UTILITY REDESIGNS WIRES FOR SUN

Southern California Edison Redesigning Power Circuits To Accept More Solar
14 June 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Southern California Edison (SCE) has begun an initiative to re-engineer traditional neighborhood power circuits in order to accept large amounts of fluctuating solar generation.

"SCE… is currently connecting large solar power stations to the middle of such circuits. To support this advance in distributed renewable generation, the utility's grid engineers have launched the first major redesign of this component of the traditional power delivery system."

With growth like this through 2020, new technologies to integrate solar will surely be necessary. (click to enlarge)

"Historically, these distribution circuits have been one-way routes for electricity channeled from neighborhood substations to some 1,200 nearby homes and businesses each. Components built into these power paths compensate for the natural drop-off in voltage, ensuring that the customer at the end of a circuit receives the same stable voltage supply as the one nearest the substation."

[Mike Montoya, director of grid advancement, SCE:] "Power delivery engineers have long recognized that smarter distribution circuits would be needed - two-way power paths that include a new generation of components that can sense and adjust instantly to fluctuating power conditions.. To support SCE's decision to install large solar generation stations, our grid engineers have begun identifying, testing and helping the industry create these smarter distribution circuit technologies…"

This is the SCE inverter lab where solar system - transmission system technology is proven (from PV Tech - click to enlarge)

"Lessons learned as SCE deploys its network of community solar plants and upgrades its power distribution system are being shared with other utilities and the solar sector to foster similar advances elsewhere…"