Behind-the-meter Rooftop Solar Energy: Impacts to the Electric Power

When:  Mar 22, 2018 from 17:30 to 18:30 (MT)
Associated with  University of New Mexico
Behind-the-Meter Rooftop Solar Energy:
Impacts to the Electric Power Grid

Dr. Matthew Reno

Thursday, March 22, 2018 5:30 PM
Meet and Greet at 5

The University of New Mexico Conference Center, Auditorium
1634 University Blvd. NE
Free and Open to the Public

Pizza with the speaker will follow the lecture


Matthew J. Reno is a Senior Engineer in the Electric Power Systems Research Department at Sandia National Laboratories. He works on solar variability modelling and the impact to the operation of the electric distribution system. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and has been at Sandia for the last 10 years.

Abstract: The number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has been increasing exponentially in the last decade due to the falling price of solar PV panels and the push towards green renewable power generation. The electric utility is responsible to ensure that these systems operate safely and reliably in a way that does not impact the overall electric grid and distribution system, but rooftop solar PV is generally installed on the customer premise behind the electric meter, giving the utility little insight into the operations or control of the generation. Rooftop solar transforms the way that the grid has operated traditionally with power flowing from the grid into customers’ houses. In addition, solar energy on a cloudy day can be highly variable and intermittent. With the penetration of PV on the distribution system continually increasing, it is necessary to model the time-varying nature of solar energy and the potential technical impacts of PV to the equipment and operation of the distribution system. For the continued advancement of solar energy, we need to easily and accurately allow interconnections that will not cause issues, while at the same time not installing systems that will require costly upgrades in the future because the issues were not detected before the system was installed.

Location

UNM Cconference Center (Continuing Education)
1634 University Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131

Contact

Jacqueline Ericksen
505-821-0299
jhericksen@msn.com