Dive Brief:
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Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) has teamed up with Varentec of Santa Clara, California, to test the ability of its distribution network to handle the voltage fluctuations associated with a high penetration of solar PV.
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The pilot program will deploy Varentec’s Edge of Network Grid Optimizer (ENGO) devices and Grid Edge Management System (GEMS) software to inject reactive power into grid circuits to lower or raise voltages, Greentech Media reports.
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The fundamental technologies behind Varentec’s ENGO devices has been adapted from technology widely used on transmission systems in the form of static VAR compensators, static synchronous compensators and other flexible alternating current transmission systems devices.
Dive Insight:
Hawaii’s 100% renewable energy mandate is prompting the formation of several partnerships and pilot programs as the state comes to grips with the technical challenges of absorbing high levels of intermittent wind and solar power.
Last month, HECO deployed devices made by Gridco Systems that are designed to monitor and stabilize fluctuating voltage flows from solar rooftop panels.
Varentec is the latest company to step into the Hawaiian market to help HECO manage its grid in its transition to 100% renewable energy. Varentec’s ENGO is a grid-mounted power electronics device that can inject reactive power into grid circuits to lower or raise voltages. But the company has also been testing the ability of the devices to manage the voltage effects of rooftop solar PV on distribution circuits.
“Even though Varentec's technology was not primarily designed for this purpose, our innovative engineers are eager to test this volt/VAR control technology to solve our unique solar challenges," Colton Ching, HECO’s vice president of energy delivery, said in a statement.
Excess distributed solar power can trip off rooftop solar systems, damage home appliances, and even endanger utility crews working on the grid.
The utility is looking for technology with the flexibility to respond to the moment-by-moment changes in solar output as clouds pass overhead, rather than simply responding to the commands of a central control system.
Varentec says its ENGO devices can act autonomously to stabilize voltages, or take orders from its GEMS software platform to act in concert with other utility systems.
"Varentec offers a mature, grid edge volt/VAR Control technology that can be deployed very quickly to help solve the rooftop solar integration problem we are facing,” Ching said.