The mission of the grid forming (GFM) Technologies Implementation Council is to break the chicken-and-egg cycle that exists with respect to the commercial application of GFM inverter-based equipment and to accelerate the pathway to deployment of this enabling technology.  

The cyclical GFM challenge results in operators not knowing what capabilities to specify, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) not having the technical specifications of the equipment capabilities that are needed, and there being little guidance from codes and standards organizations to specify the equipment for procurement by the project developers.  

For G-PST to be successful, the research results derived from addressing the questions in the Research Agenda must be implemented in hardware and software that can be used to operate the power system of the future. Recognizing the importance of being able to supply and procure GFM equipment to enable the energy transformation to proceed at speed and scale, a GFM Technologies Implementation Council was formed, with membership from system operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), project developers, consultants, software developers, and standards and regulatory bodies. The implementation councils enable system operators around the globe to both commit to and benefit from advances made through G-PST. 

Learn more: Summary of GFM Capability & Performance Requirements Driven by System Needs.

When developing system-level interconnection requirements or grid codes, there should be a balance among the needs of grid operators for reliable service, the needs of end-users for minimal costs, and the needs of society for a sustainable future. Market design and system requirements should promote performance needs so that any provider using any grid supportive technology can maximize their benefit to the grid on an equal cost-sensitive playing field.

To allow this to happen, open and collaborative dialogue in a neutral, noncommercial setting between system operators, OEMs, project developers and owners, standardizing bodies, regulators, and research institutions is critical. This dialog helps define the evolving grid needs and the technology capability to meet those needs, and helps shape the pathways to cost-effectively deploy it through codes, standards, markets, and other energy trading mechanisms. Given the speed and complexity of today’s global energy transformation, such collaboration across all stakeholders in the energy ecosystem is the only way to scale the knowledge and unlock the full potential of our future energy systems around the world.

G-PST believes this chicken-and-egg problem can be addressed by collaboration among the GFM Technologies Implementation Council, the system operators participating in Pillars 1 and 2, and the standards and technology adoption activity in Pillar 4.

At the present time, there is not broad industry agreement on the requirements and specifications for grid forming equipment. G-PST’s Pillar 1 is currently working with the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG), Universal Interoperability for Grid-Forming Inverters (UNIFI) Consortium, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and many other stakeholders to explore global solutions to the GFM performance requirement for standards development.

This effort to craft standards and plans for broad adoption of grid-supportive GFM technology may be leveraged across a spectrum of worldwide industry efforts. Together with technology and hardware demonstrations, as well as a strong plan to identify system needs, requirements, tools, and capabilities of GFM equipment, G-PST will help resolve the GFM dilemma.

Following is a list of companies from the OEM, project developer, system operator and software sectors for possible participation in the GFM Technology Council. 

Developers: 

  • Ørsted 
  • Enel 
  • Invenergy 
  • Zenobe 
  • Nextera 
  • Fluence
  • Shell

System Operators:

  • AEMO
  • AESO
  • Amprion
  • CAISO
  • CEN
  • EirGrid
  • Elia
  • ENTSO-E
  • ERCOT
  • Energinet
  • FinGrid
  • 50 Hertz
  • FinGrid
  • NESO
  • NTCSA (formerly ESKOM)
  • Nova Scotia Power
  • Stattnett
  • TenneT
  • XM

OEM Participants:

  • GE Vernova
  • Hitachi Energy
  • SGRE
  • Siemens
  • Smart Wires
  • SMA
  • Vestas

Leadership includes: 

  • Chair: Mark Ahlstrom, NextEra Energy Resources
  • Staff Support: 
    • Julia Matevosyan, Chief Engineer and Associate Director, ESIG
    • Jason MacDowell, Chief Systems Integration Officer, ESIG 
    • Karin Wadsack, Chief Systems Integration Officer, ESIG