Within a decade, there may be more distributed energy resources (DER) coming onto distribution systems than any utility control room can manage.
An autonomous energy grid (AEG) could optimize those high levels of DER for the benefit of power system and DER owners, research under development by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows. But if this groundbreaking system autonomy proves elusive, utilities could face voltage and frequency fluctuations, potential supply-demand imbalances or even outages, according to distribution system experts.
