Architecting the Smart Grid Using the Industrial Internet of Things
7.
THE INDUSTRIAL INTERNET EASES THE DEPLOYMENT OF DISTRIBUTED
ENERGY RESOURCES
As renewable energy sources at the edge of the current power grid continue to grow across our
neighborhoods and businesses, microgrids with edge intelligence and peer-to-peer
communication are necessary to deliver on the promise of green energy and ensure our current,
previous generation power grid does not fail. Extending the IIC’s IIRA to the Smart Grid, the SGIP’s
OpenFMB program is defining an open framework with an interoperable data model and IIoT
data communication protocols. OpenFMB is one EnergyIoT solution that specifically addresses
the grid edge and brings distributed intelligence to fielded devices using IIoT technologies and
principles. Multiple testbeds and demonstration projects will deploy the OpenFMB framework to
prove its capabilities in microgrids, including the IIC’s Microgrid Testbed program.
A Phase 2 OpenFMB is planned for 2016 and will include new use cases and more live technology
demonstrations. Phase 2 will prove its flexibility by addressing other critical utility business
concerns that may go beyond the microgrid use cases. There are also plans to generate an
information model profile starting with a different standard information model, such as
MultiSpeak or IEC 61850, to prove the OpenFMB Framework’s information model’s
independence, flexibility and ease of integration. Other EnergyIoT concepts are under discussion
within the SGIP and will be consistent with the IIC’s Industrial Internet of Things Reference
Architecture. More opportunities for collaboration between the IIC and SGIP will emerge as both
organizations drive IIoT interoperability within the energy industry.
Long term, the real power of the IIoT is to connect sensor to cloud, power to factory and road to
hospital using generic, capable networking technology that can span industries, field systems and
the cloud. The coordinated IIC and SGIP efforts to apply the IIoT to the Smart Grid are a key
initiative in the effort to define and develop the IIoT.
8.
KEY TERMS
IIoT – Industrial Internet of Things
DER – Distributed Energy Resource
OpenFMB – Open Field Message Bus (a project at the SGIP)
SGIP – Smart Grid Interoperability Panel
NAESB - North American Energy Standards Board
DDS – Data Distribution Service
IIC – Industrial Internet Consortium
IIRA – Industrial Internet Reference Architecture
IIC Journal of Innovation
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