NYSEG and RG&E Announce Technology Partnership to Lower Connection Costs for Renewable Generation
February 01 2016 - 3:24PM
NYSEG and RG &E, subsidiaries of AVANGRID, are preparing to
roll out an innovative technology aimed at making it easier and
more efficient for large-scale producers of renewable energy
resources to connect to the electric power grid. The utilities'
Flexible Interconnect Capacity Solution (FICS) demonstration
project supports New York State's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV)
initiative. NYSEG and RG &E are collaborating with Scottish
technology firm Smarter Grid Solutions to test the new interconnect
approach. "We're introducing a transformational technology that can
open up the grid to more renewable generation development," said
Mark S. Lynch, president and CEO of NYSEG and RG &E. "It's an
opportunity to spur investment in clean energy resources and to
support REV." NYSEG and RG &E will test Smarter Grid
Solutions' Active Network Management (ANM) technology to help
accommodate larger amounts of solar-generated electricity on the
lower-voltage distribution electric delivery system without
jeopardizing the safe and reliable operation of the grid. ANM can
also support interconnection of wind, hydro and biomass/biogas
generated electricity. In the United Kingdom, Smarter Grid
Solutions helped Iberdrola's Scottish subsidiary, SP Energy
Networks, support faster integration of renewable energy resources
onto its grid. "Our partnership with Smarter Grid Solutions
reflects the benefits of being part of a global company," said Bob
Kump, CEO of the AVANGRID utilities. "We will be able to leverage
the experience of our sister company in Scotland to support New
York's renewable energy industry and REV." Developers of
renewable energy projects frequently face delays and costly
upgrades before connecting to utility networks to ensure their
projects won't compromise the grid's reliability. In many cases,
the time and expense has made potential projects too costly to
build. With Smarter Grid Solution's technology, utilities like
NYSEG and RG &E can monitor and control the output from
intermittent renewable resources on their systems to defer or avoid
the costly upgrades traditionally required. The demonstration
project with Smarter Grid Solutions runs through 2016. The
utilities and the New York Public Service Commission will then
evaluate where and how the program could be expanded.
"Innovative technology to solve the challenges of grid
interconnections can help us expand the benefits of distributed
generation, lower electricity costs, and improve the environment by
bringing on sustainable energy sources such as solar," said Jeff
Ballard, vice president for operations technology and business
transformation. "We are delighted to be contributing to the
work of REV and the objectives of AVANGRID," said Bob Currie, chief
technology officer and co-founder of Smarter Grid Solutions.
"Active Network Management is a transformational technology and has
repeatedly reduced grid integration costs by up to 90% for new
renewable generator connections, increasing the capacity to
accommodate wind and solar by 100-200% and avoiding grid upgrades
that can exceed $50 million. We expect the FICS project to deliver
significant benefits to generation developers in New York by
providing quicker and less expensive grid connections. We are
excited to be partnering with AVANGRID on this fantastic and timely
project and demonstrating the role our technology can play in
implementing REV."
About Smarter Grid
Solutions Smarter Grid Solutions delivers products and
services that enable electricity distribution companies and
regulated utilities to integrate Distributed Energy Resources
(DER). The company provides world-leading Active Network Management
products, and is the only provider to uniquely combine real-time,
autonomous and deterministic control into its Distributed Energy
Resource Management Systems (DERMS) solutions. Its products are
transforming the utilization and resiliency of the grid, and
managing connected customers at greatly reduced cost, without
compromising safety and security. It supports customers worldwide
from its offices in New York, London and Glasgow, U.K. The
company was formed in 2008, originating from the world-renowned
Institute for Energy and Environment at the University of
Strathclyde, and it is a leading vendor of DER integration
solutions. It established its offices in New York in 2013, and is
now an active contributor to the development of the Smart Grid in
many parts of North America. For more information, visit:
www.smartergrid.com/us
AVANGRID, Inc.
(NYSE:AGR) is a diversified energy and utility company with $30
billion in assets and operations in 25 states. The company operates
regulated utilities, electricity generation, and natural gas
storage through three primary lines of business. Iberdrola USA
Networks includes eight electric and natural gas utilities serving
3.1 million customers in New York and New England. Iberdrola
Renewables operates 6.3 gigawatts of electricity capacity,
primarily through wind power, in states across the U.S. Iberdrola
Energy Holdings operates 120 Bcf of owned or contracted natural gas
storage and hub service facilities in the South and West. AVANGRID
employs 7,000 people. The company was formed as a business
combination between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings in 2015.
AVANGRID remains an affiliate of the Iberdrola Group, a worldwide
leader in the energy industry. About NYSEG and RG &E:
NYSEG and RG &E are subsidiaries of AVANGRID. NYSEG serves
883,000 electricity customers and 264,000 natural gas customers
across more than 40% of upstate New York. RG &E serves 371,000
electricity customers and 307,000 natural gas customers in a
nine-county region centered on the City of Rochester. For more
information, visit www.nyseg.com and www.rge.com Follow Us
on Twitter: @NYSEandG and @RGandE Follow Us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYSEG
https://www.facebook.com/RochGandE
CONTACT: Clayton Ellis
cmellis@nyseg.com
607.762.7336
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