AR2018-2020

With special emphasis on DERlab members’ infrastructure developments, this publication provides an overview of cutting-edge advances in the smart grid and DER domain from over 30 member institutes. Furthermore, presented in the report is a selection of EU-funded and national research efforts towards increased share of DER. Among these projects is INTERPLAN, developing an integrated network operation planning tool, consisting of a set of tools (grid equivalents, control functions) for the operation planning of the Pan-European network, and addressing a significant number of system operation planning challenges of the current and the future 2030+ EU power grid, from the perspective of the transmission system, the distribution system, and with a particular focus on the transmission-distribution interface. Also featuring exclusive statements from experts on the challenges in the energy sector, this publication provides a comprehensive overview of the current status in the field and thus will be of interest to researchers, engineers, professionals and policy makers in the domain of smart grids and DER.

The validation and testing procedures offered by the state-of-the-art facilities of the DERlab membership are increasingly essential in providing pathways to accelerated de-risking and systems-proving. DERlab and its members continue to formalise the testing standards that will enable the solutions required of integrated energy system operation, while finding new ways to validate complex systems performance. The ongoing investments in the DERlab testing environments and efforts of members’ dedicated teams are enabling the provision of new grid flexibility resources, accelerating sector innovation, enhancing grid resilience, and mitigating new and unforeseen error modes. The work of the association remains essential to the realisation of the future, decarbonised and flexible power grid.