OUC Gardenia Grid Integration Laboratory: Overview and implementation

Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) serves the City, of Orlando and surrounding areas. It has a goal of achieving 100% solar energy by 2030. The full penetration of solar energy requires advanced controls and operations of the power grid. To develop and test the advanced control functionalities, OUC has established the Grid Integration Laboratory (GIL). This paper presents a detailed description of GIL developed by the OUC in coordination with the University of Central Florida. The equipment, communication protocols, operation modes, and algorithm are discussed and an overview of the challenges and problems in implementation is presented. Additionally, “solar smoothing” as one of the operation modes is discussed and showcased in greater detail to show the effectiveness of the control algorithm. In addition, the algorithm also handles equipment failure by isolating faults and re-dispatching resources. It is hoped that the knowledge learned from the industry testbed can be shared, reused, and enhanced through the exchange of our experience.