Smart Grids and Renewable Integration

Digital monitoring, communication and storage that let grids handle rooftop solar, EVs and demand response.

Intermediate

A smart grid adds sensing, communication and control: smart meters (AMI), phasor measurement units (PMUs) synchronised by GPS, SCADA and automated distribution.

Integrating renewables raises challenges:

Variability — solar's daily curve and the evening peak ("duck curve");
Low inertia — inverter-based sources don't naturally resist frequency changes (addressed by grid-forming inverters, synthetic inertia);
Reverse power flow on distribution feeders from rooftop solar.

Solutions: battery energy storage systems (BESS), demand response, time-of-day tariffs, forecasting and net metering.

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