Publications

Fact Sheet (PDF)

This fact sheet provides a high level description of the G-PST Consortium including background, visionary goal, key players and an overview of our technical assistance approach.

Inaugural Teaching Agenda – March 2021 (PDF)

This document summarizes the outputs from a consultation process led by the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium’s Teaching Agenda Group (TAG). The main purpose of this document is to initiate wider consultation and get feedback from various stakeholders. This includes the Founding System Operators of the G-PST, other system operators around the world, G-PST core partners, university partners in different countries/regions and individuals/organizations who have expressed interest in contributing to or benefitting from the workforce development pillar of G-PST.

Inaugural Research Agenda – March 2021 (PDF)

This document summarizes the outputs from a nine-month consultation process led by the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium’s Research Agenda Group – which consists of senior technical staff from the six Founding System Operators and a range of leading research institutions – to build an organized, consensus-based global research agenda for the G-PST’s Founding System Operators (FSOs).

Power System Operator Survey Toward Global Energy Transformation Summary Report (PDF)

The IEEE Standards Association and the IEEE Power and Energy Society are working with the G-PST Consortium to assess viewpoints in the area of next-generation energy (e.g. renewables, energy storage, distributed energy resources, energy efficiency, and grid modernization, etc.) to support priority needs and interests for specific countries/regions. This document provides a summary of the first survey developed and administered by IEEE in support of Pillar 4 of G-PST Consortium on Localized Technology Adoption Support.

July 2020 Donor Meeting (PDF)

International agencies and multilateral and regional development banks, including World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), International Energy Agency (IEA), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and others are serving as key implementing partners to ensure the consortium complements and reinforces existing programs.

Toward 100% Renewable Energy Pathways: Key Research Needs (PDF)

On May 14 and 15, 2019, the ESIG held a workshop bringing together 56 experts from around the globe to identify the technological and economic integration challenges of transforming the electricity system toward 100% renewable. This report summarizes the outcome of the meeting. The workshop summarized in the report is seen as the first step of many to address the issue of going toward 100%, with the ultimate aim of producing a research roadmap for use by researchers, research organizations, and funders to help focus and prioritize their efforts and investments.

Tools & Data

RE Data Explorer

In collaboration with the G-PST Consortium, USAID and NREL have developed an open data platform, called RE Data Explorer, that provides publicly available high temporal and spatial resolution renewable energy data for many countries around the world. As an exciting development, a data upgrade is underway for Southeast Asia that will allow visitors to visualize and download solar resource data at 10-minute intervals across a 2-km grid covering the entire region. These and other datasets within the RE Data Explorer can support system operators and other decision-makers in planning for power system transformation and deploying higher shares of renewables onto the grid.

Presentations

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Survey of Grid-Forming Inverter Applications

9 June 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Julia Matevosyan, Lead Planning Engineer, ERCOT

Grid-Forming technology is viewed as one of the necessary enablers for high penetration of inverter based resources. While it continues to be an area of active research, grid-forming battery energy storage systems are already commercially available and are being used in an number of applications around the world (e.g. US, Australia, and a number of Island applications). This webinar will provide an overview of existing and ongoing projects, focusing on the drivers behind the choice of technology and project performance. The webinar is based on the whitepaper “The Role of Grid Forming Technology to Enable Energy Systems Integration” on which the ESIG High Share of Inverter-Based Resources Task Force is currently working.

Pillar 5 Webinar: Open Source Tools for System Operators – Focus on Power Flow Tools

27 May 2021 | Online via WebEx

The rise of data science and scientific programming languages, such as Python and Julia, presents numerous opportunities for power system modernization and advanced analytics. In recent years, the quality and availability of open-source power systems analysis tools in these languages has dramatically increased. However, despite widespread usage of open languages for data analysis, industrial usage of open power systems analysis tools remains rare. The G-PST Consortium’s Pillar 5 lead organization, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, present a webinar series that will showcase some of the most capable power systems analysis and modeling tools that exist within common data science languages to highlight opportunities to enable advanced analytic workflows. This first installment focuses on workflows in Python, using the popular data analysis package, Pandas, and the power systems analysis package, PandaPower. Contributors to the event include:

