Factory 500 kW DC Spine (Reference)

Envelope: ≈ 500 kW (design envelope)

A design-target sketch for a ~500 kW factory floor: grid-interactive PCS, 800V DC busway spine, solar + BESS taps, metering, and EMS dispatch — not a customer case study.

Problem framing

The plant is adding process electrification and rooftop PV while the connection is constrained. Rebuilding the entire AC distribution for every new load is slow and costly.

The architecture question: can a shared DC spine absorb PV, storage, and DC-friendly loads with fewer conversion stages?

Architecture intent

Grid edge: PCS (and SST if MV interface is required) set the DC bus and enforce export limits.

Distribution: 800V DC BusWay trunk with plug-in tap-offs for process areas, chargers if present, and storage.

Measurement: IEEE 2030.5-native metering at grid edge, bus, storage, and major loads.

Control: Energy Management for tariff, peak shave, and solar self-consumption — design-target modules.

What this is not

Not a measured installation. Not a guaranteed payback. Not a certified product package.

Use it to structure an engineering conversation: constraints, stages, and open-standards intent.

Energy flow

Stages in this reference

01Grid InteractionGrid-forming, grid-following, export limiting, Volt/VAR, frequency response, black start.
02ConversionAC ↔ DC conversion, voltage transformation — PCS, SST, rectifiers, inverters.
03DistributionDC power distribution — busway, cabling, termination, tap-off units.
04ProtectionDC arc protection, digital relays, circuit protection, isolation.
05StorageEnergy storage — BESS, thermal storage, hydrogen — buffering generation and load.
06LoadsEnergy consumption — EV charging, HVAC, motors, data centres, buildings, processes.
07MeteringMeasurement at every point — grid edge, DC bus, load, charger. IEEE 2030.5-native.
08ControlEnergy management, dispatch optimisation, forecasting, VPP participation.