Solid-State Circuit Breakers in Distributed Energy Resources

One of the most significant changes to established electrical systems worldwide is the growth of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). DERs are becoming a preference to address regional demand growth or as an option to replace aging assets. Increased use of DERs will create a more decentralized electrical system and change the dynamics between local distribution and the traditional centralized transmission and distribution systems. While DERs are becoming widely adopted, they also pose significant challenges to the utility due to the restructured grid. A key to successful DER implementation will be the management of local energy generation, storage, loads, and interface to the traditional grid system. This not only complicates the local infrastructure but also causes new problems to the utility grid due to the bidirectional power flow, contradictory to the traditional grid system which is unidirectional. One of the emerging technologies being developed to address the needs of DER systems is the Solid-State Circuit Breaker (SSCB). The intelligent control integrated into an SSCB can be configured to provide demand response, circuit protection, metering, and Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) functionality. In this paper, we will discuss how SSCBs can solve the challenges faced by the growth of DERs.