Concerto Optimize: Securely manage and optimize the integration of behind- and front-of-meter distributed energy resources (DERs) in the electricity grid

Introduction

Distributed energy resources (DERs) refer to small-scale power generation and storage systems that are located close to the point of consumption, typically at the distribution level of the electrical grid. DERs include—but are not limited to—renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, energy storage systems such as electric vehicles and batteries, and smart thermostats. DERs play a crucial role in decentralizing the power grid, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting the integration of renewable energy.

As DERs come online, it is of paramount importance to effectively manage their integration within the electricity grid while ensuring reliability, stability, and security. This is where distributed energy resources management systems (DERMS) play a vital role. DERMS applications use advanced software and algorithms to monitor, control, and optimize the deployment of grid-connected and location-specific DER assets in near real time.

In this blog post, we will explore Concerto Optimize (Concerto), an AWS Cloud–based DERMS solution that empowers utilities to manage and optimize behind-the-meter and front-of-meter DERs seamlessly.

Grid Integration Challenges

Integrating DERs into the electricity grid involves several challenges. The dynamic nature of renewable energy sources like solar and wind creates variability in power generation, requiring utilities to balance supply and demand. Additionally, the diverse range of DERs necessitates seamless integration for grid operations to remain smooth. Utilities must have operational insight and control over these distributed assets to extend their distribution management systems and maintain grid stability. Furthermore, advanced optimization capabilities—such as autonomous frequency correction, real and reactive power control, and voltage management—are essential to maximizing the performance of DERs and improving grid efficiency.

Solution

Concerto provides a comprehensive control and optimization platform for managing the power and energy flexibility of connected DERs at the grid edge—both front of and behind the meter. From advanced demand response to energy market dynamic dispatch and highly complex distribution optimization, Concerto is a single platform for distributed energy orchestration and control. Concerto uses machine learning to forecast available capacity in near real time, and its distributed bidding system optimizes the network and solves grid problems while accounting for the costs and constraints of virtually every asset in the system.

Figure 1. Concerto Optimize User Interface—Visualization of VPP Event Performance vs. Baseline

Asset-agnostic software provides the flexibility to handle any type of DER. From utility-scale renewables to commercial and industrial process loads and in-home devices like EVs and smart thermostats, Concerto’s open API can connect, aggregate, and control the load flexibility of virtually unlimited grid-edge assets. Concerto provides the power to control and optimize hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of assets with speed and accuracy.

Concerto is surrounded by a complete, unified API for integration with asset, market, utility, and other third-party systems. Highly interoperable, the platform complies with a wide range of industry protocols and standards to facilitate low-cost and rapid interfacing.

Architecture

Concerto helps maintain robust security through industry-standard protocols, regular security updates, and the top-tier AWS security services described below—exceeding traditional on-premises measures. Customers also benefit from regular updates through a secure, continuous deployment pipeline, without having to spend time on manual updates. AWS infrastructure also allows seamless scale-out and scale-in for evolving demands while maintaining optimal performance and cost efficiency.

Figure 2 shows the architecture for Concerto. Based on the AWS Well-Architected Framework—which describes key concepts, design principles, and architectural best practices for designing and running workloads in the cloud—Concerto is a reliable, scalable, and secure software-as-a-service solution that takes advantage of various cloud-native and serverless AWS services. A description of Concerto’s various components and the data flow among them is provided below.

Figure 2. Concerto Optimize Architecture

Concerto is highly interoperable and compliant with industry-standard protocols such as DNP3, IEC 104, OpenADR, Modbus, and HTTPS. Communication between DERs and Concerto is kept secure through encryption using TLS, a strong cryptographic protocol. It integrates with behind-the-meter and front-of-meter DERs such as EV charging stations, thermostats, batteries, and solar panels, among others. By adhering to industry standards, Concerto facilitates efficient and cost-effective integration of DERs.

Concerto maintains an industry-leading ecosystem that has integrations with over 60 different third-party DER systems. These integrations have been built to allow bidirectional flow of encrypted data using protocols such as those mentioned above, and they facilitate near-real-time collection of telemetry data from assets as well as the transmission of control signals to individual or groups of assets directly. All the developed adapters are available out of the box and new ones can be created on an as-needed basis with the open software developer kit (SDK). Adapters communicate with the core application via Concerto’s API. Adapters are deployed using Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), a fully managed container orchestration service, AWS Lambda, a serverless, event-driven compute service, and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), secure and resizable compute capacity for virtually any workload. These services help Concerto achieve highly available, cost-efficient, and scalable integration with various types of DERs.

