Opus One Solutions, a developer of smart grid software engineering, unveiled the latest in its suite of solutions for distribution utilities June 27. GridOS® Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) was conceived to integrate traditional distribution planning with Distributed Energy Resource (DER) planning, which is becoming increasingly important as utilities plan, account for and manage higher penetrations of solar, energy storage, demand response, electric vehicles and other DERs.
The company says that the GridOS IDP, “leverages Opus One's proven breakthrough in distribution system power flow and state estimation to enable an integrated planning strategy that aligns DER operations with the needs of the distribution system - including power quality, grid capacity and optimal control. Moreover, GridOS IDP can examine near-term, medium-term, and long-term scenarios, while addressing the complexity of highly networked, two-way power flows and providing insights into hosting capacity and DER valuation by location and time.”
"Opus One is leveraging its experience in grid analytics and management software to offer this cutting-edge solution, which allows utilities to plan for the increasingly distributed grid of the future," says Joshua Wong, President and CEO of Opus One Solutions. "GridOS IDP also unlocks the understanding of the value and impacts of DERs to enable the next evolution of utility and DER business model design."
The company explains further that, “At its core, GridOS IDP offers model-based planning tools by leveraging the underlying physics of the grid through a 3-phase unbalanced model with state estimation and optimal power flow. Using locational net benefit analysis methods including distribution locational marginal pricing (DLMP), GridOS IDP can determine most valuable locations and configurations of DERs and other assets. Further, GridOS IDP incorporates probabilistic and stochastic analyses for financial risk assessment and decision making to provide utilities with investment scenarios for hosting capacity upgrades based on traditional expansion strategies, distribution automation capabilities, and non-wires alternatives (NWA) opportunities, helping to prioritize expansion plans based on risk-return trade-offs.”