Cloud Deployment of Large-Scale Electromagnetic Transient Simulation -- Discovery and Experiences

Abstract: Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) simulation starts to play a critical role in modern power system planning and operations due to large penetration of inverter based resources (IBRs). The EMT studies are computationally intensive due to very small simulation time step and complex modeling of the protection and control of IBRs. It has been challenging for the traditional on-premises computing infrastructure to meet the ever-increasing computing needs of large-scale EMT studies. This paper shares experience of ISO New England (ISO-NE) on a pilot deployment of EMT simulation in a public cloud using Amazon Web Services. The platform can successfully meet the large-scale EMT simulation computation needs in a cost-effective way while meeting cyber security and data privacy requirements.