PNNL

Transactive energy concepts and technologies continue to be implemented and tested on the PNNL campus, and initial data are providing tangible evidence for how such practices might work when deployed more broadly across the nation. The activities are part of the PNNL-led Clean Energy and Transactive Campus project (CETC), which got underway earlier this year with partners from the University of Washington and Washington State University.

At a quarterly update meeting in August, the partners reviewed their progress:

• PNNL has launched four experiments to date. One of them, Passive and Active Diagnostics for Building Efficiency, is deploying diagnostic algorithms in buildings to identify equipment issues, correct problems and ultimately improve operations and energy efficiency. PNNL, using its VOLTTRON™ distributed control and sensing technology, has implemented the algorithms in economizers and air-handling units in nine PNNL buildings. Initial results indicate the algorithms have successfully identified faults in building operations. Deployment will expand to additional buildings.
• More recently, PNNL’s Transactive Control and Coordination of Building Energy Loads experiment has been launched in one building’s air handling unit. The experiment seeks to create markets within different building zones and devices as part of an automated, real-time process that balances building energy use and occupant comfort
• UW representatives reported they have completed most design, siting and procurement steps and expect to take delivery of a 100 kilowatt/310 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery system later this year. The system will be integrated into the UW power distribution network, operated in coordination with enhanced photovoltaic solar panels (also part of the CETC project), and will respond to PNNL-generated transactive control signals.
• WSU expects installation of its new photovoltaic panels to be complete by October 31. The 72-kilowatt system, with both roof- and ground-mounted arrays, will be located in the WSU Research and Technology Park, and will demonstrate that, in the event of an outage, campus energy generation can power critical city infrastructure in neighboring Pullman, Wash.

• “We’re pleased with progress on the first phase of the CETC,” says PNNL’s Srinivas Katipamula, project coordinator. “Experiments have achieved all milestones and expectations. We’re now documenting the experiments, so others can replicate them, and preparing for the second phase of activity.”

  The CETC is designed to advance understanding and broader deployment of transactive energy approaches in building loads, renewable energy, and other distributed energy resources. The goal is to establish a blueprint to replicate and scale up transactive control methodologies for application in buildings, campuses and communities across the nation. The project is funded by the U.S. DOE and the State of Washington.