Announcing Intellect PPC: WATTMORE's Power Plant Controller Is Here

WATTMORE is launching Intellect PPC; our Power Plant Controller; as the newest product in the Intellect platform. Every utility scale battery energy storage system connected to the grid needs a PPC. It is a requirement; not an option. Intellect PPC is now available as an integrated part of Intellect Operate; delivering grid compliance, real time control, and economic optimization in a single platform.

What the PPC Does

The Power Plant Controller is the real time supervisory control system that sits between the grid operator and your inverters. It accepts high level dispatch commands; MW setpoints, voltage schedules, power factor targets; and translates them into individual inverter level P and Q commands while enforcing every grid code requirement your interconnection agreement demands.

WATTMORE's PPC handles:

• Active power dispatch and curtailment enforcement
• Frequency watt droop response; Primary frequency response with configurable droop percentage, deadband, and bypass ramp limiting for sub second grid support
• Reactive power and voltage control; Three modes including constant power factor, PI voltage regulation, and volt VAR curve response
• Ramp rate limiting; Configurable up and down rates per interconnection agreement with automatic bypass during frequency events
• State of charge protection; Soft and hard SOC limits with smooth derating curves that prevent sudden power cutoffs
• Fleet dispatch; Equal, proportional, and priority allocation strategies across all online inverters
• AGC signal following; Automatic generation control for area frequency regulation participation

How Intellect PPC and the EMS Work Together

The EMS and Intellect PPC run as independent processes connected through Redis. The EMS writes a power setpoint based on economic optimization; peak shaving, arbitrage, grid services, solar self consumption. Intellect PPC reads that setpoint, applies all grid compliance transformations; droop, curtailment, SOC limits, ramp rates, voltage control; and dispatches the final commands to inverters.

This separation is critical. Intellect PPC can always enforce safety and grid code requirements regardless of what the EMS requests. If the grid needs emergency frequency support, Intellect PPC overrides the EMS setpoint immediately without waiting for the optimization layer. If the grid operator sends a curtailment command, Intellect PPC enforces it within the control loop cycle time.

The Control Pipeline

Each control loop iteration; running at 10 Hz by default; the PPC processes the setpoint through a fixed sequence of control stages:

1. EMS Setpoint; Read the base power command from the optimization layer
2. Droop Response; Add frequency response power based on measured grid frequency deviation
3. Curtailment; Enforce grid operator curtailment ceiling
4. SOC Limiting; Derate power based on battery state of charge boundaries
5. Ramp Limiting; Clamp the rate of change to interconnection agreement limits
6. Voltage/Q Control; Calculate reactive power command based on selected voltage mode
7. Fleet Allocation; Distribute plant level commands across individual inverters

Every stage executes in order, every iteration. The cascade architecture ensures grid code compliance is applied deterministically regardless of the upstream dispatch source.

Frequency Response That Meets IEEE 2800

Intellect PPC implements full droop based primary frequency response compliant with IEEE 2800. When grid frequency deviates from nominal, the battery injects or absorbs power proportionally to the deviation. Response activates within the control loop cycle time; 100 milliseconds by default. The deadband filters normal grid frequency noise (IEEE 2800 default is 36 mHz). When droop response is active, the ramp rate limiter is bypassed for fastest possible grid support.

Three Voltage Control Modes

Intellect PPC supports three reactive power control modes selectable based on your interconnection agreement:

• Constant Power Factor; Q follows P to maintain a fixed power factor
• Voltage Regulation (PI); A PI controller adjusts Q to hold POI voltage at setpoint with configurable gains and anti windup
• Volt VAR Curve; Piecewise linear Q(V) characteristic with four configurable breakpoints; IEEE 1547 Category B default curve included

All three modes share a common output rate limiter to prevent sudden reactive power swings at the POI.

Value Added

Most developers buy a separate PPC from one vendor, a SCADA system from another, and an EMS from a third. Three contracts, three integrations, three systems that need to communicate flawlessly. WATTMORE eliminates that complexity. Intellect PPC is built directly into Intellect Operate; your EMS, your SCADA, and your power plant controller in a single integrated platform.

Commissioning is faster. Operations are smoother. There are no conflicts between control systems. And when grid constraints change, the optimization engine adapts immediately because it has direct access to all compliance data.

Read the full Intellect PPC Technical Reference for detailed architecture, control theory, and implementation specifications. Contact WATTMORE to discuss your project.