[May 13, 2014]

IPKeys, PJM, Walmart, BerkeleyLab and Schneider Electric Demonstrate Energy Management Advances with OpenADR 2.0b Market Pilots

IPKeys announced today the successful conclusion of multi-phase pilots at PJM Interconnection for Ancillary Services (Synchronous Reserve and Regulation) utilizing IPKeys' OpenADR 2.0b certified Energy Interop Server & System (EISS™). The pilot participants - Walmart, PJM, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Schneider Electric (News - Alert) - succeeded in showing the technological feasibility of using the OpenADR 2.0b profile in the field for ancillary services and regulation signaling.

Walmart provided a signaling test bed at one of its 24x7 Super Centers in Pennsylvania as part of the pilot's synchronous reserve (SR) phase. IPKeys translated the PJM SR web service signal into an appropriate OpenADR 2.0b service message to successfully initiate a series of lighting and HVAC loads via Walmart's Building Management System solution "This highly secure technology enables energy consumers such as Walmart to receive actionable open standard and machine interoperable market signals through an isolated interface directly from ISO's and begin the process of automating participation in ancillary services and other rapid response markets." Robert Nawy, Managing Director & CFO, IP Keys. "EISS™ reduces risks associated with the wholesale market and empowers participants to focus on realizin value."

In the regulation phase of the pilot program, funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Schneider Electric provided a signaling test bed in its variable frequency drive (VFD) laboratory in Raleigh, NC. IPKeys' work in this project phase concerned translation of the PJM regulation signal into the appropriate OpenADR 2.0b web service messages. Schneider Electric also monitored its ability to track both the various PJM test regulation signals as well as its ability to convey the regulation signal via both XMPP and HTTP Internet protocols.

"We have demonstrated that it is possible to perform four second regulation using secure web services - this capability dramatically reduces the cost and complexity barriers for loads to participate in regulation markets when compared to dedicated DNP3 or ICCP links," said Jim Boch, Sr. Electrical Engineer and EISS product manager from IPKeys.

"The team's end-to-end demonstration has shown that the open signaling architecture that OpenADR 2.0 provides is fast enough to satisfy the timing requirements of PJM's ancillary services." Said Jason MacDonald, Sr. Scientific Engineering Associate at Berkeley Lab. "This demonstration shows how easily resources can connect to various markets when they are enabled with OpenADR clients."

"PJM is pleased to have participated in this innovative pilot project for automated demand response," said Sarah Burlew, Manager of Applied Solutions. "For PJM, one of the key elements of this project is its incorporation of secure communications, which is critical to protecting and maintaining a reliable grid."

What is OpenADR 2.0b?

OpenADR is a standardized method for electricity providers and system operators to communicate DR signals with each other and with their customers using a common language over any existing secure IP-based communications network, such as the Internet. OpenADR 2.0b is designed for sophisticated devices supporting most demand response (DR) services and markets, flexible reporting capabilities for past, current and future data reports.

What is EISS^TM?

IPKeys' Energy Interop (News - Alert) Server & System (EISS^TM) version 2.0 is an OpenADR 2.0b profile-based server or Virtual Top Node (VTN). It is a scalable, secure and automated two-way information and communication system designed to deliver interoperable market signals to wholesale and retail consumers and their energy management systems and devices via web services.

About IPKeys

IPKeys Technologies, LLC is a strategic partner in the energy, federal, DoD, and commercial sectors delivering expertise in Smart Grid communications technology. IPKeys provides the standards based energy interoperations software, network communications engineering and enterprise security solutions that enable utilities and their customers to achieve the promise of a more reliable, safer and more economically beneficial Smart Grid.

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