Integration of Distributed Solar Generation

2012 Game Changer Series

Robert Woods SCE Director of Electric System Planning Tom Salas SCE Solar Photovoltaic Program Manager of Construction Roger Salas SCE Distribution Engineering Supervisor

1
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Who is Southern California Edison?

Serves a population of about 14 million people in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California Nearly 5 million electric meters 5,000 MW of generating capacity from interests in nuclear, hydroelectric, and fossil-fueled power plants Award-winning energy efficiency & DR customer programs Industry leader in renewable energy, electric transportation, Smart Grid and smart metering

2
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

3
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Electrical System
Grid impacts
Distribution level Transmission Level Solar PV Generation
(Transmission)

Solar PV Generation
(Distribution)

LOAD DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION

120 Volts 240 Volts 480 Volts 4160 Volts 12000 Volts 16000Volts 34500 Volts

TRANSMISSION SUBSTATION
TRANSMISSION
500/220 KV 500/115 KV 500/220 KV 220/115 KV 220/66 KV

115/12 KV 115/16KV 115/34.5 kV 66/12 KV 66/16 KV 66/34.5 KV

GENERATION
4
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Background

The distribution systems were not originally designed for generation injection
One way for power from substation to load

System operations did not take into account distributed generation Planning standards were not updated to account distributed generation New technology operating characteristics are not very well known and additional research is required to fully its affects to the distribution system and customers

5
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Models have not properly being developed or validated

Short Circuit Duty Models Voltage Characteristics Models

such NREL, WECC and Sandia NL to:

Help develop/validate computer models
As to assist engineering and operations

Assist with testing large inverters similar to those being connected to the distribution system

6
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

What is Solar Photovoltaic Program (SPVP)?

Approved by the California Public Utility Commission(CPUC) in June
largest rooftop solar program. (25%-ground-mount)
CPUC also approved 250MW to be installed by Independent Power Producers

Presently has 22 rooftop sites and 1 ground mount site in service, generating 70+ MW. In March of 2012, CPUC approved a Petition For Modification to reduce the SPVP to 125 MW based on:
$300M of rate payers savings based on recent IPP bids Main SPVP goals have been met dealing with market transformation. SCE will continue to share lessons learned with the State and energy industry.
7
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Project Challenges - General

things for the first time.
Leasing Issues Permitting Environmental Health & Safety Concerns Site Security Labor Issues ISO Forecasting and Scheduling CPUC Oversight & Reporting Requirements

WDAT INTERCONNECTION
Large number of WDAT application submitted to Transmission Distribution Business Unit (TDBU) at the same time Modified technical data of requests as knowledge increased, causing rework by TDBU in studies and results
8
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Building Selection Process

Size: 200K Sq ft/MW as minimum
Loading to be 4lb/sq. ft. Loading of 800K lbs/MW

Design code: ASCE Year 2007 Roof condition: Want buildings <5yrs old to minimize future re-roofing situations Located in higher solar irradiance areas with existing distribution load
For SCE territory, best areas were located in the Inland Empire
Approx. 45 miles east of downtown Los Angeles

9
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Building Selection Process

Lower wind zone areas. Prefer 85 mph; maximum zone of 120 mph
Higher wind zones greatly increased ballast and roof loading

Leasing Issues
Initial lease cost was $20k/MW/yr Owners expected more Lease cost raised to $30K/MW/yr Owners looking for SCE indemnification responsibility

Insurance
SCE is self insured

10
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Engineering/ Design Issues

Equipment Selection
Modules
Initial 3 pilot projects used thin film technology
Least cost Module cost has decreased since pilots More wattage per rooftop Higher efficiency

Balance of 20 projects have used crystalline technology

Inverters
600v (500kw)used in all projects Investigating using 1000v inverters for 2 ground mount projects

Switchgear
Used All Phase 12kv units (pilots used 480v units)

Combiner Boxes and Master Fused Boxes

Vendor selected was flexible with SCE wants

11
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Engineering/Design Issues
Design Firms
Design contracted with two firms Needed to understand which industry standards applied
UL,NEC, IEEE, California Fire Code for solar installations on roofs

Needed design firms to work with module vendors to maximize wattage for roof area Needed to understand equipment vendor parameters to generate constructible packages. Needed open communication with discussions regarding SCE engineering requirements .

requirements.

