アメリカエネルギー省とNRELは、再エネと送電網の統合をめざし、新たな研究センター ESIF を開設: ソフトエネルギー

アメリカエネルギー省とNRELは、再エネと送電網の統合をめざし、新たな研究センター ESIF を開設

　アメリカエネルギー省（DOE）と国立再生可能エネルギー研究所（NREL）は、コロラドのゴールデンのNRELの施設に隣接した敷地に、新たにエネルギーシステム統合研究センター（ESIF : Energy Systems Integration Facility）を建設したと発表しました。
　エネルギーシステム統合研究センター（ESIF)は、再生可能エネルギーの導入をさらに拡大するために、商用連系網について、いわゆるスマートグリッドにおける統合環境を研究するための、民間企業も利用できる、アメリカ初の大規模な研究施設となります。
　すでに太陽光発電用のローコストなパワコンをこのESIF施設で研究開発することも決まっているとのことです。

　エネルギーシステム統合研究センター（ESIF)には、太陽光発電、風力発電、ストレージシステムなどを接続し解析できる、スーパーコンピューターや接続および解析のためのさまざまなシステムが整備され、商用電源網、グリッドにおける統合、つまり合理的で整合性のある運用などが研究されることになります。企業は研究費を自社で賄えば、知的財産権やデータ権利も保持できる一方、研究結果の公表に同意すれば利用料が割引されるなど、先進の施設を利用しつつ、個別に開発する手間とコストを削減することができます。日本でも、再生可能エネルギー専門の研究機関や需要応答の研究がタイムテーブルに上がっていますが、アメリカの本気度には、タイミング、速度、そして研究開発費がおよびません。
　この彼我の差が、将来の技術、エネルギーミックスの質の差につながらないようなスマートな方策を見つける必要があります。

プレスリリース / Energy Department and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) ,June 20, 2013
・Energy Department, NREL Announce New Research Center to Boost Clean Energy Technologies on a Smarter Grid

"The Energy Department and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today announced the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, Colorado, as the latest Energy Department user facility and the only one in the nation focused on utility-scale clean energy grid integration. The facility’s first industry partner – Colorado-based Advanced Energy Industries – has already signed on to start work at ESIF, developing lower cost, better performing solar power inverters.
..........

Energy Systems Integration Facility – DOE’s Newest User Facility

Located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s campus in Golden, Colorado, the 182,500-square-foot Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) is the nation’s first facility to help both public and private sector researchers scale-up promising clean energy technologies – from solar modules and wind turbines to electric vehicles and efficient, interactive home appliances – and test how they interact with each other and the grid at utility-scale.

ESIF will house more than 15 experimental laboratories and several outdoor test beds, including an interactive hardware-in-the-loop system that lets researchers and manufacturers test their products at full power and real grid load levels. The facility will also feature a petascale supercomputer that can support large-scale modeling and simulation at one quadrillion operations per second.

The Energy Systems Integration Facility is aimed at overcoming generation, transmission, distribution and end-use challenges to support a cleaner, affordable and more secure U.S. energy mix, including research into next generation building technologies, microgrids, energy storage batteries and utility-scale renewable energy. As the cost of clean energy technologies continues to come down, seamless and efficient grid integration will help make these resources and products even more affordable, while giving Americans more control over how they use energy in their homes and businesses.
.......... "

関連
・NREL : Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF)

-----image : 上記サイトより

"Unique Capabilities
Hardware-in-the-Loop at Megawatt-Scale Power: Megawatt-scale power-in-the-loop allows researchers and manufacturers to conduct integration tests at full power and actual load levels in real-time simulations and evaluate component and system performance before going to market.

High Performance Computing Data Center: Petascale computing at the High Performance Computing Data Center enables unprecedented large-scale modeling and simulation of material properties, processes, and fully integrated systems that would otherwise be too expensive, too dangerous, or even impossible to study by direct experimentation.

Uniquely Connected: Each lab in the ESIF has its own niche with different kinds of equipment and functionality fostering research on all aspects of energy integration. The Research Electrical Distribution Bus, the ultimate power integration circuit, is made up of two AC and two DC ring buses that connect multiple sources of energy and interconnect "plug-and-play" testing components in all the labs.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System: Integrated throughout the ESIF, a SCADA system monitors and controls the Research Electrical Distribution Bus operations and safety and gathers real-time, high-resolution data for collaboration and visualization.

Data Analysis and Visualization: Analysis and visualization capabilities at the ESIF go beyond what is found in a typical utility operations center. Fully integrated with hardware-in-the-loop at power capabilities, an electrical distribution bus, a SCADA system, and petascale computing, the ESIF allows researchers and NREL partners to visualize complex systems and operations in a completely virtual environment."

-----image : Google マップで、Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF, Golden,CO.) を見る

・アメリカエネルギー省、再生可能エネルギーと送電網をつなぐ新研究センターを設立-----環境展望台、2013.06.20

Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF)

(JEDunnConstructionCo,2013/06/27)

関連
　商用電力と再生可能エネルギーについての最新の研究は、以下にあります。

・National Renewable Energy Laboratory : Western Wind and Solar Integration Study

"..........
Key Findings
The integration of 35% wind and solar energy into the electric power system will not require extensive infrastructure if changes are made to operational practices.

Wind and solar energy displace fossil fuels. A 35% penetration of solar and wind power would reduce fuel costs by 40% and carbon emissions by 25%–45%—the rough equivalent of taking 22–36 million cars off the road—compared to today's system.

Increasing the size of the geographic area over which the wind and solar resources are drawn substantially reduces variability.

Scheduling generation and interchanges subhourly reduces the need for fast reserves.

Using wind and solar forecasts in utility operations reduces operating costs by up to 14%.

Existing transmission capacity can be better used. This will reduce new transmission needs.

Demand response programs can provide flexibility that enables the electric power system to more easily integrate wind and solar—and may be cheaper than alternatives.
.......... "

・米国立再生可能エネルギー研究所 National Renewable Energy Laboratory、電力網は従来の研究よりも不安定化の恐れなく大量の再生可能エネルギーを受け入れることができるという研究成果を発表-----ソフトエネルギー、2010/07/09

追加情報
・NREL Offers up to $6.5 Million for INTEGRATE Projects at the ESIF-----NREL,May 22, 2014

".....draft EERE Grid Integration Multi-Year PlanPDF
..........
Through this RFP, NREL intends to support development and validation of technologies under three topics:

Topic 1 – Connected Devices
Topic 2 – Communication and Control Systems
Topic 3 – Integrated Systems
.......... "

参考エントリー
・米国立再生可能エネルギー研究所(NREL)が複数のレイヤーを重ねることでポテンシャルがわかる RE Atlas を発表-----ソフトエネルギー、2012/03/01

・米国立再生可能エネルギー研究所（NREL）、CPV 集光型太陽光発電システム AMONIX 7700の劇的な進化をアピール-----ソフトエネルギー、2011/03/09

・産業技術総合研究所、米国立再生可能エネルギー研究所（NREL）と共同で、集光型太陽光発電システムの発電性能の検証実験へ-----ソフトエネルギー、2010/07/01

・NREL Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record at 40.8 Percent / プレスリリース NREL- U.S.DOE -(宇宙空間用太陽電池セル変換効率40.8%を達成）-----ソフトエネルギー、2008/08/21