The CSI program will invest $50m to fund research and demonstration projects that will reduce the cost and accelerate the installation of solar and other distributed energy technologies for power generation or storage, or that will reduce the use of natural gas.
The grants to NREL are part of the commission’s first solicitation for projects that focus on integrating photovoltaics into the utility grid. NREL researchers will work on three distinct projects, leading two and participating in another.
The laboratory will direct development of a software tool that is expected to optimize energy investments in the residential retrofit market and lead a project to analyze high penetration levels of photovoltaics into California’s electricity distribution grid.
The residential software modeling tool, called Building Energy Optimizer for California Existing Homes, will facilitate balanced integration of energy efficiency, demand response and energy storage with photovoltaics on residences. Partners include Pacific Gas & Electric, Davis Energy, Energy and Environmental Economics and SunPower. The project, valued at $1.3m, will receive up to $985,000 in grant funding. Pacific Gas & Electric will contribute $329,000 in matching funds.
NREL will work with Southern California Edison and other project partners to model, simulate and test advanced hardware and software that can be installed in the distribution grid to accelerate integration of large photovoltaic systems into the grid.
The project, which will receive up to $1.6m in grant funding over two years, involves installing these hardware and software systems in the Southern California Edison territory and testing performance. The US Department of Energy will provide an additional $1.4m in matching funds for the project.
The laboratory will participate in a project led by Clean Power Research (CPR) to develop a free solar resource model that builds on an existing photovoltaic model platform to enhance resolution of satellite-based resource data. The purpose is to create a free tool that can be used by California solar system installers, manufacturers, agencies, utilities and others who provide clean energy power systems. NREL will receive $200,000 over two years. Total project funding is approximately $2.29m.