12
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Construction Challenges
Needed to understand the safety hazards of rooftop work and develop expectations for SCE and the General Contractors (GC) Needed to learn which GCs could do this work safely, economically and efficiently Needed to work with the IBEW 47 under the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and train linemen on solar installation work Needed to learn the concerns of TDBU Distribution with respect to the interconnection process Needed to work with GCs on efficient installation methods regarding working with roof surfaces and wire management issues

13
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Interconnection Process- SPVP View

SPVP Projects connected directly to Distribution 12kV grid. No electrical benefit to building owner or tenant Projects are often greater than 1-2 MW concept. 35% greater than 2MWAC 10MW DC/ 8MWAC Interconnection costs ranges from $100k-500K

14
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Interconnection Process-SPVP View

WDAT process is cumbersome application - delays
Delays in execution of agreements Change in initial requested parameters
Change in technology leading to increased generation requests Change in number of inverters or manufacturer

15
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Complete UOG SPVP Projects

16
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Complete UOG SPVP Projects

SPVP 042 Porterville 6.77 MWdc - 29,428 Modules 33 acres 10 Inverters

17
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Interconnection Tariffs Used In California

Tariff Rule 21 - CPUC Jurisdiction Type of Generation Projects Non-Export Export options Net Energy Metering Feed In tariff Others

Whole Sale Distribution Access Tariff (WDAT)- FERC Jurisdiction

Required for projects that sell power to any other then SCE May be used for projects which sell power to SCE SPVP

18
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Distribution System
2009 2010 2011 2012 CA Tariff 3 80 281 43 FERC Tariff 36 101 52 36 Running Total 39 220 553 632

19
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

California Interconnection Tariff ( CPUC Rule 21)

Projects studied in a sequence as they apply and each project is
studied individually to determine impacts and cost responsibilities This can lead to issues as developers cancel their projects and restudies are triggered Projects are responsible for the distribution upgrades that the project triggers Recent proposed changes to this Tariff which will change the study process

20
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

FERC Interconnection Tariff ( SCE WDAT)

Projects can be studies under various methods Cluster Study Process
Study as group and share the cost of the upgrades Phase I and Phase II studies Longer of the study process

Independent Study Process

Evaluated for Independence on both Transmission and Distribution Study on a serial manner Projects are responsible for the upgrades it triggers

Fast Track Process

Simplest of studies Designed for simplest of the projects connecting to highly loaded circuits Evaluation consists of 10 screens Supplemental review is further used if one of the screens fails
21
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

CA Tariff and FERC Tariff Interaction

These are two separate tariffs with their own processes Can be difficult to manage and study projects which are in two track (tariffs) but yet affect the same distribution system Can be difficult to determine distribution cost upgrades Distribution cost certainty is difficult to achieve Timelines associated with the study process in one tariff may create problems for projects interconnecting in the other tariff Especially if projects are proposing to interconnect to the same circuit/substation

22
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Typical Distribution Upgrades

Areas with low penetration
Switching devices Line extensions

Areas average penetration

Cable/Conductor upgrades Protection devices Voltage regulating devices

Areas with high penetration

New distribution circuits

Areas with very high penetration

Substation transformer upgrades

Areas with extreme penetration

Sub transmission/transmission upgrades
23
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Protection
Overall circuit protection coordination
Problems arise on project by project basis Integrate more sophisticated protection schemes to the traditional distribution protection systems.

Directional over-current relay capabilities for reverse current flow

Problems occur on long- weak distribution circuits

Coordination with inverter protection to avoid breaker reclosing into hot line Fault current effects on breaker ratings Ground fault detection at the inverters No known issues with subtransmission and transmission protection
No major issues More analysis needed Steps need to be taken
24
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Example Protection System Distribution Upgrade

Power Flow Power Flow

Substation

Low MT settings

Weak electrical system

Power Flow

Long Circuit Small wire high impedace

25
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Distribution Engineering
Voltage regulation
Steady state overvoltage issues
o Depends on location of projects, Load on the feeder, Voltage Regulating Devices, size of conductor/cable, etc

Inverter system can help if properly designed/operated

o IEEE prevents active voltage regulation o Need to have generating facility operate on schedule power factor

Generation ability support load Lack of standard communications protocol Remote switching capability

No major issues

More analysis needed

Steps need to be taken

26

Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Generation output vs. Peak Load

Solar Generation at peak~ 15%

AMPS (Measured at the substation)

300

1.5

200

1.0

100

0.5

Time (Days)
27
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

MW (Measured at the Generating Facility)

400

2.0

Typical Need For Additional Voltage Regulation

High Voltage
Substation
Power Power Flow Flow

Long Circuit VR Small wire high impedace

Power Flow

Load on the circuit low Power reverses in the circuit

Power Flow

28
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Operations Issues
Switching impacts resulting from large generation

Temporary over-voltage when islanded with little load

Fault ride-through and system level impacts

No major issues

More analysis needed

Steps need to be taken

29

Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Temporary Overvoltage
Voltage phase-ground (both sides of the switch)

Impacts to: customers Operations

30
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Temporary Overvoltage
Voltage Across the Switch

Impacts to: customers Operations

31
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Questions

32
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

Backup Slides

33
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison

SPVP Status

34
Copyright 2011, Southern California Edison