Simon Julien – Grid-Flexible Solar

Simon Julien of Latimer Controls helps solve the problem of unreliable power generation for large solar power plants.

Simon Julien

Latimer Controls

Julien is the founder and chief executive officer of Latimer Controls, which provides machine learning-powered solutions for reliable and flexible solar energy generation. Latimer's Flexible Solar Management System software reallocates lost power from shaded areas in real time, reducing unnecessary solar losses and ensuring that system operators can dependably dispatch solar energy.

During West Gate, Julien is validating the performance of Latimer’s Flexible Solar Management System through hardware-in-the-loop simulations on real power grid dynamics with NREL’s grid modernization research team within the laboratory's Energy Systems Integration Facility.

Solar power varies due to cloud coverage, which forces grid operators to balance supply and demand in real time. To manage this unpredictability, operators often choose to curtail solar generation, favoring fossil fuels for their controllability and flexibility. This dependence on fossil fuels limits solar energy's integration into the grid, lowering overall demand and hindering consumer adoption.

Latimer Controls improves the stability of power grids that rely heavily on renewable energy by automatically redistributing unnecessarily lost power from cloud-shaded inverters. Initial demonstrations show a 15% increase in solar generation during times of grid limitations or curtailments on solar. This improvement can lower energy costs for consumers, decrease the country's reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce overall carbon emissions.

A common strategy to enhance the reliability and flexibility of solar power is to pair solar plants with battery storage. However, battery systems are usually designed to charge during the day and discharge at night. Managing the constant fluctuations of solar energy and grid demands can more quickly wear out these expensive batteries. Latimer Controls' software-only solution uses machine learning to accurately estimate the maximum total power that can be dispatched at any given time and employs a control system to ensure the solar plant reliably meets dispatch signals. In demonstrations, Latimer has achieved a 70% improved total power estimation accuracy over competitors at a price point much lower than batteries.

Status

Commercially ready

Industry

Renewable power controls and software

Potential Markets

• Transmission-connected solar power plants
• Distribution-connected solar power plants at the megawatt scale
• Utilities and distributed energy resource management systems aggregators looking to flexibly dispatch solar

Looking For

• Industry mentors
• Funding
• Strategic partnerships
• Customer identification