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Abstract — Technology advances including development of information technologies that provide state-of-the-art solutions
advanced distributed energy resources (DER) and grid- for enhanced integration of DER and loads with the grid.
integrated operations and controls functionalities have surpassed
the requirements in current standards and codes for DER
interconnection with the distribution grid. The full revision of II. THE 1547 AND 1547.1 AMENDED STANDARDS
IEEE Standards 1547 (requirements for DER-grid
interconnection and interoperability) and 1547.1 (test procedures Traditionally, as a technical standard, 1547 has provided
for conformance to 1547) are establishing requirements and best local, state, and federal regulators and policymakers a
practices for state-of-the-art DER including variable renewable technical basis for promoting transparency, openness, and
energy sources. The revised standards will also address fairness in implementing DER interconnecting to the grid.
challenges associated with interoperability and transmission-level And in recent times, with higher penetration levels of DERs
effects, in addition to strictly addressing the distribution grid
needs. This paper provides the status and future direction of the and with advanced functionalities of interconnection systems
ongoing development focus for the 1547 standards. such as advanced autonomous and communications-based
Index Terms — conformance, converter, distributed energy features for inverters, revision of IEEE 1547 was initiated by a
resources, grid, IEEE 1547, integration, interconnection, diverse group of volunteers [1].
interoperability, inverter, microgrid, power system, Smart Grid, The first phase of revising 1547 was the publication of
standard, storage, testing. 1547a (Amendment 1 to 1547) in May 2014 [2]. In
Amendment 1, the operators of the distribution grid and the
I. INTRODUCTION1 DERs are required to mutually agree if the DER is allowed to
actively participate to regulate the grid voltage by changes to
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) the real and reactive power output of the DER. Generally, the
Standard 1547 has been a foundational document for the DER equipment could respond autonomously to variations in
interconnection of distributed energy resources (DER) with grid voltage, and/or via communicated settings, and/or via a
the electric power system or the grid. IEEE 1547 is unique as time schedule. This allowable advanced functionality provides
the only American National Standard addressing overall a more robust grid and is inherently integrated with utility grid
systems-level DER interconnected with the distribution grid. It operating practices.
has had a significant effect on how the energy industry does Similarly in 1547a, under mutual agreement between the
business, and it (along with ongoing revisions) should operators of the grid and the DERs, the DER is permitted
continue to influence the way electric power systems operate much wider latitude in how it responds to grid abnormal
far into the future. IEEE 1547 has helped to modernize our voltage and frequency conditions, including that DER are now
electric power systems infrastructure by providing a clearly allowed to provide voltage and frequency ride-through.
foundation for integrating clean renewable energy The required voltage and frequency equipment functionalities
technologies and other distributed generation and energy are greatly expanded in the Amendment and the operational
storage technologies. IEEE 1547 provides mandatory flexibility is enhanced.
functional technical requirements and specifications, as well To provide the necessary test procedures for the 1547a
as flexibility and choices, for equipment and operating details Amendment 1, IEEE Std 1547.1 was revised to cover testing
that are compliant with the standard. The 1547 development for voltage-regulation equipment functionality and for voltage
has, in large part, been accomplished through industry support and frequency ride-through [3]. The 1547.1a amended
and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National standard was published in March 2015. In that amendment,
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) support of IEEE four testing categories for DER voltage-regulation support of
standards development. And more recently, the IEEE 2030 the grid were established for interconnection equipment under
series of standards for Smart Grid interoperability is helping to test (EUT):
further realize greater implementation of communications and • EUT responds to variations in voltage as per the
manufacturer-specified response characteristics.
• EUT responds to communicated settings as per the
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy manufacturer-specified protocols, means of
under Contract No. DE-AC36-08-GO28308 with the National communications, and response characteristics.
Renewable Energy Laboratory. • EUT responds to a time schedule as per the manufacturer-
specified response characteristics.
voltage, p.u
those described in [4] and [5]. An example of such a test 1
is shown in Fig. 2.
p.u.
1 0
• Tests for voltage-regulation methods not in 1547.1 -1
Amendment 1 0.9
V -2
• Testing of advanced grid-support features in an 0 100 200 300 Q 400
environment that simulates realistic power system time, seconds
dynamics (i.e., Power Hardware in the Loop – PHIL), for
reactive power, pu
2
example, as described in [6]. For DER functions that Q
interact dynamically with the distribution system, PHIL 0
Qcmd
testing can replicate the full closed-loop dynamic system
in a way that traditional open-loop DER testing does not.
-2
Although this type of testing may or may not be 105 110 115 120 125 130 135
incorporated directly into standards testing, the results of L-N voltage, Vrms
such tests do serve to inform the standards development Fig. 3. An example of a PHIL test of inverter-based voltage
process. An example of such a test is shown in Fig. 3. regulation where a simple distribution system model is used to
emulate the dynamic response of the electric power system. In
• Testing of multiple inverters with advanced features to this test, the inverter is in volt-VAR mode.
study their dynamic interaction and performance. This
type of testing may also incorporate elements of a characterization performance or research. With the
distribution system into the test setup, such as proliferation of new DER features and interconnection
interconnecting impedances between various DERs, applications, there are significant challenges to design
allowing interactions between multiple inverters and the standardized tests that are thorough without being
distribution grid to be examined experimentally in a unnecessarily burdensome.
controlled environment. Elements of distribution systems
such as interconnected impedances can be implemented in
hardware or simulated using PHIL, as described in [7]. IV. EXAMPLE CONSIDERATIONS FOR 1547/1547.1 REVISION
Again, although it is not clear whether it is beneficial to The following information presents works in progress that
incorporate this type of testing directly into standards, it are subject to change by the 1547/1547.1 working groups.
can serve to inform the standards development process— These examples are for illustrative purposes only—to convey
for example, by helping determine what sets of control the general direction that the revised standards are headed.
parameters for advanced grid-support functions work well The full revision of 1547 is considering significant
(and what sets of parameters may lead to undesirable requirements addressing grid support, interoperability and
behavior). associated interfaces, and additional interconnection effects
• Testing that incorporates both communications systems beyond the point of common coupling. Differentiated
and power systems into the same tests, such as those requirements are being considered based on various defined
described in [8] and [9]. categories of DER. Currently, there are draft categories
identified for DER providing voltage-regulation support and
The IEEE 1547.1 working group needs to explore and for DER interconnection response to grid abnormalities of
validate effective conformance tests that do not overly burden voltage and frequency. The terminology of these categories
conformance testing with procedures geared to full and the differentiated functionalities of the DER remain under
discussion and are being harmonized with various
65 2 performance requirements in the industry. Example draft text
for DER capability to support voltage regulation follows:
frequency “The DER shall be capable of injecting reactive power to the
frequency, Hz
Irms
60 1 system (under-excited); and, “The DER shall provide the
capabilities of the following modes of reactive power control
functions: power factor mode; voltage-reactive power (Volt-
VAr) mode; active power-power factor mode (watt-pf); and
55 0 reactive power mode.” Whereas this is generally a widely
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
accepted approach and may appear straightforward, the details
time, seconds
of the required and allowable values and ranges of the
Fig. 2. A sample test of a photovoltaic inverter’s high- performance parameters are being vigorously debated.
frequency ride-through function with the high-frequency power Similarly for DER response to grid abnormal voltage and
curtailment (frequency-watt) function enabled.