Nov 23, 2015

Technical Transformation to Enable Grid-Tied Solar in Canada

The Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) is pleased to welcome international experts from the International Energy Agency’s PVPS (Photovoltaic Power Systems) Task 14, to their Solar Canada conference program.
The Task brings together designates from Canada, the US, Europe, Asia and Australia to address the opportunities and challenges of growing PV deployment on electricity networks.
 
The main goal of Task 14 is to promote the use of grid-connected PV as an important source in electric power systems at the higher penetration levels. A high penetration situation exists if additional efforts will be necessary to integrate the dispersed generators in an optimum manner. The aim of these efforts is to reduce the technical barriers to achieving high penetration levels of distributed renewable systems. Task 14 will guide discussions on respective technical challenges.
CanSIA’s goals for the meeting include representing the interests of CanSIA members in this important international forum by sharing the Canadian experience, bringing home lessons-learned from other more mature solar markets, and contributing to the vision of a power system of the future that is fully capable of integrating PV into its supply mix. Task 14 promotes a collaborative approach to PV integration with an emphasis on successful innovation.
 
CanSIA is pleased to welcome up to twenty global experts on distribution and transmission network implications of high penetrations of solar generation representing the International Energy Agency's PVPS Task 14.
 
In addition to attending the conference as delegates, a selection of these experts will be participating in four breakout conference sessions which will examine several aspects of technical transformation in the electricity sector including distribution grid impacts, solar variability, forecasting and system operation, smart inverters and system benefits and smart grid integration.
 
Confirmed speakers include:
  • Markus Kraiczy of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (Germany),
  • Christof Bucher of Basler and Hofmann (Switzerland), Jan Remund of Meteotest (Switzerland),
  • Kazuhiko Ogimoto of the University of Tokyo (Japan),
  • Roland Bruendlinger, Austrian Institute of Technology,
  • Tom Key, Electric Power Research Institute (USA),
  • Dave Turcotte, CANMET (Canada),
  • Christoph Mayr Austrian Institute of Technology,
  • Gerd Heilscher, Ulm University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and
  • Thomas Reindl, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS)
Further information on the Solar Canada 2015 conference program are available online at www.solarcanadaconference.ca, as are recent publications on the Task 14 website.
 
Learn from international experts about the different approaches and best practices in managing higher PV penetrations in electricity grids.  CanSIA, IEA and PVPS Task 14 designed this conference track to educate and help the solar industry, utilities, and system operators prepare for a future with more solar on the grid.
 
Technical Transformation Track Sessions:
  • Solar Implications for Distribution Grids: examining how variable renewable energy resources require the adoption of new solutions and strategies which are transforming the ways in which the distribution- and the transmission-networks interact to balance supply and demand and ensure safe and reliable system operation.
  • Solar Variability, Forecasting, and System Operation: considering the significant advancement of variable distributed solar generation, and how the interactions between distribution and transmission networks have become more complex with new considerations required for system operation, control and protection.
  • Smart Inverters and System Benefits: looking at “smart” inverter functions including reactive power control, voltage, frequency ride-through, advanced two-way control capabilities, storage integration and data streaming, and how smart inverter technology holds the potential to maximize the penetration of solar on the grid while optimizing system benefit and transform the electricity sector.  
  • Smart Grid Integration: examining the role and technical considerations for solar in grid-modernization and its potential to transform the electricity sector as we know it today by connecting the dots between micro-grids, storage, electric vehicles and the internet.
 
 
Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA)