Interoperability - A Key Element for the Grid and DER of the Future

The information exchange and coordinated control of distributed energy resources (DER, i.e., distributed generation, storage, and load) for many different purposes to the benefit of various parties represents a complex problem. The large number of DER devices means that the information exchange approaches, must be scalable, must accommodate a changing variety of communications technologies over time, and lend themselves to safe and reliable distributed decision making schemes. Mainstream information technology (IT) techniques drive these approaches, but what can be done to facilitate integrating the vast number of these resources into the larger system so they can interoperate more easily? Establishing a common vision of interoperability principles for the integration of DER in the power system can help address this question