OpenADR 3.0 2024 Hackathon: A Resounding Success! By Frank Sandoval, Principal, Palarito Technologies, LLC

This month, Pacific Gas and Electric hosted the OpenADR 3.0 Hackathon. Participants from pioneering companies, all worked successfully together to advance interoperability and resilient energy solutions. These companies included: PG&E, Tanenergy, LBL, Universal Devices, GridTracker, Buena Vista Learning, Quilt EPRI, Priicer/EKM Metering, Clark Communications, Kaluza, GridX, Evoke, the OpenADR Alliance and individual Nathan Ota.

The spotlight is firmly on the integration of electric vehicles into the power grid with the recent news that ChargeScape, a consortium of some of the biggest names in automotive manufacturing has appointed its first CEO and CTO.

Spearheaded by Alliance Board member, Ford Motor Company, along with BMW Manufacturing Co., Honda and Nissan Motor Corporation, the joint venture will focus on the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into the power grid in the US.

Managed EV charging companies are helping to drive the growth of OpenADR adoption in the past three years. We are seeing this momentum continue in 2024, with a wave of companies joining the Alliance who are offering a different focus and innovative new business models to the growing EV marketplace.

One such member is Wevo Energy who joined us on our recent webinar to discuss New Frontiers in EV Charging. Here we find out a bit more about the company as we talk to Marina Hod, who’s leading Wevo Energy's EV charging optimization business in North America.

Managed EV charging companies are helping to drive the growth of OpenADR adoption in the past three years. We are seeing this momentum continue in 2024, with a wave of companies joining the Alliance who are offering a different focus and innovative new business models to the growing EV marketplace.

One such member is OpenRoad Technologies Inc. who joined us on our recent webinar, New Frontiers in EV Charging. Here we find out a bit more about the company as we talk to Evan Kirchhoff, CEO and co-founder and a 20-year veteran of software and hardware technology companies, including Adobe, Razor, and Google.

The transition to electric vehicles (EV) is central to achieving net zero goals. For the UK market in particular, these goals are ambitious. The date to phase out the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars was recently pushed back to 2035, but with a newly appointed government in place since July the original 2030 deadline is set to be restored.

While no mention was made of this in the King’s Speech during the recent state opening of Parliament, which sets out the government’s legislative plans, we can expect to see more details published soon.

Ever wondered what about other standards like Energy Star and how they co-exist with OpenADR and CTA-2045/EcoPort? Following our recent webinar on connected appliances, we talk to Spencer Borison, Head of US at contributing member Codibly, about how these standards can work together to drive smart energy management.

Across the globe there has been the increasing number of electric vehicles, batteries and smart devices in the home and the need to find ways to achieve greater flexibility in how demand resources are managed.

Specifically, New Zealand has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030. As the country embarks on an ambitious energy transition, it has many natural advantages, including a strong renewable resource base.

Earlier this month we had the pleasure of attending Power+Utilites in Melbourne. It was a great opportunity to learn more about energy efficiency efforts in Australia and to educate attendees on the importance of the OpenADR protocol. Rolf Bienert presented a Knowledge Hub session on ‘CER flexibility with the customer in charge – The OpenADR Approach.' 

Terry Paddy, Managing Director from member company Cortexo was also there to highlight the New Zealand FlexTalk project that used OpenADR to dispatch flexibility. Here Terry shares more about his company and his thoughts on the impact the OpenADR standard in this region.

Reaching a new milestone is always an exciting moment. The OpenADR Alliance recently announced reaching 200 members, something we are particularly proud of as a global industry organization that started out supporting technical communications standards over a decade ago.

Our goal remains the same, with the OpenADR standard going from strength to strength with the launch of OpenADR 3.0 last year. But like other industry bodies, we need to evolve and adapt as the industry – and our members – change.

We are hearing mixed messages right now about the success – or otherwise – of electric vehicles (EVs). We know that EVs will happen one way or another, but on the one hand, we’re seeing headlines about falling sales and car makers slashing forecasts, while on the other, the news that sales have got off to a record start this year. The growth seeming to come from premium brands like BMW and Audi.

 We know it will come, but the transition to EVs is not without its challenges.

The OpenADR Alliance talks with Joachim Lohse, CEO and Founder of Ampcontrol, a leading AI-powered software company for electric fleets, about the important role the OpenADR standard has played in the company’s EV fleet software.

Last week the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL was the place to be for DistribuTECH 2024. This year’s conference in the ‘sunshine state’ did not disappoint with over 400 speakers, 17,000+ attendees, 600+ exhibitors and 3,500+ utilities all under one roof.

As promised for those who attended, it was an inspirational event to be among organizations and industry leaders empowering progress and sharing ideas that will transform the way we live.

The OpenADR Alliance learned a lot representing the EcoPort/CTA-2045 interface and testing program at the AHR Expo in Chicago last week. The AHR Expo brings together manufacturers and suppliers of all sizes and specialties to share ideas and showcase the future of HVACR technology.  We shared a booth with LonMark International, a partner focused on building management interfaces who introduced a new building interoperability architecture that encompasses both EcoPort and OpenADR.

 The most encouraging part of the show was seeing several EcoPort^TM–certified products on the show floor.

This week is particularly exciting one for us at the OpenADR Alliance. As we gather at Enlit Europe (November 28-30th) with industry leaders and several of our members, all part of the growing community of companies looking to solve the most important energy transition issues, we are delighted to announce the new version of the OpenADR communications standard.

OpenADR 3.0 is an important milestone for us as the industry body responsible for driving the development, adoption, and compliance of OpenADR. It’s also a significant step in the development of communications standard for utilities, operators, and aggregators, as they look to manage the growing range of distributed energy resources.

Putting renewables and energy storage at the heart of Enlit Europe 2023

Recent estimates by the European Environment Agency (EEA) indicate that we are consuming more of our energy from renewable sources like solar power. Last year in Europe, nearly a quarter (22.5%) was generated by renewables. While this is on the rise, the EEA warns that to meet the new target of 42.5% for 2030 it will “require a deep transformation of the European energy system”.

EVs and e-mobility set to take centre stage at Enlit Europe 2023

Recap of RE+: Could Virtual Power Plants be the Next Big Thing in the Renewable Energy Sector?

This year’s RE+ was a success and to contradict the cliché ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’, here is a summary of the highlights. 

The New Hampshire Electric Co-op pilots transactive energy rate program using OpenADR

Transactive energy is an intelligent, multi-layer communications process that organizes energy generation, consumption, and delivery.  During a transactive energy occurrence, power suppliers, energy markets and distributed energy resources (DERs), including electric vehicles and batteries, exchange to negotiate energy requirements and pricing.

Today security concerns, the economy, and daily life choices require a flexible and durable electricity system. Transactive energy is designed to improve energy efficiency, which results in a more resilient and reliable power grid.