements.
- Leverage SolarAnywhere data to simulate every PV system using a highly-accurate production model that can be applied to the entire balancing area or to operation of a single smart meter
- Scale to the size of your solar fleet, from a single feeder to the entire balancing area
- Integrate data easily into your existing processes via the SolarAnywhere API or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
- Link with PV system specifications stored in PowerClerk, or import specification information from other standardized files
Connect detailed DER system specifications and interconnection status data with teams across the utility to create value. With customizable program design, automation and integration capabilities, PowerClerk® streamlines engineering tasks such as host capacity analysis and interconnection application technical screens.
- Connect consistent, customizable and detailed DER system specification data with engineering and planning teams
- No-code configuration makes program modifications easy with minimal utility IT support
- Integrate data easily into your existing processes via the API or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
Build DER adoption scenarios that fit your utility’s historical adoption and expectations for future rates, incentives and technology costs. Quickly update scenario assumptions as expectations change and generate updated scenario results on demand. Enjoy flexible geographic granularity including system-wide adoption curves, adoption rates by zip codes or substation/feeder/circuits, and customer adoption propensities built on individual customer economics, socioeconomics and other factors.
- Customer-level DER adoption forecasts provide highly granular data to integrate DERs into your business
- Built on a scalable, cloud-computing infrastructure, WattPlan Grid produces adoption forecasts quickly
- WattPlan Grid introduces consistency and eliminates silos from your planning process by accounting for multiple DERs in one combined adoption forecast