HONOLULU and TORONTO, April 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hawaiian Electric Company and Opus One Solutions are collaborating to integrate and manage increasing levels of customer energy resources on the O‘ahu grid. This project will help address the challenges of managing high levels of distributed energy resources (such as private rooftop solar, energy storage, electric vehicles) while controlling infrastructure costs. It is funded in part by Elemental Excelerator, a growth accelerator and catalyst for deployment and growth of new technologies.
Opus One’s GridOS® Dynamic Hosting Capacity software will help Hawaiian Electric system operators understand how much distributed energy resources (DER) can be accommodated on a feeder (or neighborhood circuit) in near real-time to optimize grid assets and distributed energy resource assets, while maintaining stable and reliable service for customers.
“Hawai‘i is experiencing an exciting and challenging technology transformation that enables Hawaiian Electric to demonstrate energy innovation by fundamentally changing the way distributed energy resources are integrated into the grid,” said Colton Ching, Hawaiian Electric vice president for energy delivery. “Opus One’s unique approach to hosting capacity analysis and optimization will demonstrate the value of this approach to grid modernization for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
O‘ahu is at the forefront of DER integration, with nearly a third of single-family homes already using private rooftop solar and a goal of tripling rooftop solar statewide by 2030 as well as one of the highest electric vehicle use per capita. This could require millions of dollars to upgrade the physical network infrastructure, poles, and wires to accept more on the network without damaging reliable service for customers.
Hawaiian Electric’s distribution engineers will evaluate optimal site locations for DERs and associated grid benefits using Opus One’s GridOS Integrated Distribution Planning solution suite. This software platform will provide Hawaiian Electric with full situational awareness of the distribution grid and DER hosting capacity as well as capacity constraints, allowing strategic increases in acceptance of DERs on the distribution network.
“Opus One Solutions reduces the need for significant infrastructure upgrades by leveraging the value of DERs to the grid, while also accommodating the interest for increased DER penetration,” says Joshua Wong, president and CEO of Opus One. “By partnering with Hawaiian Electric, a utility at the forefront of the transformation to 100% renewable energy, we can provide value to grid planning and operations, and improve customer choice.”
About Opus One
Opus One Solutions is a software engineering and solutions company with the vision of a distributed energy network. Opus One’s intelligent energy networking platform, GridOS®, optimizes complex power flows so that it can deliver real-time energy management and integrated planning to distribution utilities and other managers of distributed energy assets. GridOS is modular, scalable, and integrates seamlessly with existing data systems to unlock greater potential for distributed energy resources, including renewable generation, energy storage, and responsive demand. GridOS also facilitates the management of microgrids — from homes to businesses to communities — for unparalleled grid resiliency and value to the electricity customer. www.opusonesolutions.com
About Hawaiian Electric
For 125 years, Hawaiian Electric Company has provided the energy that has fueled the islands' development from a Hawaiian kingdom to a modern American state. Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries Maui Electric Company and Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company serve 95 percent of the state’s 1.4 million residents on the islands of O‘ahu, Maui, Hawai‘i Island, Lānaʻi and Moloka‘i. hawaiianelectric.com
About Elemental Excelerator
Elemental Excelerator helps startups change the world, one community at a time. Each year, the organization selects a cohort of 12-15 companies that best fit its mission and funds each company up to $1 million to improve systems that impact people’s lives: energy, transportation, water, agriculture, and beyond. To date, Elemental Excelerator has awarded over $22 million to 63 companies. elementalexcelerator.com