Concerto is packaged as a set of Docker images and deployed on the auto-scalable Amazon ECS service using AWS Fargate, a serverless, pay-as-you-go compute engine that lets developers focus on building applications without managing servers. The application also includes a GraphQL API that exposes application functionality to adapters as well as a front-end user interface. It provides utilities and third-party owners a holistic view of their DER portfolios, helping them make data-driven decisions.

Concerto uses Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, a relational database management system built for the cloud, and Amazon DynamoDB, a serverless, NoSQL database with single-digit millisecond performance at any scale, to store telemetry, configuration and grid events. Both database services are fully managed and provide high performance, scalability, high availability, and cross-region replication for disaster recovery. DynamoDB also offers a pay-as-you-go model based on read/write capacity and storage. All data is encrypted at rest.

Concerto has a simple-to-use, browser-based user interface for utility administrators, grid operators, and users in other roles. Authentication for end users takes place externally through AWS Cognito—a service for implementing secure, frictionless customer identity and access management that scales—and a token is issued for access. Amazon Cognito also provides a cost-effective customer experience. Authorization is performed using role-based access control, which lets end users access various features and data based on assigned roles. All traffic between browser and application is encrypted.

Concerto’s grid service events component is responsible for processing grid-event requests generated by grid operators. For example, Concerto can receive grid service events from advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) to provide emergency load shed on a distribution circuit. For each event, Concerto determines the optimal target group of assets to solve the grid need with a goal of cost minimization for utilities or third-party owners, and it initiates dispatch with corresponding set points for each asset. It performs near-real-time, closed-loop control throughout the event, making sure that the desired capacity and energy are delivered.

Concerto’s customer notification system component uses Amazon Pinpoint—which offers marketers and developers one customizable tool to deliver customer communications across channels, segments, and campaigns at scale—for email, SMS, voice message, and mobile push notifications to customers and participants in near real time or at specified future dates and times. Concerto accepts requests through a secured instance of Amazon API Gateway, a fully managed service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale.

Communication between Concerto and on-premises systems may be routed with AWS Direct Connect—a service for creating dedicated network connections to AWS—thereby bypassing public internet.

The following are some of the common AWS services that are used in one or more of Concerto’s components.

• Amazon Key Management Service (Amazon KMS), which lets companies create, manage, and control cryptographic keys across applications and AWS services, is used for generating and storing keys in encrypting data at rest.
• AWS Secrets Manager, which helps companies manage, retrieve, and rotate database credentials, API keys, and other secrets throughout their lifecycles, is used for storing sensitive configuration values, such database passwords.
• Amazon CloudWatch, which collects and visualizes near-real-time logs, metrics, and event data in automated dashboards, is used for collecting and storing logs from AWS services and Concerto. It is also used to collect infrastructure services metrics.
• AWS CloudTrail, which tracks user activity and API usage on AWS and in hybrid and multicloud environments, improves security posture by monitoring and recording AWS account activity and events.

Business Outcomes

DERMS have emerged as an essential tool for power and utility customers to realize their optimization, efficiency, and sustainability visions in managing the electric distribution system. By using cloud-based DERMS solutions, industry pioneers can drive a multitude of business outcomes with confidence—and collect the data points to prove it.

• Near-real-time demand response optimization facilitates seamless navigation of peak demand periods, reducing strain on the grid, avoiding potential blackouts, and unlocking valuable revenue streams.
• Enhanced grid reliability and improved resiliency helps maintain consistency of power supply, improving customer satisfaction and minimizing service disruptions.
• Renewable energy source integration accelerates sustainability initiatives while meeting regulatory compliance.
• Data-driven predictive maintenance optimizes asset utilization, translating to cost savings and improved operational efficiency.

By harnessing the power of DERMS solutions, customers can differentiate themselves in the market and lead the charge toward a more resilient, cost-effective, and sustainable energy future.

Looking Ahead

As the energy landscape continues to evolve, the future of cloud-based DERMS solutions holds exciting prospects. Advancements in machine learning and data analytics are poised to further enhance the capabilities of DERMS. We can anticipate increasingly sophisticated grid and DER control algorithms alongside deeper insights into energy consumption patterns. With continuous innovation, cloud-based DERMS solutions will be pivotal in shaping a resilient, flexible, and eco-conscious energy future.

Call to Action

If you’d like to learn more about the Concerto Optimize DERMS solution, visit generacgs.com/concerto/optimize. If you’d like to learn more about how AWS can help you transform your energy business, read about AWS for Energy at thinkwithwp.com/energy. If you have any feedback, please reach out to us or leave a comment.