Grid-responsive smart manufacturing: A perspective for an interconnected energy future in the industrial sector

With the growing amount of renewable energy sources, the grid has become responsible for accounting for intermittency and the flexibility needed to utilize dynamic sources. Expensive peaking plants and energy storage systems have been proposed as ways to mitigate those problems. There is a large group of energy consumers that can respond to grid conditions. Historically, these consumers have been residential and commercial users, but with modern innovations and practices, industrial consumers have the potential to become a major player in this space. Grid-responsive smart manufacturing can be used to utilize modern tools in manufacturing innovation as enablers for grid response. These modern tools already exist but are not widely used for industrial grid-side energy management. This article defines grid-responsive smart manufacturing, identifies five major barriers to its widespread implementation, and portrays the path to getting industrial users to be key players in grid stability and flexibility.