Daedalus was the mythical engineer and artificer of the classical world. What would he do with digital tools and digital concerns?

Back to basics: Some Definitions

May 26, 2020 in Microgrids and Distrib..., Transactive Energy

Today I am restating some definitions of terms, reflecting how my own understanding has changed over time: Transactive Energy, Transactive Resource Management, Microgrids, Micromarkets, the Common Transactive Services, and Cyber-Physical Systems.

Spontaneous Order on a Continental Scale

July 13, 2019 in Basics, Cybersecurity, Distributed Energy, IoT, Microgrids and Distrib..., Paths to Transactive E..., Smart Energy, System Architecture, Transactive Energy

A recent conversation about European power markets and some “glitches” in early June shown a light on profound issues in cybersecurity, in system architectures for big infrastructure, and to an extent the scalability problems with many of the hottest applications for the Internet of Things (IOT). The specific observations was a plea for direct central control, even as it used an example that showed the shortcoming of infrastructure architecture based on assumptions of central control. It then learned the wrong lesson, that spontaneous order is too “risky” at large scale.

ESIF and Security at the Edge of Smart Grids

November 02, 2017 in Microgrids and Distrib..., Security, Smart Grid, System Architecture

I attended the NREL ESIF Cybersecurity Workshop last month. ESIF names the Energy Systems Integration Facility. The workshop demonstrated both what should be done to secure future energy systems, and how difficult, labor intensive, and non-scalable this is using standard practice.

The first morning showed off the ESIF’s model of how to secure the un-securable.

Architectural Principals of Transactive Energy

June 15, 2017 in Microgrids and Distrib..., Paths to Transactive E..., Services, Smart Grid, System Architecture, Transactive Energy

Transactive energy describes a pattern of integration where parties exchange the value or a commodity resource [power] over time and make forward commitments to sell or purchase that commodity. The Common Transactive Services (CTS) can be used in central auction-type systems, where a single entity announces or broadcasts prices or in markets were two or more parties come to a mutual agreement on price and delivery.

All forward transactions are committed, that is one party commits...

New Daedalus

Daedalus designed buildings, automated statues, and built wings for human flight. Daedalus worked by eye and hand, his designs scratched with a stylus on wax tablets. Until recently, we merely perfected his means of work, using better pens, and paper, and finally drawing on computers.

It is only recently that we have begun to leave the methods of Daedalus behind.

Simulations and digital twins guide each decision. Intelligence, or at least behaviors, imbue each system and device. Cyberphysical systems replace household servants and chauffeurs, operate factories, and manage energy logistics. The most pressing concerns are how intelligent systems and buildings will respond to us, and to each other.