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.

Enabling Power System Transformation Globally – A System Operator Research Agenda for Bulk Power System Issues  (PDF)

This article, originally published in the November/December 2021 issue of IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, outlines the G-PST Consortium’s research agenda which intends to advance the operations and planning of power systems for the clean energy transition. The agenda seeks to include all possible advancements, from fundamental to applied research, driving solutions that are expected (but not assumed) to be globally applicable to all system operators.

COP26 Policy Brief: The Intersection of Resource Adequacy and Public Policy (PDF)

This brief was prepared with substantial input from subject matter experts from several of the Global Power System Transformation Consortium’s founding system operators. Resource adequacy is a topic of great importance at this moment in time, and represents a potential short-term pitfall for ambitious clean energy targets globally. This brief was prepared in anticipation of COP26 to support the policy community by offering guidance on managing resource adequacy as the power system transforms.

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.

Open-Source Power System Software

The G-PST Consortium’s Pillar 5, led by VTT Finland with support from NREL, is developing an open-source tool portal to help filter, visualize, and identify open-source power systems software capabilities. This portal will be a practice-oriented resource aimed at making it easier for system operators, planners, and modelers to find useful tools for managing power systems with high shares of variable renewable energy, such as wind and solar. The beta version portal is now live and the Pillar 5 team is in the process of collecting tool submissions.

Peer-Learning and Presentations

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Research Agenda for Transformed Power Systems

30 November 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Mark O’Malley, Chief Scientist, ESIG and Julian Leslie,  Head of Networks and Chief Engineer – National Grid Electricity System Operator

As the power system generation mix transitions, advances in the operation and planning of the power system are required to continue to meet its primary objectives. To meet this need, select system operators on the cutting edge of this transition have collaborated with technical institutions around the world to create the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium (https://globalpst.org/). The Consortium has the objective of supporting advanced system operator cutting-edge research and development activities and supporting all system operators globally with knowledge and training as they transform their power systems.

Following an extensive and rigorous process, the G-PST defined a common inaugural research agenda to advance the operations and planning of power systems to enable the transition. The purpose of this webinar is to describe the research agenda, which seeks to include all possible advances, from fundamental to applied research, driving solutions which are expected (but not assumed) to be globally applicable to all system operators. The initial research agenda focuses on near-term issues (i.e., next decade) and includes all technical aspects of operational and planning activities within the bulk power system. These advances will vary from system to system and will range from simple modifications of existing technologies and practices to fundamentally new and better ways to plan and/or operate the power systems of the future.

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Weak Grid Connection of IBR, Why Are We Still Talking About This?

10 November 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Sebastian Achilles, Managing Director Power Systems Operation and Planning, GE Energy Consulting

Operation of Inverter Based Resources (IBR) in weak grid conditions is a relatively old subject that does not seem to go away. The webinar will begin with a short introduction on the types of performance issues associated with weak grid and related mitigations used in the industry. We will then elaborate on how the weak grid operation challenges have changed in recent years due to the large deployment of IBR, and aspects of grid code requirements that affect the risk of weak grid related issues in the lifetime of IBR plants. The speaker will also share observations on study, modeling and short circuit ratio (SCR) screening aspects based on recent experiences, with a focus on what seems to be changing from prior practices. The discussion will elaborate on grid following (GFL) and grid forming (GFM) IBR resources in the context of weak grids, and why GFM may help, but not necessarily solve, all weak grid risks. The talk will be presented from an OEM perspective.

Accelerating Power System Transformation through Technical Innovation

8 November 2021 | Hybrid event

Deep decarbonization of the power sector is one of the most important levers for tackling climate change and setting a credible path to reaching net-zero. In this session, the Global Power System Consortium (G-PST), Accenture, and its partners discuss how technology innovation and global partnerships can help accelerate the cost-effective transition to a secure and reliable zero carbon power system. Speakers:

  • Louise Anderson, Electricity Industry Manager, World Economic Forum
  • Marc Borrett, CEO Reactive Technology
  • Cesar Butron, CEO, COES (Committee for the Economic Operation of the System)
  • Simon Eaves, Market Unit Lead – UKI, Accenture
  • Thomas Egebo, CEO, Energinet
  • Katie Jereza, VP Corporate Affairs, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
  • Fintan Slye, CEO, National Grid ESO
  • Daniel Westerman CEO, and Managing Director, AEMO