  • Hannele Holttinen – Pillar 5 Lead, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
  • Juha Kiviluoma – Pillar 5 Lead, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
  • Dheepak Krishnamurthy – Distribution Systems Researcher, NREL
  • Clayton Barrows – Senior Engineer, NREL
  • Roman Bolgaryn – Researcher, Fraunhofer IEE
  • Friederike Wenderoth – Researcher, Fraunhofer IEE

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Is “Grid Forming” Enough: What Do Electricity Grids Need From IBR?

12 May 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Tim Green, Professor, Co-Director of the Energy Futures Laboratory (EFL), Imperial College London

The replacement of electro-mechanical machines by inverter-based resources (IBR) is fundamentally changing the dynamics and stability properties of grids. A review will be made of the needs a grid system has in order that it is stable and secure. The needs in terms of voltage strength, frequency regulation and synchronisation will be discussed in term of how they are met by synchronous machines, grid-following converters and grid-forming converters. A case will be made that there is advantage in not all resources being obliged to provide all system services and that new services can replace some traditional services. Thus, strictly following a virtual synchronous machine (VSM) approach may not yield the best solution.

Approaches to ensuring system-wide dynamic stability will also be explored noting that IBR have overlapping sets of dynamics but with details often hidden in black-box models. A method for identifying root-causes of poorly damped modes in black-box models will be illustrated. This analytical grey-box method avoids exhaustive transient simulation. A toolbox for compiling models of composite grids with IBR and synchronous machines will be introduced. The talk will conclude with some thoughts on modelling and analysis challenges that remain for IBR dominated grids.

PLN – G-PST Power System Sharing Series #2: The Readiness of SCADA/EMA in Control Centers for VRE Integration

5 May 2021 | Online via Zoom

The second webinar in the series focuses on SCADA/EMS readiness for high penetrations of variable renewable energy. Speakers included experts from NREL, CAISO, EPRI, and PLN.

Pillar 4 Webinar: Impact of Inverter Based Generation on Bulk Power System Dynamics and Short-Circuit Performance

27 April 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speakers: Gary Kobet, Tennessee Valley Authority and Pouyan Pourbeik, PEACE®.

Electric power systems around the world are undergoing a historic change in their generation mix, from synchronous ac rotating machines to inverter-based resources, which are power-electronic based technologies. Conventional planning and operating practices are adapting to the benefits and challenges these resources bring to reliability of the bulk power system (BPS). One issue that is increasingly becoming apparent under higher penetrations of inverter-based resources such as wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, is a reduction in fault currents and short circuit strength.

This webinar explores some of the technical challenges and opportunities presented by this transformation of the grid, as has been presented in the IEEE Technical Report PES-TR68, Impact of Inverter Based Generation on Bulk Power System Dynamics and Short-Circuit Performance, July 2018, and goes a little beyond by briefly also touching on the latest developments in the industry and how some of the issues and gaps identified in the IEEE PES-TR68 are being addressed by industry efforts that have started since that time.

Launch of the Global Power System Transformation Consortium

21 April 2021 | 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. (US-EDT)
The G-PST Consortium hosted its formal launch event convened in association with U.S. Climate Action Week. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Jennifer Granholm and U.K. Secretary of State of the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Kwasi Kwarteng, together with several executives of power system operators and institutions from around the world, officially launched the G-PST Consortium, a bold and innovative public-private partnership to accelerate transitions to net-zero emission, reliable power systems, and support economic growth. The event included individual remarks from seven of the speakers as well as a roundtable discussion with leading system operators, moderated by Christie Ulman, President of the Sequoia Climate Fund. Speakers and panelists include:

  • Honorable Jennifer Granholm – Secretary of the U.S. DOE
  • Honorable Kwasi Kwarteng – Secretary of State of the U.K. BEIS
  • Fintan Slye – Director, U.K. National Grid Energy System Operator (ESO)
  • Pak Darmawan Prasodjo – Vice CEO, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) Indonesia
  • Martin Keller – Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
  • Larry Culp – CEO, General Electric (GE) Elliot Mainzer – President and CEO, California Independent System Operator (CAISO)
  • KVS Baba – Chairman and Managing Director, Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO)
  • André de Ruyter – CEO, Eskom Holdings
  • Cesar Butron – President, COES Peru
  • Thomas Egebo – CEO, Energinet
  • Michael Gatt – COO, Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)

PLN – G-PST Power System Sharing Series #1: Industry and Researcher Perspectives on Control Center Upgrade Procurement

8 April, 2021 | 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Jakarta)
Featured Speakers: Hon. Zulkifli Zaini, PLN CEO; Mark McGranaghan, EPRI Europe; Haryanto WS, PLN Director; Hani Alarian, CAISO Exec Director; Roberto Bayetti, CAISO Director; Dede Subakti, CAISO Director; Suroso Isnandar, PLN; Oscar de Lima, deBarr; Francisco de Lima, deBarr; Rob Hardison, NREL; Adrian Kelly, EPRI Europe; Hongming Zhang, NREL; Seong Choi, NREL.

Webinar Abstract: PLN, Indonesia’s state-owned utility, hosted this kickoff webinar for its System Operator Forum Power System Sharing Series in partnership with the G-PST. This session features an introduction to the System Operator Forum and the G-PST. In support of PLN’s ongoing effort to upgrade its Java-Bali control center, the technical portion of the session presented insights from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), de Barr consultants, and G-PST consortium member research institutions NREL and EPRI.

Future Sharing Series topics over the coming months will address key challenges facing PLN as it aims to ensure its grid system operations are proactively prepared to transition to low-carbon operating regimes.

Workforce Development for Power System Transformation

31 March, 2021 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. (US-EDT)
Featured Speakers: Mark O’Malley, ESIG; Balarko Chaudhury, Imperial College London; Tim Green, Imperial College London; Vijay Vittal, Arizona State University; Julia Matevosyan, ERCOT; Sadie Cox, NREL

Webinar Abstract: Developing a well-trained and diverse power system workforce is key to continued innovation in the power sector. The Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium’s Pillar 3, led by Imperial College London, hosted a webinar focused on how to upskill the existing power sector workforce and revamp post-graduate power education programs. A forward-looking teaching agenda was introduced by eminent experts in the respective subject areas. Logistics for delivering the teachings globally, leveraging existing resources, and plans for promoting diversity in the power sector workforce was also discussed.

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Going the Distance: Moving AC Power from Large Inverter-Based Generation Pockets to Load Centers

10 March, 2021 | 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. (US-EST)
Featured Speakers: Nick Miller, Principal, HickoryLedge LLC & Matthew Richwine, Founding Partner, Telos Energy

Webinar Abstract: Getting the power from large areas of high-quality wind and solar resources across AC transmission to load centers is one of the most pressing and practical challenges facing major interconnections today. This webinar covers the stability challenges associated with long-distance, high-voltage transmission by examining the performance of emerging grid-forming inverter technology relative to grid-following inverter technology and synchronous machine technology and the impact of non-wires transmission system reinforcements.

G-PST/NREL Webinar Series: Designing Control Rooms to Support High Penetrations of Variable Renewable Energy

25 February, 2021 | 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. (US-EST)
Featured Speaker: Evy Haryadi, PLN Indonesia; Adrian Kelly, EPRI Europe; Sadie Cox, NREL; Hongming Zhang, NREL

Webinar Abstract: As power systems continue to evolve, control rooms and other operational measures must evolve alongside them. The Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium’s Pillar 2 lead organization, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), presented this webinar examining good practices for designing power system control rooms with high penetrations of variable renewable energy in mind.

Presentations focused on sharing experiences and lessons that support cutting-edge upgrades to control rooms as countries integrate greater shares of renewables into their power sectors. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) shared learnings from their experience leading work on developing control rooms of the future and PLN Indonesia highlighted plans for upgrading their Java-Bali grid control room.