Carbon-Pros Analyst Blog

Smart Dispatch is a next-generation application designed for operating in the highly dynamic environments that will be supported by smart grid. Dispatch is a key function for for transmission operators who need to balance electrical supply and demand. In the past, a known mix of baseload, intermediate, and peaking plants could be counted on to supply power as determined by relatively stable demand forecasts. Integration of renewable power (variable supply) and demand response (controllable demand) requires dispatch systems to predict and deal with rapid changes in supply and demand. Smart Dispatch applications must incorporate many new sources of data including renewable forecasts (wind, sun), demand response capabilities, carbon constraints, and estimates for distributed generation and storage. These sources must be matched to a timeline providing the dispatch profile for any specified time frame (minutes, hours, or days). Smart dispatch will provide operators with a continually updated view of the supply and demand dynamics. Functions include:

• Generation portfolio management
• Multiple supply/demand scenarios
• Integration with demand response
• Integrated economic analysis with market pricing
• Decision support tools

Advanced capabilities such as these will be essential for managing the increased complexity of the smart grid's ability to integrate new ways for producing power and managing demand. It gives grid operators the forward-looking view required for making better decisions.

Sources: Areva ASPCON-09 paper by Cheung et al. 2009