Unlocking Grids to Decarbonize Power Systems Globally

4 November 2021 | In person at the U.S. Center and Virtual

As part of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the G-PST Consortium hosted a session bringing together power sector leaders and several system operator CEOs to present on tangible results achieved through the G-PST Consortium since our launch in April 2021. Additionally, this session also features an announcement about a new G-PST Consortium initiative, supported by the United States Agency for International Development, focused on empowering women in power system transformation. We were honored to be joined by the following speakers:

  • Mark Foley – CEO, EirGrid Group, Ireland
  • Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm – Department of Energy, U.S.
  • Elliot Mainzer – CEO, California Independent System Operator, U.S.
  • Anne-Katrin Marten – Head of Operational Planning, 50Hertz Transmission, Germany
  • Lee McDonough – Director General for Net Zero, Strategy, and International, Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, U.K.
  • Jonathan Pershing – Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, Department of State, U.S.
  • Sinthya Roesly – CFO, PLN, Indonesia
  • Fintan Slye – Director, National Grid ESO, U.K.
  • Daniel Westerman – CEO, Australian Energy Market Operator, Australia

Please note: this recording was edited from its original version to smooth over some technical issues.

Building an Open-Source Strategy at Power Grid Operators

October 27, 2021 – 11:00 AM EDT – Virtual via Zoom

This is the first event of a joint webinar series from the G-PST Consortium and LF Energy, where the emerging role of open source software at system operators will be examined. This event focused on the reasons that power system operators may want to adopt an open source strategy and migrate their activities to open source tools. Industry leading panelists share their experiences regarding adopting an open source strategy.

Panelists include:

Lucian Balea, RTE
Shuli Goodman, LF Energy
Antonio Monti, RWTH Aachen University
Jesper Nielsen, Energinet
Arjan Stam, Alliander

Transforming the Grid: Personal Experiences

20th October 2021 – 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. GMT | Online via WebEx 

What happens when a country commits to a nationally determined contribution (NDC), but the country’s grid system operator is not confident it can meet those goals while maintaining grid system reliability? In this session, attendees heard from system operators who have said “yes” to this challenge and are now bending the limits of what was previously thought possible with high penetration and renewable energy grid operation. By using the lens of individual stories, the session humanizes technical topics and share the triumphs, setbacks, and excitement of one of the greatest technical endeavors of our times.

Speakers:

  • Jonathan Pershing – Office of the Special Envoy for Climate, U.S.
  • Luke Robinson – Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Australia
  • Veronika Henze – Bloomberg
  • Mark O’Malley – Energy Systems Integration Group
  • Stine Grenaa Jensen – Energinet, Denmark
  • Jon O’Sullivan – EirGrid, Ireland
  • Julia Matesovyan – Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), U.S.
  • Gav Hurford – Eskom, South Africa

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Planning and Designing Denmark’s Future Energy Islands – a Large Scale 100% Inverter-based Offshore Power System

14 October 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Christian Frank Flytkjær, Senior Manager, Grid Analysis, Energinet

To harvest wind energy efficiently, Denmark is constructing two energy islands. The energy islands will serve as offshore hubs, collecting and transmitting wind energy to Denmark and other European countries by several interconnectors installed on the hub. At a later stage, PtX-plants will be installed reducing transmission capacity needs. The ambition is to construct one 3 GW island in the North Sea expandable to 10 GW and one in the Baltic Sea as well. Both can be considered 100% inverter-based power systems designed from a blank sheet of paper. This presentation will cover the power system design considerations and technologies enabling the hubs.

Southeast Asia Community of Practice: Deep Dive on Advanced Renewable Energy Forecasting Techniques

September 21, 2021 | Online via Zoom Webinars

This event focuses on deeper dive peer-learning and good practices to support advanced renewable energy forecasting and the role of advanced forecasting in power system transformation. The session brings together system operators to share experiences on this topic and discuss specific challenges in the region.

Speakers include:
Beni Suryadi – ASEAN Centre for Energy
Jack Fox – Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO)
Josh Brodrick – AEMO
Bri-Mathias Hodge – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Bui Duy Linh – National Load Dispatch Center, Vietnam

Watch the recording. 
Review the deck. 

