The activities of ESIG Working and Users Groups are currently organized around the six major themes described below. They encompass topics ranging from the needs of current power systems to enabling future power systems with a much larger share of annual energy coming from wind and solar energy. Future power systems will see an increasing number of hours when the full system requirements can be met by wind and solar resources, recognizing that they are now mainstream resources and require adjustments throughout the planning and operating cycles of our power systems. As penetrations of wind and solar increase, ESIG recognizes the growing importance of the coupling with other parts of the energy system (e.g. transport, heat etc.).
Users groups are communities of users within ESIG organized around a common interest or set of activities, and these users groups may develop ongoing dedicated meetings of their user community.
Working groups are driven by member interests with support from ESIG staff, and members may propose new working groups, or new task forces within a working group, to the ESIG board as an ongoing activity or for a temporary defined purpose. Examples of working group activities include:
- Produce a webinar or tutorial on a timely topic of interest, including Best Practices and Lessons Learned
- Produce a bulletin or white paper for the membership on a timely topic of interest, including Best Practices and Lessons Learned
- Select and plan a topical workshop
- Organize a special session for the spring or fall workshop or working group meeting on a timely topic of interest
- Provide SMEs to address current industry concerns of legislative, regulatory or government bodies
- Provide SMEs to participate in specific technical or standards activity of interest (NERC, IEEE, IEC SC 8A, AWEA)
Users groups and working groups are member-only activities, and they may operate under a confidentiality agreement to produce work products which are for members only. Alternatively, the users groups or working groups may produce work for the benefit of a larger audience. At the present time, there is one users group and five working groups, as described below.
Wind and Solar Plant Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Users Group – Bjorn Hedges, NAES
The O&M Users Group represents a large and vibrant community of owners and operators of wind and solar power plants. The topic of the O&M Users Group is asset management of wind and solar power plants. This is a large and active user group that meets for several days each spring and fall.
Join O&M Users Group Online Community (ESIG members only)
Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Working Group – Chair, Obadiah Bartholomy, SMUD
Topics covered by the DER Working Group include distributed PV, energy storage, demand management, electric transportation, distribution system design and operation, microgrids, and transactive energy.
Join DER Working Group Online Community (ESIG members only)
Reliability Working Group – Chair, Jason MacDowell, GE
Topics covered by the Reliability Working Group include load modeling, dynamic system modeling, grid codes and interconnection requirements, system disturbances, weak grids, zero inertia power systems, and electrical system standards.
Join Reliability Working Group Online Community (ESIG members only)
Join High Share of Inverter-Based Generation Task Force
System Planning Working Group – Chair, Aaron Bloom, NextEra Analytics
Topics covered by this working group include generation and transmission planning studies; both technical and economic aspects of integration studies of electrical, thermal, gas and transportation systems; capacity adequacy and flexibility; and alternative sources of system flexibility services.
Join System Planning Working Group Online Community (ESIG members only)
System Operations and Market Design Working Group – Chair, Aidan Tuohy, EPRI
Topics covered by this working group include system operation and operating practices, market design and operation, and operational forecasting.
Join System Operations and Market Design Working Group Online Community (ESIG members only)
HyFlex – Hybrids and Emerging Flexible Resources Task Force
Research and Education Working Group – Chair, Mark O’Malley, UCD
Topics covered by this working group are biased towards the longer term and include the incorporation of a high share of renewable energy in the future energy supply, and the understanding and analysis of the interactions among energy systems (electric, fuel, thermal) and other infrastructures (transportation, water, communication and data systems). The educational needs for the present and future challenges are also covered.
Join Research and Education Working Group Online Community (ESIG members only)