On June 18, 2021, the OEB and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced a partnership between the OEB Innovation Sandbox and the IESO’s Grid Innovation Fund to support pilot projects seeking to test how to derive value from distributed energy resources.
The projects will accelerate the adoption of local energy projects to help communities play an increasing role in providing for their own energy needs. Read the March 30, 2022, April 14, 2022, and April 22, 2022, news releases for more information.
Partners: Ardian Infrastructure and Powerconsumer
Project Title: Unlocking DER Participation Across Ontario
Local Businesses Supporting Grid Needs – This project will demonstrate the ability to measure and verify performance from heterogeneous DER aggregations participating in simulated IESO capacity and operating reserve markets. Resources participating in the pilot include behind-the-meter (BTM) battery storage and manual load curtailment. Alternative measurement approaches will be tested to explore how DER aggregations that are not fully utilized could provide additional value to the grid.
Partners: NODES AS, Essex Energy Corp., Utilismart Corp.
Project Title: Distribution System Operator (DSO) Pilot Project (PowerShare)
A Local Electricity Market for Windsor-Essex – This project will test how a local market could support an area that is constrained from a local and a bulk system perspective. Essex Powerlines and NODES will set up and operate a live, local (distribution-level) market for distributed energy resource (DER) services with Essex Powerlines acting as a Distribution System Operator (DSO). Through this pilot, DER owners in Essex Powerlines’ service territory will be able to participate in a local flexibility market, via the NODES market platform, to sell energy or demand response services to support grid reliability and resiliency. This is intended to help meet growing local and provincial electricity needs in the Leamington area which is currently constrained from a local and bulk perspective.
Partners: Power Advisory and Toronto Metropolitan University
Project Title: Benefit Stacking Transmission and Distribution System Non-Wires Alternatives (Pilot Project)
Demonstrating the Benefits of Simultaneously Providing Local and Provincial Capacity – This project will demonstrate how a distributor can coordinate with the IESO to dispatch local demand response (LDR) resources to meet targeted distribution system needs and simulated bulk-system needs, with the goal of driving down ratepayer and total system costs.
Partners: Hydro Ottawa, Moment Energy, and Invest Ottawa
Project Title: EV Everywhere
Managing Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging During Peak Demand Periods – This project will demonstrate how an LDC, and a software provider/aggregator can support capacity limitations at the distribution level via managing residential EV charging and leveraging two strategically located battery energy storage systems (BESS). The project expects to reduce peak demand and will inform the potential deferral of future infrastructure upgrades.
