As solar basks in the spotlight, let’s get serious about grid integration

With Solar Power International under way in Los Angeles this week, expect headlines heralding the industry’s growth and up-and-coming technologies. All of which is exciting stuff. But the big question is, how are utilities going to make the leap to integrate solar and other distributed assets? We’ve pulled together some recent developments and research focused on that topic.

EPRI white papers …

Addressing solar photovoltaic operations and maintenance challenges - a survey of current knowledge and practices

Grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are expected to proliferate over the coming decade and higher penetration levels will put a premium on achieving optimal performance and reliability. A few utilities and private companies have taken on the challenge and have advanced the state of the art of operating, maintaining and monitoring PV systems. This O&M experience is producing new industry knowledge, procedures and guidelines. Current O&M practices and lessons learned distilled from experiences to date are presented in this white paper. Adoption of these practices by electric utilities and other PV system owners is expected to support and maintain planned increases in PV power. Download the paper >>

Standard Language Protocols for Photovoltaics and Storage Grid Integration - Developing a Common Method for Communicating with Inverter-Based Systems

Large deployments of distributed generators will at some point require monitoring and management by operators of the electric grid. Solar photovoltaic systems will likely be the first to challenge operators at the utility distribution level and not far behind will be plug-in electric vehicles and bat­tery systems. These distributed resources, connected via an electronic power converter (inverter), can, in aggregate, offer new opportunities for faster power control and compensation of local voltage variations. Communication will enhance grid benefit by enabling the collaboration of many small resources with the larger public power supply. Unfortunately, captur­ing these benefits today is impeded by the lack of common functions and a common language to manage inverter-based systems. The upshot: utilities will be better able to support higher grid penetration levels and to derive greater value from distributed assets such as grid-tied photovoltaics and energy storage. This paper describes efforts currently under­way to identify the basic inverter/charger capabilities and develop a standardized communication protocol to enable distributed grid support. Download the paper >>

Solar in the headlines â€¦

·         Solar electricity to power 200,000 U.S. homes by the end of 2010

·         AMSC launches grid interconnection solution for photovoltaic power plants

·         9 out of 10 Americans support solar

·         GE introduces 1-megawatt solar inverter for projects worldwide

·         Pimp my solar panel: Microinverter deals heat up

·         Distributed solar arrays could be big bonus for electric utilities

·         DOE lab puts up $8.5 million to help bring solar energy to market

FRESH SHEET Here’s what else is new on the site today … . Smart grid trend alert: Smart appliances will soon proliferate . Cars + smart grid + V2G = a whole new breed of security trouble? . SmartSynch teams with Sprint to automate smart grid technologies . Proposed underwater transmission backbone would harness offshore wind energy . Energy efficiency: NREL guidance could mean massive energy savings for schools in New Orleans .

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