Evaluating Transactive Energy for Rural America

This is a transactive energy project that will use a custom “DERMS”-like software called the Transactive Energy Service System (TESS) to coordinate load flexibility and demonstrate whether two-way “prices-from-devices” transactive energy is viable in rural America from both a financial and policy perspective and to prepare for scale-up so that TESS can be quickly adopted nationwide.

Location of communities in Maine
Location of communities in Maine
Role of TESS in electric grid compared to VPPs
Role of TESS in electric grid compared to VPPs
Market-based coordination of TESS
Market-based coordination of TESS
Project Lead
Post Road Foundation
Planned Location of Buildings

In rural communities in and around Brunswick and Mount Desert Island, Maine including a qualified opportunity zone.

Partners

Efficiency Maine Trust
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Knowledge Problem LLC

Building types

Targeting deployment in 400 existing residential and small-commercial buildings

New or retrofit buildings
Retrofit
Energy Efficiency Target
16% with electrification from fuel oil and propane HVAC/water heaters with weatherization measures where appropriate and needed (insulation, window sealing, etc.)
Total load
0.5 to 1.0 MW (250-500 kW per Connected Community)
DERs planned

Batteries, heat pump hot water, heat pump HVAC, EVs, and PV

Flexible Loads

Up to 0.5 MW / community based on 50 batteries at 10 kW per battery.  HVAC, water heating and EVs would be additional.

Coordinated Controls
Creating custom “DERMS”-like software called “TESS.” May interact to some extent with a commercial DERMS hired by Efficiency Maine Trust for their demand response program.
Grid issues addressed
Energy management at the substation and feeder-level in the distribution system and maximum capacity relief in the bulk power system.
Grid services planned
Coordinated batteries and DERs to lower peaks and provide backup power from batteries.
EV Charging
Optimize unidirectional and bi-directional charging at participating buildings to address feeder-level and wholesale-level peak constraint management through “shift” or “demand response” flexibility modes. EV charger and performance-based Incentives offered from Efficiency Maine Trust.
Solar and Battery
Targeting about 10 kW from residential-scale batteries and PV with incentives offered by Efficiency Maine Trust.
View More Projects