Grid Utility and Resilience Digital Twin (GUARD) aims to demonstrate a predictive digital twin platform that reduces energy costs by optimizing load shedding and alternative power generation using existing on-site infrastructure. The platform enables simulation-based evaluation of microgrid and distributed energy resource (DER) operations by modeling, measuring, and predicting the effectiveness of curtailment strategies based on real-time and historical data such as facility-level load, DER constraints, operational schedules, and pricing signals. Designed for use by Directorate of Public Works (DPW) energy teams, GUARD allows installations to test alternative configurations, estimate economic and resilience impacts, and identify gaps in instrumentation or control infrastructure. The project builds on U.S. Ignite’s existing tools for energy waste savings and geospatial digital twins, which were developed in close partnership with the Fort Benning DPW.

The GUARD platform integrates submeter-level load modeling, a facility criticality framework, predictive pricing based on historical utility behavior, and a DER optimization engine. Its architecture includes:

• A data ingestion layer that integrates dispatch logs, building load profiles, DER output, and utility pricing from installation systems.
• A scenario builder that sequences curtailment and dispatch strategies based on building priority, DER availability, permitting limits, and economic thresholds.
• A simulation engine that models DER and grid behavior under varied control scenarios, outputting expected savings, generator runtimes, and service continuity metrics.
• A metrics dashboard that presents energy not served (ENS), cost avoidance, generator utilization, and facility-level reliability impacts.

Users engage through a secure web interface and optional alerting. Simulations are run using validated historical data, enabling informed operational decisions without live system integration. The platform will be calibrated using Fort Benning-specific constraints and feedback from DPW on DER limits, permitting, facility prioritization, and scheduling.

GUARD will provide Department of War (DoW) facility and energy stakeholders with a simulation environment to evaluate DER performance and curtailment strategies under realistic operational conditions. Benefits are expected to include improved economic dispatch decisions, modeled cost savings of $150,000 to $200,000 per year, and potentially more through optimized DER use, and a clearer understanding of generator runtime, fuel costs, and permitting constraints. The platform is expected to help visualize critical versus non-critical loads and quantify resilience outcomes such as ENS and peak load shaved. It will also identify data and control system gaps that limit curtailment flexibility. GUARD is designed to be scalable and non-invasive, supporting broader DoW energy planning, future automation, and expansion to additional installations identified during the project period. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2028)