Spokane Microgrid Distributed Generation and Storage

Our team's mission is to design placement and integration of distributed generators and energy storage with the developing Spokane Microgrid.

Background
On November 17, 2015, a strong windstorm hit the City of Spokane. It severed the electric transmission from the Columbia River generating stations. It was over four weeks before Avista Utilities, the local electric power utility, fully restored electrical service.

Proposed Solution
Avista Utilities is working with Federal Programs such as Smart Cities to develop a Smart grid for Spokane. As a part of this Smart grid, a Microgrid will also be implemented. These improvements will improve reliability thus ensuring a greater level of service, and hopefully lowering cost accrued during blackouts such as the one caused by the windstorm.

Avista has contacted the University of Idaho (UoI) and has funded research groups to assist. Currently, there are three teams: the Master Control team, the Automated Generator Control (AGC) team, and the Smart Spokane team, described on this page.

Smart Grids
According to smartgrid.gov, a Smart Grid is an electrical grid that has been integrated with modern digital technology to allow it to sense and respond to changes in electric demand. Thus it creates a "two-way communication between the utility and its customers." This communication and response is increasingly more important as the customers can contribute to generation with renewable energy generators such as solar panels.

MicroGrids
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines a microgrid as a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within a clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. A microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or islanded-mode (1).

Deliverables

 * A schematic detailing the interconnection of the distributed generators, the charge controllers, the battery banks, the converters, and the grid.
 * Low-scale simulation of the design
 * Map of recommend locations for distributed generators, battery banks, etc.