No Silver Bullet, But a Strong Signal: Inside the Grid’s Communications Evolution
There is no silver bullet that addresses all the challenges faced by utilities and microgrid developers, according to Seán Adam, vice president for market strategy and innovation for AFL. AFL is a fiber optic solutions company serving broadband networks, data centers and energy infrastructure.
Adam recently sat down with Rod Walton, managing editor of Microgrid Knowledge, to discuss why utilities and microgrid developers need a strong communications infrastructure to address both current and future challenges.
Future-proofing communications
During the interview, Adam and Walton explored how virtual power plants (VPP) are using communications and control technologies to aggregate and move power from distributed energy resources (DER) into the utility grid during peak demand.
“A virtual power plant is a many-to-one relationship. It needs to look like one thing to the main grid, but it’s actually made up of a whole lot of different things,” Adam explained.
A robust communication infrastructure is required to manage the complexities of VPPs and ensure coordinated operation across diverse energy assets. Rather than just solving for today’s problems, grid operators must think about communications infrastructure investments with a generational mindset.
Fiber, Adam said, is the only future-proof medium that exists.
“We call it S.A.F.E.R. – sustainable, accessible, flexible, expandable and reliable. When you're putting in a [communication infrastructure] solution, you have to check box all of those,” he added.
A bi-directional superhighway
“The number one thing that a utility wakes up every morning with is, ‘how do I actually make sure my grid is reliable,’” Adam said.
He explained that when the grid was unidirectional – from centralized generation to end users – it was relatively stable and easier to manage. But the rise of intermittent renewables and distributed energy resources had turned the grid into a bidirectional system, introducing new challenges.
Real-time data and analytics are essential for this new paradigm because “without data you can’t act,” Adam noted.
To deliver the situational awareness utilities now required, a highly reliable, low-latency bi-directional communication infrastructure is vital.
“Bi-directional power goes hand in hand with bi-directional communication,” according to Adam.
He also touched on how fiber optics and 5G networks are increasingly interconnected, and how artificial intelligence is emerging not just as a load growth driver, but as a critical tool for coordinating the seamless integration of VPPs and microgrids into the electric grid.