G-PST/ESIG Webinar Series: Connect Faster: Improving Renewable Energy Integration With Modular Power Flow Control

8 September 2021 | Online via WebEx

Featured Speaker: Michael Walsh, Chief Commercial Officer, Smart Wires

Modular power flow control provides a uniquely effective approach to help renewable generation developers and asset owners address their most challenging transmission needs. The modern, power-electronics-based version of these devices, built upon decades of grid experience, helps balance network flows by pulling or pushing power through capacitive or inductive voltage injection. Modular power flow control has proven to help utilities plan and operate their grid to leverage this capacity, enabling new generation to be connected must faster and more cost-effectively – supporting regulatory targets while benefiting ratepayers and developers alike. In a recent deployment with National Grid Electric Transmission in the UK, modular power flow control enabled 1.5 GW of renewable generation to access the London metro area by increasing utilization of the existing transmission capacity. Solutions like this one allow rapid deployment scaling, in line with phased generation connection, further reducing upfront capital burden on developers. These standard offerings can generally be installed in 1 year or less, alleviating thermal overload-induced congestion to improve the financial feasibility of previously uneconomic renewable energy projects.

Spine Toolbox: Data, Workflow and Scenario Management for Modelling

September 8, 2021 | Online via Zoom Webinars

Spine Toolbox is an open-source software to manage data, scenarios and workflows for energy system modelling and simulation. You can have your local workflow, but work as a team through version control and SQL databases. This webinar provides an overview of the different functionalities and showcases them through two examples. More information and documentation available at https://spine-toolbox.readthedocs.io/.

Featured panelists:
• Madeleine McPherson and Jacob Monroe, University of Victoria
• Milos Cvetkovic and Jim Hommes, Delft University of Technology
• Juha Kiviluoma, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
• Clayton Barrows, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Review the presentation materials.

IEEE Standard 1547: DER Requirements and Implementation to Interconnection Processes

26 August 2021 | Online via Zoom Webinars

This presentation introduces key concepts and functionality required for IEEE Standard 1547 compliant distributed energy resources (DERs). The presentation includes discussion of overall DER capabilities and grid support functions under normal and abnormal grid conditions. Additional material will present considerations for adopting the standard into local jurisdictions.

Featured Speakers:
• David Narang – Principal Engineer in the Power Systems Engineering Center, NREL; Chair of IEEE 1547 Working Group.
• Ravi Subramaniam – Director, IEEE-SA Conformity Assessment Program

Cybersecurity for Electrical Utilities in India: Trends and Challenges

25 August 2021 | Online via Zoom Webinars

Many current trends make cybersecurity more of a concern for electrical grids and system operators. One of these trends is the increase of renewable energy as a percentage of overall generation. This shift toward renewables will change the electric grid’s attack surface and require new thinking around how best to secure this critical infrastructure. Understanding the technical requirements for securing the grid under high penetrations of renewables is essential for system operators. This webinar provides an overview of the trends and challenges associated with electrical grid cybersecurity with a focus on considerations specific to India. It also features presentations and discussion by experts in the field, including:

• Jeffrey Fuller, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Energy
• P.K. Agarwal, Former Director & CISO, POSOCO Ltd.
• Maurice Martin and Anuj Sanghvi, U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Southeast Asia Community of Practice: Tools and Case Studies for Inertia Monitoring and Calculation

27 July 2021 | Online via WebEx

System inertia has long been used by system operators to keep the frequency of the system from straying too far from normal. Historically, inertia from traditional sources (i.e., the spinning mass of generators and motor loads) were abundant and it was not necessary to monitor the amount of online inertia at any one time. But as the role of inverter-based resources (i.e., wind, solar, and battery storage) increases, inertia from traditional sources is decreasing. System operators globally have found it to be valuable to estimate and monitor the online inertia to ensure the system will respond adequately to sudden changes in frequency, even though inertia is not the only option to arrest frequency deviations. This webinar explores the diversity of methods used by system operators in Southeast Asia and globally to track inertia, giving more confidence to operators in the control room that a system in transition can operate as securely as systems of the past.