Fast Demand Response
- download PDF (2.5 MB)
Historically, the electric power grid has achieved power stability by adjusting supply-side resources to cope with uncertain load behavior. Utilities recognized early on that investments in demand-side technologies such as load curtailment programs could be significantly more cost effective than building new power plants to accommodate peak demand. Developments in smart grid and advanced metering are eliminating the final technological barriers that prevent loads from participating in power markets.
Yet despite recent progress with demand-side services, the full potential of loads remains largely unexplored. Faster-acting demand-side services will be required to address grid stability challenges as more renewable energy sources are integrated into the power grid. To address the unmet need and emerging market for fast-acting demand-side services, PARC has developed a Fast Demand Response (FDR) system solution. The distributed control technology implemented in FDR allows large numbers of small loads to work in concert to provide larger aggregate energy services while minimizing inconvenience to users -- enabling small, flexible loads to participate in larger markets and provide high-quality energy services.