Evaluation of the Netherlands' International Test Facility for Smart Grids

NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland, or RVO) engaged the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for two primary purposes: to evaluate the International Test Facility for Smart Grids (ITF) sponsored by RVO and to learn best practices for integrated test facilities from NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). This report covers the ITF evaluation and is largely based on a one-week visit to the Netherlands in November 2014. Background information on the goals and objectives of the ITF is provided, followed by a description of its current status and capabilities, including (1) unit testing of individual (hardware) components, (2) integration testing of (hardware) device interaction with simulated or small-scale hardware smart grid systems, and (3) scalability/performance testing using software simulations of a single medium-voltage distribution grid with a focus on demand-response approaches. A high-level comparison to other smart grid test beds and simulation platforms is also provided. Several aspects of the ITF are addressed, including its business model, modularity, compatibility, applicability to non-Netherlands locations, ability to provide testing across multiple energy systems, scalability, performance, multisite connectivity, and project management and schedule. Suggested actions are summarized in the table below. ITF business model In its current implementation, the ITF is less of a facility than a service, framework, and modeling system. Consider changing the name to better reflect this reality. ITF simulation status Include a fully integrated, proof-of-concept demonstration for a small example scenario as a near-term deliverable for the ITF project. Modularity Consider developing and publishing an application programming interface for the larger simulation framework to enable additional tools to be incorporated more easily. Compatibility …