News

Partners to Integrate Virtual Power Plants into DERs

June 21, 2017 by Jeff Shepard

Aclara Technologies and Enbala Power Networks announce a new strategic alliance through which Aclara adds Enbala's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) technology to Aclara's utility solution suite. Aclara is a leading supplier of smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) to electric, gas and water utilities. Enbala is the world's leading VPP and distributed energy resource management software company.

Enbala's distributed energy aggregation and control platform, Symphony by Enbalaâ„¢, provides utilities and their customers with a robust solution for using distributed energy resources (DERs) to balance distributed renewable and traditional generation on the utility grid. The addition of the Symphony-based VPP solution will further complement Aclara's communications infrastructure and demand response portfolio to improve network stability, efficiency and reliability. This partnership will enable utilities to address their growing needs to optimize and better manage generation costs, support the integration of renewables and other DERs, maintain grid reliability and stability, manage changing demand patterns and economically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our alliance with Enbala enables Aclara to add a new and powerful capability to our solution suite that addresses the growing importance of efficiency and renewable energy resources to our customers. It is part of our commitment to extend Aclara's world-class communication and smart infrastructure solutions, providing the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions and data analytics that deliver the actionable intelligence operators need to manage their networks," said Allan Connolly, president and CEO of Aclara.

By controlling and optimizing DERs such as customer-installed solar, flexible loads and behind-the-meter storage, the VPP software shifts power usage in real time to match the moment-to-moment fluctuations of electricity demand and meet utility grid-services needs.

It also presents significant benefits for utility customers, allowing them to gain more value out of their DER investments through additional revenue streams and energy cost reductions.

"This new partnership is a win-win not only for Aclara and Enbala, but also for the utility industry as a whole," said Bud Vos, Enbala president and CEO. "It gives utilities a streamlined and straight-forward approach to leverage distributed energy assets and achieve their grid-balancing goals directly through Aclara, a solution provider that's well-known and highly respected throughout the industry. The combined solution provides utilities and grid operators with the next generation of control, accuracy and flexibility needed to manage the technical challenges posed by an increasingly distributed grid and to achieve many new value streams that weren't previously possible."