Grid Edge Technology as a Non-Wires Alternative

Megatrends such as rapid adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) such as roof-top solar PV, lithium ion battery storage technology and electric vehicles is changing the paradigm of utility infrastructure. In addition to operating an aging infrastructure and/or load demand increase, utilities need to find new philosophies and methodologies for managing their conventional precepts of maintaining reliability, resilience and good quality of supply to consumers in addition to supporting these new technical challenges that impact the grid head on. Sheer reliance on medium voltage (MV), slow, electromechanical solutions such as load tap changers, switched capacitor banks, line voltage regulators, or line upgrades will not help utilities to manage all problems associated with these fast-moving trends. In recent times, a new distributed grid-edge power electronics technology has shown promise for utilities called the dynamic var compensator (DVC). This technology resides on the secondary side (Low Voltage LV) of service transformers and can help utilities manage fast voltage fluctuations under changing load trends and help with voltage optimization in addition to preserving the fundamental requirements demanded from the grid. This grid edge technology can be used by the utilities as a cost-effective Non-Wires Alternative (NWA) to achieve deterministic flexible control over their system without the need for consumer participation. This paper through several case studies and field experiences highlights the use of this grid edge technology as a new resource in every utility's toolkit.