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New Interconnection Standard for Energy Storage and Distribution – IEEE 1547.9

Tim Taylor Tim Taylor

The development and publishing of interconnection standards and guides to facilitate the large numbers of grid-connected DER (Distributed Energy Resources) to utility systems in the coming years continues, with a new guide focused on energy storage.

On August 5 of 2022, IEEE published IEEE 1547.9-2022, “IEEE Guide for Using IEEE Std 1547™ for Interconnection of Energy Storage Distributed Energy Resources with Electric Power Systems.”  While the base standard IEEE 1547-2018 applies to energy storage connected to distribution systems, along with distributed generation, IEEE 1547.9-2022 clarifies energy storage specific content and provides guidance on specific energy storage issues not covered in the base standard IEEE 1547-2018.

IEEE 1547.9-2022 includes guidance on:

  • Instances when energy storage is or is not in the scope of IEEE 1547-2018.
  • Interconnection of bi-directional EV charging stations, for bi-directional real power and reactive power exchange, commonly called V2G
  • Charging and generation constraints to minimize negative impacts on the utility distribution system

The IEEE 1547.9 guide applies not only to battery energy storage and other inverter-based storage resources (IBR), put to all forms of energy storage, including thermal energy storage, flywheels, compressed air, and others.

Other significant discussion in the new guide includes:

  • The concept of “operational state of charge” and its use in system modeling
  • The application of energy storage in power system “black-start” schemes
  • Safety guidelines for energy storage interconnections
  • Application of energy storage for frequency control, including fast frequency response (FFR)
  • Energy storage specific changes for interoperability, including additional parameters for energy storage monitoring and control

Additional information about the standard can be found at IEEE.

Tim Taylor is a HeatSpring instructor, including the eight-module course “Interconnection of Utility-Scale Solar PV to Distribution”.

Tim Taylor
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Tim Taylor

Tim is an instructor of electric power distribution courses for HeatSpring and the owner of Electric Distribution Academy. He has been working with electric distribution systems for over 30 years, is a senior member of IEEE, and a member of the DISTRIBUTECH International Advisory Committee, with a focus on the Resiliency Planning and Preparation track.

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