Description of need
Distribution utility network planning can be upended when an unexpected “spot load” shows up, e.g. a fast charging station for Electric vehicles. Planning for the possibility of future spot loads is also tricky: what if they don’t show up?
According to Lisa Salmore, it’s hard to plan for spot loads (large interconnection requests, such as a DC fast charger for delivery vans (e.g. 5-10 MW) or a new manufacturing facility. These are called “spot loads” since they are a high power flow in a single spot.)
Problem severity (1-10)
Who has this need
Distribution utilities
Total addressable market (TAM)
Solutions today, and their shortcomings
- Plan with cities, e.g. Worcester, about their long-term growth goals
- Plan with corporates, e.g. Tesla, about expected EV charging load growth
Potentially relevant capabilities
One could train an ML model to forecast the likelihood of spot loads on a certain feeder based on some characteristics (e.g. # of commercial facilities, % penetration of EVs).