Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas – El Futuro de la Seguridad Energética

Many see decentralized power grids as the best option for improving energy security. These networks enhance traditional grid infrastructure by utilizing community-based energy resources alongside centralized power stations. Here’s how a team of MIT engineers seeks to improve decentralized power grids and help keep homes energized in the future.

Aumentos de Cortes de Energía

Reports show that power outages are on the rise globally for several reasons. A lack of upkeep and maintenance is responsible for an aging system and lowered performance in many areas. Additionally, severe weather conditions are more likely than in the past, adding to the stress on old infrastructure.

Los informes indican que los cortes de energía están aumentando a nivel mundial por varias razones. La falta de mantenimiento y conservación es responsable de un sistema envejecido y de un rendimiento reducido en muchas áreas. Además, las condiciones climáticas severas son más frecuentes que en el pasado, lo que aumenta la presión sobre la infraestructura antigua.

Otro factor que contribuye a los cortes de energía y que muchas personas nunca consideran es la transición a las energías renovables. Los paneles solares son ejemplos principales de sistemas que proporcionan energía de bajo costo, pero que tienen momentos y escenarios en los que no pueden producir nada.

Durante la noche o períodos prolongados de clima nublado, los sistemas solares no pueden proporcionar la energía necesaria para apoyar a las comunidades. A diferencia de los cortes de energía tradicionales, los huecos predecibles en la generación de energía renovable (como los días nublados o la noche para la solar) pueden mitigarse coordinando dispositivos de borde de la red para ajustar el consumo y la distribución en tiempo real..

Estadísticas de Cortes de Energía

A 2023 Encuesta de Vivienda de EE. UU. 2023 shed light on just how bad the energy crisis has become. The report showed that at least one in four US households have experienced a power outage over the last year. It also revealed that +70% of those interviewed experienced the outage for +6 hours.

Interestingly, the statistics reveal that rural communities are more likely to experience prolonged power outages. However, it highlighted certain cities like Detroit, that suffer from uncharacteristically high outages due to bad infrastructure and other factors.

Preocupaciones Globales

You can see this issue expand exponentially when you examine global outages. There are many cases of entire nations being plunged into darkness for days and even weeks. In one incident, Cuba’s aging electrical grid failed, resulting in +10M people being left without power for days.

Evolución de las Redes Eléctricas Locales

When you think of your local power grid. You likely envision a centralized power plant, substations, and transmission lines. This infrastructure is still the most common, but it has seen some major changes due to the evolution of home electronics.

Fuente – MIT

Dispositivos de Borde de la Red

The term grid edge refers to devices that reside far from the central power supply. These devices often have advanced capabilities including being capable of power generation, storage, and tuning. Grid edge devices include residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, water heaters, and IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

Recursos Energéticos Distribuidos (DERs)

The growing use of distributed energy resources creates new opportunities in the market. These smart devices provide the ability to monitor, control, communicate, and actuate tasks. It’s this flexibility that a team of MIT engineers sought to utilize in their latest strategy to improve grid resilience, protect against cyber attacks, and stabilize the network.

Estudio de Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

A recent study published in the journal the National Academy of Sciences, called “Resilience of the electric grid through trustable IoT-coordinated assets“¹ introduces a novel framework to leverage edge devices to secure grid resilience against various scenarios. The new system leverages coordinated grid edge devices to rebalance or support the network.

Dispositivos IoT

At the core of the study is the use of IoT (Internet of Things) devices. To qualify as an IoT device, the unit must have a sensor and be able to communicate data to the internet. Notably, there are billions of these smart devices located around the world currently. As such, the researchers focused on utilizing these devices, as they are predicted to make up the lion’s share of edge devices within the next 5 years.

The strategy would see homeowners subscribe to a regional market. This subscription would make their IoT devices eligible for the micro grid. Once approved, the trusted devices would be capable of coordinating power consumption and distribution determined by the proprietary algorithm engineers developed.

EURIEKA (Activos Eficientes, Ultra-Resilientes, Coordinados por IoT)

The EURIEKA algorithm is at the core of the engineers’ study. The algorithm scans the network for participating edge devices. It then determines whether to supplement the power grid or reduce power consumption from the IoT devices based on preset criteria. What makes the algorithm so effective is that it’s based on each local electricity market.

Operador

Local market operators play a vital role in this approach. Each market has an operator that is tasked with managing and communicating with grid participants and other operators. They are the nodes responsible for initiating the EURIEKA algorithm and ensuring it functions correctly.

Establecer Confianza

The first step to this process is to establish trust. There are so many IoT devices that it’s crucial for the system to only work with vetted and approved units to prevent security risks. The algorithm can independently verify and approve trustworthy IoT devices, determining the best combination to effectively mitigate power failures and stabilize the system.

Mercado Eléctrico Local

Part of this strategy creates a local energy market where IoT participants can secure rewards for their efforts. The system automatically tracks each participant’s actions and pays out returns based on their energy contributions. Notably, the engineers have conceived a variety of ways that network participants could receive compensation ranging from direct payments to bill credits.

