Itron, Tesla and Xcel Aggregating DERs to Create Virtual Power Plant in Colorado
Tesla’s energy storage business will partner with Itron and utility Xcel Energy to develop an advanced virtual power plant network in Colorado.
Energy management firm Itron will utilize its Grid Edge Intelligence (GEI) solutions to manage the growing number of distributed energy resources within the Xcel Energy grid. Tesla will contribute its battery storage and management system.
Virtual power plants use advanced software and communication technologies to aggregate many DERs and coordinate them into a single, dispatchable resource which can deployed either to reduce load or create extra energy capacity during times of peak demand, helping the grid stay in balance.
Itron’s IntelliFLEX Aggregator Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) solution, a part of Itron’s Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio and powered by distributed intelligence, enables energy providers to aggregate and localize management of DERs. The solution enables energy provider to enlist residential battery storage, solar panels, EV chargers, smart thermostats and other DERs to balance power at the edge of the grid. Itron’s IntelliFLEX solution, proven at scale, helps manage 3 million DER devices for 30 utilities across the U.S.
“Utilities need better data, more insights and the ability to quickly take actions based on near real-time data,” said Don Reeves, Itron’s senior vice president of Outcomes, in a statement. “This collaboration highlights the importance of energy provider awareness at the grid edge and how we can help manage the future grid, especially as communities reach 100% electrification.”
Itron will directly integrate its IntelliFLEX solution with Tesla’s battery storage platform to provide grid benefits in real-time using power from solar stored on Tesla Powerwall home batteries. The collaboration will expand Xcel Energy’s VPP program, Renewable Battery Connect, increasing the number of batteries to be dispatched when required as well as helping Xcel Energy meet its electrification goals rapidly.
The program allows Xcel Energy to manage customers’ batteries during periods of peak energy demand to help stabilize the electric grid.
The companies streamline DER orchestration and the facilitation of customer enrollment, event dispatch and optimization of program performance by integrating Itron’s aggregator DERMS solution with Tesla’s platform. Xcel Energy will efficiently stabilize the grid during periods of peak demand with renewable, solar energy through battery management through the collaboration.
