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 Hawaii Electric Light Company has been delivering power to the people of Hawaii Island since 1894. Today, HELCO proudly services over 77,000 customers island-wide.
The power delivered to our customers has always come from many sources connected to our grid.
While the sugar plantations were going strong, they generated electricity by burning bagasse or waste from the cane. What was not used on the plantations was sold to HELCO and distributed to the community.
Today, Hawaii Electric Light still generates electricity in its own power plants (including some small run-of-the-river hydro plants) and buys power from major independent power producers such as wind farms and a geothermal energy producer. A concentrating solar power (CSP) facility will soon be a new source of energy on our grid. In addition, Big Islanders get power from distributed generation including large and small photovoltaic (PV) systems; some of that PV power is exported to the grid.
Hawaii Island is already one of the “greenest” places on earth for renewable energy. With the hydro-plants, geothermal energy, wind power and PV, some days up to half the power supplied to HELCO customers comes from renewable sources. With so many clean, renewable energy sources available to the people of Hawaii Island, many people can play a role in providing electric power for themselves and to be distributed to others by HELCO.
To learn more about powering the Big Island, watch this video:
Interconnecting to the HELCO Grid
Clean, renewable energy generated with equipment owned by customers is contributing increasing amounts of distributed generation (DG) to our grid. Much like the Internet, distributed generation sources are not controlled by one system operator. Each DG customer acts independently, sometimes adding power and sometimes taking power from the grid. Unlike the Internet, however, there are no “plug and play” standards for interconnecting power systems to the grid. This creates a complicated system and, if not done properly, can potentially have damaging impacts on reliability, electrical equipment and the grid system.
If you do not already have a PV, CSP, wind, hydroelectric, or biomass energy system, you may be thinking about it. Natural energy sources are abundant in Hawaii and they present special engineering challenges for interconnecting to the power grid that we all share.
Much renewable energy is variable. The sun is obscured by clouds, the wind dies unexpectedly. A DG system can simply be taken off-line by the owner. However, all customers drawing energy from the grid want the power to be stable with no fluctuations. This is especially important for complex technical equipment including medical and scientific equipment. With more and more of our personal and public data held in computers, reliable “quality” power is essential to banks, government and more.
Hawaii Electric Light system operations must compensate for variations in the power output from variable or non-firm energy sources by being ready with dispatchable energy sources “on standby” that can be bought quickly onto the grid, for example, when the wind stops blowing or the sun does not shine. This requires careful engineering of each feeder and the overall system.
Imagine running a bullet train with a team of thoroughbred race horses to understand the challenges! The “horse power” is renewable clean energy but to maintain the train at a constant speed, a backup power source must be ready to run the train when the horses slow down or stop.
The Rule 14 Interconnection Standard, a tariff established by the Public Utilities Commission, specifies the requirements so customers can connect distributed generation to the grid, and so that the power delivered to all customers is reliable and safe.
HELCO/HECO Interconnection Rules and Process Flow Chart
If you are planning to install a clean, renewable distributed generation system, review these requirements with your installer and system designer well before finalizing the design. Contact Hawaii Electric Light Company early in your design process so that our engineers can guide you. Interconnection requirements may vary from customer to customer because of the differences in feeder loading where the distributed generation will be connected. The larger the customer’s system, the more likely additional analysis may be required to ensure that the feeder and overall grid is stable.
Clean-Energy Systems to Generate Income or Control Costs
A Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) and Net Energy Metering (NEM) provide customers strategic options for their clean renewable energy investments, whether they are PV, CSP, wind, hydroelectric, or biomass energy systems. The FIT will enable customers to generate income from the energy they produce and export to the grid. NEM provides customers the ability to control costs.
The PUC recently issued guidelines for a Feed-In-Tariff, although the actual rates have not yet been set. The plan is for the FIT to be in operation by 2010. Net Energy Metering is already available. A customer with Net Energy Metering should also review the Feed-In-Tariff document. The PUC is allowing a one-time option to select between Net Energy Metering and Feed-In-Tariffs.
Learn more about Hawaii’s Feed-In-Tariff:
Read the PUC 128-page ruling on the FIT (Decision and Order, Report 2009-0273, Date issued: 09/25/2009. Download size 3.7MB):
HELCO Net Energy Metering - general description and brochures and more.
HELCO NEM Rules
NEM Tariff Rules
Both the Feed-In-Tariff and Net Energy Metering require adherence to interconnection rules in tariff Rule 14. Customers should evaluate the scenarios available and all of the interconnection requirements before building any system, if they plan to connect the system to the grid.
SOLAR ENERGY REFERENCES
Interstate Renewable Energy Council - US Solar Market Trends – 2008
Interstate Renewable Energy Council – 2009 Annual Report of Updates and Trends
Tracking the Sun – Installed Cost of Photovoltaics 1998-2008
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/emp/reports/lbnl-2674e.pdf
HAWAII ENERGY ENERY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM
The Public Utilities Commission has transferred most demand-side management programs once operated by the Hawaiian Electric Company to a new Public Benefits Fee Administrator. This includes rebates and incentives for homes and businesses that install energy efficiency equipment. Contact Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program for more information. http://www.HawaiiEnergy.com
More information: 1-877-231-8222, or e-mail
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