Pruebas de Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

MIT engineers utilize a variety of devices and algorithms to test their new approach. Specifically, the engineers employed a utility-friendly simulator, real-time hardware-in-the-loop validation, and a co-simulation platform.

Algoritmo de la Red Eléctrica

The testing included several scenarios that ranged in power loss situations. The scenarios took into account failures on every level of the system. In some cases, the loss was as little as 5% failure. In other cases, the network saw catastrophic failures of up to 40%.

Escenarios de Ataques a la Red

The researchers tested the system against a major cyber attack. In this scenario, the team envisioned a smart thermostat getting hacked. The hacked devices were then cranked up to increase stress on the power grid to dangerous levels. The increased stress would cause a traditional power grid to fail. However, the grid edge systems proved resilient.

Desastres Naturales

The team tested their network against weather events as well. They envisioned a major natural disaster that caused a large percentage of the transmission lines to be damaged. This scenario is common across the globe as major natural disasters are more frequent.

Resultados de Pruebas de Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

Testing of the algorithm proved that networks of grid-edge devices can supplement energy loss due to various attacks. The system successfully restabilized the grid by adjusting the grid topology. Additionally, the new algorithm can automatically determine what devices are trustworthy and their capabilities.

Beneficios de las Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

There are many benefits that decentralized power grids bring to the market. For one, they offer tailored power generation that takes into account the power consumption of each device to provide efficiency. This system is a greener and more sustainable alternative to the status quo.

Los Dispositivos IoT están en Todas Partes

Another benefit is the use of IoT devices. There are billions of these units located globally with the potential to help stabilise power grids. This strategy takes into account their capabilities and utilizes them together to create a more robust electrical grid, capable of handling extreme conditions without failure.

Cubre los Vacíos de la Energía Renovable

Technologies like wind and solar power are great for creating clean energy. However, they have times when they are not capable of producing the required electricity needed to power homes. In these scenarios, the engineers envision grid edge devices stepping up to take on the extra workload.

Rentable

One of the potential benefits of this strategy is a more dynamic local electricity market, where participants could be compensated for their contributions. While MIT researchers propose this concept, specific financial incentives such as bill credits or payments would depend on market implementation and regulatory frameworks. It would be nice to receive a free month’s electricity because the month prior, your smart fridge and thermostat did their part to help keep the grid stable.

Investigadores de Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

The decentralized power grid study was put forth by a team of MIT engineers. The paper lists the lead authors as Vineet Nair and John Williams. The research was co-authored by Anu Annaswamy as well. Notably, it received funding from Indian Institute of Technology, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy and the MIT Energy Initiative.

This study expands on lead researchers Nair’s previous work in the field of adaptive control theory. Adaptive control theory revolves around making systems that can sense and automatically correct issues without human intervention. This latest protocol falls in line with this research and could one day help to keep homes energized all year round.

Empresas Líderes en Soluciones Energéticas

The race to provide the most resilient energy solutions to the market has resulted in several key players emerging. These companies have put forth millions in R&D to enhance energy productions and delivery across the market. Here’s one company ideally positioned to capitalize on any power grid improvements.

Duke Energy Corp

Duke Energy Corp (DUK ) entered the market in 1904 as a hydroelectric power plant located on the Catawba River. The company was founded by James Buchanan Duke and Benjamin Newton Duke and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since its launch, Duke Energy Corporation saw significant growth. Today it’s one of the largest electric power companies in the United States.

Duke Energy’s rise to market dominance occurred over many decades, acquisitions, and market movements. In 1997, the company merged with PanEnergy Corporation to further its offerings. Then, in 2005, Duke Energy, the company, acquired Cinergy Corporation, increasing market penetration across key states.

Today, Duke Energy remains a market leader in the energy production sector. The company continues to innovate and integrate new technology as part of its strategy to offer reliable and affordable energy to its clients.

Its positioning and history would enable Duke Energy to integrate the grid edge study findings to improve its offerings. As such, DUK is seen as a strong addition to any portfolio.

Últimas Noticias sobre Duke Energy Corp

Futuro de las Redes Eléctricas Descentralizadas

There are still many roadblocks to adoption that the engineers acknowledge must be overcome to succeed. First of all, the system will require clients and businesses to opt in to the network. From there, they will need to agree to integrate certain hardware to enable the system to inject power back into the network and track their efforts. All of these steps will require educating the masses and providing low-cost and accessible solutions.

Lograr la Resiliencia de la Red Eléctrica

You have to hand it to this team of out-of-the-box thinkers for their unique approach. Their concept utilized readily available grid edge devices to help stabilize the entire system. This strategy makes sense, doesn’t require huge costs or network changes, and leverages the massive IoT networks in place today. As such, you can expect to see further research into decentralized power grids moving forward.

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Referencia del Estudio:

^{1. V.J. Nair, P. Srivastava, V. Venkataramanan, P.S. Sarker, A. Srivastava, L.D. Marinovici, J. Zha, C. Irwin, P. Mittal, J. Williams, J. Kumar, H.V. Poor, & A.M. Annaswamy, Resilience of the electric grid through trustable IoT-coordinated assets, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (8) e2413967121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2413967121 (2025).}