Power Plant Controller &
Energy Management System

A Renewables Energy Operating System for Any Scale

Built on the Aderis Acuity™ Edge Platform

Aderis Acuity-Microgrid™ adds a real-time automation hardware platform for real time Power Plant Control (PPC) and full energy management system capabilities (EMS).

Acuity-Microgrid renewables energy operating system provides customers with a complete monitoring, power plant control, and energy management solution in a single platform. Acuity-Microgrid scales to meet the needs of small and large projects alike by allowing customers to select the components they need for each project’s requirements. Unique to the industry, Aderis Acuity’s modular licensing model enables affordable deployment of PPC & EMS functionality at any scale.

 

 Need to take control of your renewable energy facility?
Just add Acuity!

One Interface. Control Everything.

You already know the Aderis Acuity intelligent platform delivers the highest quality data, real-time visibility of your site, alarming that works, one-click reporting, and more in a tile-based user interface.

With Acuity-Microgrid, you get:

  • PPC tiles for active control of specific operations

  • EMS tiles for energy storage management and scheduling

  • Coordinated PPC & EMS control modes

Lower cost of ownership | Unlock your assets’ full market potential | Simpler operator interaction
More reliable and predictable system deployments using a trusted platform

Acuity-Microgrid supports the real needs of operators, providing market-leading advanced features.

SIMPLIFIED, COORDINATED CONTROL

Active power & automatic control functions can be quickly and easily modified in one user interface to achieve the desired generator behaviors for grid support.

ONE-CLICK VISIBILITY OF EVENTS

Easily access and download auditable operator and setpoint command logs. Need to troubleshoot? See a list of time-stamped, detailed events with descriptions in just one click.

REPETITIVE TASKS ELIMINATED

Built-in recurring command scheduling supports hourly, daily, and even annual event requirements. Coordinate complex power plant control and energy storage management in one system.

 

FAIL-SAFE OPERATIONS

Acuity-Microgrid automatically transitions to open-loop control for all modes when the automation controller losses communication with the verification meter(s). This feature is to prevent generator run-away events and provides fail-safe operations.

ERROR PREVENTION & SAFETY NETS

Prevent errors and enable Operators to safely handle a larger volume of diverse assets and equipment. Visual indications and logical checks help verify appropriate tolerances and prevent out-of-range set points from being sent to the automation controller.

BUILT-IN COMMISSIONING MODE

Eliminate the need for complicated tools and specialized personnel. Through the Aderis Acuity SCADA interface, simulated voltage injection enables testing of automatic control modes that require grid voltage changes to trigger responses.

Acuity-Microgrid Control Modules

Deploy what you need today. Enable additional functionality at any time.

Active Power Control

Often referred to simply as ‘curtailment’, Active Power Control (APC) is the ability to programmatically set and maintain a maximum (or minimum) generation export level. Unlike simply setting your inverters to a maximum set point, Acuity-Microgrid provides supervised close-loop control to regulate the generation export limit at the point of interconnection. This is accomplished by monitoring your revenue grade meter’s instantaneous power output and then adjusting the inverters dynamically to compensate for system losses, building loads in the case of microgrids, or battery charging in the case of PV+storage systems.

Common examples of APC are:

  • Generator Curtailment - To comply with an operating instruction

  • Zero Export (or Export Limit) - To ensure self-generated power does not exceed a contractual threshold, but also serves as much of the behind the meter load as possible to reduce grid consumption and demand charges.

  • PV+Storage Combined Limit - When energy storage is present, Acuity-Microgrid can command discharging to fill (or smooth) in dips in PV production, while ensuring the combined PV+storage export does not exceed the interconnection’s contractual limit.

 
 

Automatic Voltage Regulation

Providing grid services that support voltage, reactive power, and frequency requirements are accomplished by enabling distributed generators to perform automatic voltage regulation (AVR) functions. Since the inverters for solar and energy storage are powered electronic devices, and do not have any physical inertia like spinning armatures, they are excellent grid support resources. Acuity-Microgrid separates its AVR functions into two distinct modules, enabling customers with smaller C&I installations to support AVR requirements without the unnecessary cost and overhead of traditional energy management systems.

 

AVR Essential

Essential functions include the ability to provide closed-loop control for constant voltage, reactive power, and power factor.

  • Constant Voltage - Set a target voltage (kV) value to maintain, and Acuity-Microgrid will command the inverters to dynamically adjust their output to hold voltage at a constant level, preventing under-voltage sags or over-voltage swells.

  • Constant Reactive Power - Set a target reactive power (kVAr) value to maintain, inject or absorb, to regulate voltage. Reactive power absorption is often used to lower grid voltage, while reactive power injection is often used to raise grid voltage.

  • Constant Power Factor - Set a target power factor (PF) value to maintain, including the option to operate at unity (PF 1.0).

AVR Advanced

Advanced functions include the ability for the generator to dynamically adjust to grid conditions by calculating operating set points based on operating curves. Operating curves are defined by entering Vₓ, Qₓ, and Pₓ values into Acuity’s dedicated configuration pages.

  • Active Power - Reactive (Watt-VAr) - Volt-Watt mode dynamically adjusts reactive power (kVAr) based on a calculated value that corresponds with active power (kW) along a three-point P & Q curve.

  • Voltage - Reactive Power (Volt-VAr) - Volt-VAr mode dynamically adjusts reactive power (kVAr) based on a calculated value that corresponds with voltage (kV) along a four-point V & Q curve.

  • Voltage - Active Power (Volt-Watt) - Volt-Watt mode dynamically adjusts active power (kW) based on a calculated value that corresponds with voltage (kV) along a two-point V & P curve.

  • Frequency Regulation - Also known as frequency droop control, set a target frequency (Hz) value to maintain, regulating frequency at the point of interconnection.

Energy Management for Storage

In addition to effective power plant control functionality, Acuity-Microgrid provides a full energy management system for storage with integration capabilities that supports AC-coupled, DC-coupled, microgrid, and off-grid systems.

Load Shifting | Peak Shaving | Demand Reduction | Smoothing | Firming
Solar-Only Charging | Scheduling | SOC Targets | Active Power Targets | Seasonal Demand Targets

Done correctly, energy management systems can be an incredibly flexible tool. Our customers recognize that choosing the right EMS is paramount to realizing initial energy savings today through existing market programs, but also to be flexible enough to adapt to the evolving grid services markets of tomorrow.

Acuity’s powerful and extensible architecture supports the rapid development and deployment of new capabilities and supports native integration pathways for third-party services to ensure your energy storage investment can be maximized and optimized.

Aderis Acuity’s Power Plant Control, Solar Monitoring, and Energy Storage Management Tiles

Utility requirements putting the brakes on your microgrid project? Aderis Acuity can help.

Grid concerns often put a halt on projects. The advanced monitoring and control features needed to ensure fail-safe operations are far too costly for the project budget. The modular architecture of Acuity is unique and allows owners to select just the built-in functions that specifically fit their project… no more, no less.

Acuity’s built-in, automated tools meet local program or utility requirements without the need for an operator to watch 24/7. The result? An affordable, robust control solution that will get any size project back on track and within budget.

The Aderis Acuity Advantage

Acuity provides your business and operations teams with a consistent price model and operating solution that can be standardized across your portfolio, regardless of inverter or energy storage manufacturer. 

Want to get to know Acuity? Let us introduce you.