Enphase Energy said that the company has collaborated with Hawaiian Electric Company to clear the backlog of solar customers awaiting interconnection on the island of Oahu.
After making a commitment in October 2014 to clear 90% of the interconnection backlog by April 2015, Hawaiian Electric sought out Enphase’s technical assistance to get a highly detailed analysis of grid conditions in every neighborhood across the island. Approximately 25,000 Enphase systems have been installed on Oahu and represent approximately 70% of all PV system production on the island. The Enphase PV systems are able to report high-granularity voltage and frequency data, providing a highly detailed view of events of grid instability. The two companies used this PV production data to create statistically rich “heat maps” that supported the initial technical reviews by Hawaiian Electric’s engineers. Utilizing the data-rich analysis provided by Enphase helped Hawaiian Electric meet its commitment to release approximately 4,000 PV systems, or over 20MW, of solar interconnections.
“Leveraging Enphase’s smart microinverters, and our data communications technology to clear Oahu’s interconnection queue exemplifies the innovative thinking that Hawaiian Electric is applying to accommodate higher levels of solar penetration,” said Paul Nahi, president and CEO of Enphase. “Our collaboration shows that solar technology companies and utilities can and must work together to the benefit of ratepayers while making the large-scale grid integration of solar a reality.”
“After extensive analysis and evaluation by Hawaiian Electric distribution engineers along with our partners at Enphase, we have been able to clear nearly all of the backlog of customers awaiting approval to interconnect their rooftop solar systems in a safe and reliable manner,” said Jim Alberts, senior vice president of customer service at Hawaiian Electric. “By working with industry partners like Enphase, we are pioneering technical solutions to integrate record levels of solar energy.”
“The clearance of the Oahu interconnection queue is welcome news for the solar community and provides another example of Enphase’s technology leadership as well as the value that the company offers beyond microinverters,” said Raghu Belur, co-founder and vice president of products and strategic initiatives of Enphase. “With the backlog gone, the solar community can now get back to what it does best—installing rooftop solar and helping customers save on their energy bills.”
The interconnection queue clearance is the latest success story in the ongoing partnership between Enphase and Hawaiian Electric to find technical solutions for integrating high levels of PV in Hawaii at a low cost to end-customers. Earlier this year, Enphase remotely upgraded the operating behavior of approximately 25,000 systems of its software-defined microinverters installed in Hawaiian Electric’s service areas, helping to improve the stability of the overall grid.
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