MICRO-GRID POWER
generation sources
to be hooked up
simultaneously, using energy based on a predetermined set of energy costs.
The Reusing Existing Natural Energy from Wind and Solar (RENEWS) system, which leverages wind genera- tion, solar power, and power storage, is undergoing performance and safety testing at CERDEC CPI. Once this testing is
successfully completed, the
RENEWS systems will be shipped out for user evaluations.
Next up is Renewable Energy sion program in FY12 that for
Distributed Undersupplied Command Environments
(REDUCE), a new mis- is geared
toward operating in the 1 to 5 kilowatt power space. The program focuses on incorporating renewables and energy storage on a trailer that can be towed by a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle and can interface with traditional JP-8 fueled generators.
As with HI Power, the goal of REDUCE is to make things easier on the Soldier by letting the systems manage all the power. Ideally, the technologies from both pro- grams will be complementary, resulting in power grid technology that addresses power
generation, distribution, loads,
renewables, and storage across the full Army power spectrum.
LOOKING AHEAD Most micro-grids centralize the intelli- gence (see Figure 1), but CERDEC CPI is working to make all of the devices smart so that each piece of the grid can communicate and operate in an intel- ligent manner: smart generators, smart storage, and smart renewables. This col- lection of autonomous systems would have the capability to determine which source is delivering power to a given load and what to do if there is excess energy.
The next step would be incorporating smarts into the loads so that they can request power as well. That would pave the way toward additional
fuel
Power Equipment System (SWIPES) is a first-generation example of where we are going. SWIPES incorporates a vari- ety of pouch-mounted chargers and power cables for batteries, GPS units, shot detection systems, and handheld communications
within the Modular
Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) vest. This provides power and protection for extended missions without the burden of power source swaps or sep- arate power source charging.
With these combined capabilities, reduc-
tion by allowing the scheduling of loads to keep peak power demands at a mini- mum. That said, with the large number of
power-consuming systems in the
Army, implementing a solution like this is still a ways off. The idea is to go after the larger power consumers, such as the Environmental Control Units, then move forward. This type of fully automated system would require less training and oversight than currently fielded systems, thus freeing up troops to do other tasks.
CERDEC CPI is also working on incor- porating smart grids into wearable Soldier platform technologies, to reduce the weight and number of batteries on each Soldier. The Soldier Wearable Integrated
MICRO-GRID SYSTEMS ARE CURRENTLY THE ONLY SOLUTION THAT ALLOWS THE INCORPORATION OF MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS RENEWABLES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, TO SUPPLEMENT TRADITIONAL
POWER GENERATION TECHNIQUES. 74 Army AL&T Magazine the
Soldier has a highly versatile system that is easy to use, greatly reduces the num- ber of batteries carried, and can save 30 to 50 percent of battery weight on long missions. But while SWIPES provides the distribution for the Soldier, it doesn’t have the smarts to control all of the dif- ferent loads and sources, nor to provide the Soldier an interface for situational awareness of remaining power. We are not there yet, but that is where we are heading.
CONCLUSION The shift to micro-grids represents
a
change in the way we do business, but it is more than intelligent control and dis- tribution of power. In order to be really successful, systems will need to be able to work intelligently with one another. The key is to produce a solution that works for everyone across the military services. No matter how good my system is, if my system can’t talk to yours, we still have interoperability issues.
All of these systems have played a part in the learning process. We’ve been able to develop numerous point-based micro- grid solutions that are specific to size, platform, and application. But we’ve yet to establish a common operating environ- ment for micro-grids within DoD—and this is important. We need an integrated
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