Distribution Grid Atlas

NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing the Distribution Grid Atlas, a set of statistical hosting capacity models and representative, geospatially relevant models for substations, feeders, and low-voltage networks.

Two people pointing and looking at dataset on large computer screen.

Wanted: Utility Partners for the Distribution Atlas

NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are seeking partners for the Distribution Atlas. This no-cost collaborative opportunity will provide utility partners with statistical hosting capacity models and synthetic models. In exchange, we are requesting powerflow models and feedback on the Atlas models. Please contact Jeremy Keen for details.

The Atlas will foster new innovative solutions on pressing issues such as electrification loading impacts, resilience planning strategies, asset management for aging infrastructure, distributed energy resource management, and grid equity. We envision the following use cases for the Atlas, among others:

Cross-utility collaboration that allows for information sharing between utilities to improve on industry best practices. For example, the Atlas will allow utilities to use statistical hosting capacity models from anonymized utility powerflow models to better understand the hosting capacity on their network.
Stakeholder engagement that enables a better collective understanding of the technical challenges we face in a rapidly evolving industry.
Research collaboration that will streamline future laboratory research efforts and reduce research and development burden on utilities.

Making the Atlas Possible

Utility collaboration is essential to capture realistic system performance (e.g., electric vehicle/distributed energy resource hosting capacity and reliability) and the diversity of design and operational practices found in the United States. We need input from all types of utilities, regardless of business model, size, or geographic location. We recognize the sensitivity of the data and will work with our utility partners to protect it while developing the Atlas.

All contributed models and data will remain confidential, and none of these will be publicly disclosed. Models and data will be deleted when the Distribution Grid Atlas is complete.