By
GreenTech Lead Team: Honeywell, a technology and manufacturing
company, recently signed for a pilot program with Hawaiian Electric Co.
in Honolulu to demonstrate how demand response technology can help
integrate more intermittent renewable energy to the electric grid.
The two-year pilot will feature a test of “fast
demand response” (Fast DR) technology, which gives the utility and
facilities the tools to reduce demand within 10 minutes of notification of a
pending imbalance between supply and demand.
The pilot also offers companies an incentive to
participate, and when Fast DR events are triggered they receive an additional
per-kilowatt-hour incentive credit. This can translate into thousands of
dollars in annual savings.
“Increasing
renewable energy requires new and more advanced methods of managing
reliability, especially given the variable nature of wind and solar. Our demand
response strategy engages our customers in the total solution,”
said Scott Seu, Hawaiian Electric vice president for energy resources.
“This project will lay the groundwork for new programs to advance a clean
energy future for Hawaii,” Seu added.
Currently, Hawaiian Electric has to rely on fossil fuel
generation to manage the inherent intermittency associated with certain types of
renewable energy and other interruptions in grid stability. Fast DR has the
potential to reduce the use of fossil fuels to balance the increased
integration of renewable energy in Hawaii.
The pilot will create direct connections to loads at
commercial and industrial facilities. For the first phase, Honeywell will work
with Hawaiian Electric to enroll and connect customers to a regional operating
center (ROC). If demand outpaces supply, Hawaiian Electric will trigger a
notice for customers to reduce demand within 10 minutes, providing more than 6
megawatts of semi-automated load control when the program is fully subscribed.
The second phase
will feature the use of automated demand response (Auto DR) tools from
Honeywell, including Akuacom and Tridium technologies. Hawaiian Electric will
use the Demand Response Automation Server (DRAS) software from Akuacom to
manage its resources and events. At each customer facility, a Tridium smart
grid controller will poll the DRAS for event signals. When the utility triggers
an event, the controller will receive the signal and communicate with the
site’s building management system to automatically execute load-shed measures
the customer sets in advance, such as cycling air conditioners, and turning off
non-essential lights, pumps and motors.
Recently Honeywell also announced pact with SSE to
connect up to 30 commercial and industrial buildings in the Thames Valley area
west of London, and temporarily reduce electricity consumption when overall use
spikes.
editor@greentechlead.com