Summary
In 2021 we saw things settle back to a more normal state, while still needing to stay flexible and resilient to steer new virus variants, travel mandates, etc. Although in person participation for events was limited the OpenADR Alliance hosted a number of webinars with key partners including a two-day OpenADR Summit. This event included presentations from industry experts and was open to all professionals interested in gaining a better understanding of how the OpenADR standard is being applied in the electricity market and other distribution system reliability activities. You can find the 2021-webinar information at https://www.openadr.org/webinar-series and https://www.openadr.org/virtual-openadr-summit-2021.
Further Activities and Initiatives
In addition to the above, we participated in close to a dozen industry events including DistribuTECH+ where we moderated a virtual panel session Beyond the Plug with panelists from Xcel Energy, Ford Motor, General Motors and Detroit Energy. We wrapped up 2021 at Enlit Europe in Milan, Italy where we showcased the latest developments with OpenADR adoption in Europe, which includes deployments by utilities and their partners in the U.K. and Germany.
Over 120 attendees joined us for an OpenADR Webinar with our long-term partners in Japan. The audience heard about new use cases in Japan for Virtual Power Plants and Electric Vehicle participation in balancing markets. Speakers included Dr Hideo Ishii and OpenADR member Toyota Tsusho, plus the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). https://www.openadr.org/webinar-series
The Alliance continues to see an increase in membership especially for DER and EV Charging. Over the last 12 months, the Alliance has increased its membership by over 20 companies and there has been a steady flow of OpenADR certified products being deployed around the globe. Of particular note has been a large number of new members who build electric vehicle managed charging equipment and platforms. The OpenADR Alliance Board of Directors has noted this trend and has directed the Alliance to build closer relationships with automotive manufacturers. This trend represents one of the largest shifts in the electric utility business in recent history, along with the growing footprint of renewable and energy storage resources as part of utility demand-side planning.
From the technical side, we have expanded our certification program for products based on EcoPort, the new consumer-facing brand name for the CTA 2045 technical standard. Local utilities can now support EcoPort-enabled water heaters and other appliances as part of their local peak-load management or time of use rate programs. Today’s smart appliances will now be able to align energy consumption to minimize electric grid costs, as well as the appliance’s energy usage with times of variable renewable energy availability. This will result in 100 million tons of carbon emissions saved every year. Please see also https://www.openadr.org/ecoport.
The OpenADR Alliance collaborated with SEPA, E4TheFuture, EnergyHub, ChargePoint, ev.energy and ICF to publish “The State of Managed Charging in 2021” https://sepapower.org/resource/the-state-of-managed-charging-in-2021/ to provide a comprehensive resource covering existing managed charging programs, technology and vendors. This report identifies major developments in the managed charging landscape since the publication of the 2019 SEPA report “A Comprehensive Guide to Electric Vehicle Managed Charging.”
We look forward to building upon the momentum we have established within the utility EV and the DER industry. The New Year will be busy as we kick things off with our first in-person event; InterSolar in Long Beach, CA (booth 2245). Then we will be heading to Dallas, TX for DistribuTECH in May of 2022. Longtime member and partner QualityLogic will be co-exhibiting with OpenADR in booth 2343.
Technical Working Group
Late in 2021 the Profile Working Group started discussions about future new features of the OpenADR specification. These new feature proposals will be discussed, further defined, and if approved also implemented. The first quarter of 2022 will be used to define the market requirements. Of course, we will be very careful about the interoperability aspects going forward.
Liaison Update
The OpenADR Alliance and EEBUS have restarted the liaison activities and have recently published a white paper that shows how EEBUS can be used as an extension of OpenADR inside the building. The paper will soon be published on the OpenADR Alliance website and the initial version is already available at 20211208-OpenADR-EEBUS-White-Paper-v1.0.pdf or https://www.eebus.org/download/12043/
We hope to see you all soon in person again!