by Brittney Kluse
Grid operators who spend their days managing a piece of the nation's electric grid could walk into the Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center (EIOC) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and feel right at home.
As a Department of Energy multiprogram national laboratory focused on energy, environment, national security, and fundamental and computational sciences, PNNL has expertise in multiple scientific disciplines that uniquely support the EIOC's interests.
Located on PNNL's Richland, Wash. campus, the EIOC was developed in partnership with the Northwest Center for Electric Power Technologies and industry partners.
All parties agreed on a core mission: strengthen the nation's power grid system.
The facility brings together experts in the field of grid management with cutting-edge tools to create a central resource for improving grid control, operations, and security. As one of PNNL's most unique facilities, the EIOC is capable of monitoring—and potentially controlling—the power grid for the western United States.
However, the EIOC's primary purpose is to provide a real operations environment to aid researchers in developing, assessing, testing and deploying new tools for managing the grid.
PNNL also has developed and deployed a complementary suite of analysis, modeling, and decision software tools that use live data from the grid. Equipped with these technologies, researchers have analyzed grid transient events over the past seven years to establish an unprecedented understanding of dynamic grid events and response.
Complete with $3 million in energy management system software provided by industry leader Areva T&D, secure computer networks, 30 work stations, more than 100 servers, 25 special-purpose computers, and a 115-square-foot video wall, the EIOC is a fully capable control center with access to real data from North America's power grids. "The EIOC brings together unique tools and technologies in an actual operational control center, resulting in a powerful platform for grid-related research and development," said Ross Guttromson, EIOC manager.
By adding utility-specific grid models and advanced security systems to control data, the EIOC can mimic grid tests that the 130 existing control centers in North America currently operate. This helps researchers learn and advance technology in support of efficient grid operations.
The EIOC's functionality and extensive access to data enable researchers to test new technologies without the cost of full implementation or the potential risk of negatively affecting an actual system. In this safe test bed, researchers can work more quickly through the iterative process of developing and refining technology, which includes manufacturers, researchers and users. "I estimate that you can get about 80 percent of the benefit of a full-blown demonstration for about 20 percent of the cost," Guttromson said. Some research in the EIOC is focused on helping operators understand what's happening on neighboring systems, how it might affect their own system, and what to do once they know there is a problem. "It's about understanding what you need to know at the right time and knowing what to do with it," Guttromson said.
With emerging visualization technologies and improved predictions of grid behavior, the EIOC is also home to unique human factors research capabilities. By understanding the psychology of operators, how they approach their jobs and their workplace culture, researchers can take these aspects into consideration to ensure that new technologies will be efficient, effective, and actually used—versus sitting on a shelf.
The EIOC also supports operator training, exploring uniquely realistic simulations and scenarios that include failing indicators and computer hackers. DOE and government agencies can use the EIOC to test solutions and understand the potential benefits of technologies. This facility also could be used by utilities trying to solve a particular problem or by manufacturing companies interested in safely testing new technologies, vetting them with users and integrating them with actual data—all within the same environment where the technology eventually will be put to use.
Building on expertise in electricity transmission and distribution, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has integrated industry software, real-time grid data, and advanced computation into a functional control center where researchers develop grid management and control technologies to improve the reliability of the nation's power grid. (Click image to enlarge)
