The Northern Mariana Islands are one of several island U.S. territories, lying three-quarters of the way from Hawai’i to the Philippines. Like most islands, their electricity supply has been almost entirely supplied by diesel-fueled generators, at enormous cost.
So why have islanders in the Marianas – such as the residents of Saipan – been struggling to install solar and other renewable power?
The utility, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, has raised the same objections of mainland utilities, that technical barriers inhibit the reasonable uptake of variable renewable energy. But the cooperative utility serving Kaua’i island in Hawai’i is forecasting that 50% of its daytime electric demand will be met with solar by the end of next year. And California utilities are finding solutions to many of the purported technical barriers.
The economics are ironclad: switching from imported diesel to domestic clean energy would save a bundle. The following presentation explains.
Article by John Farrell, appearing courtesy Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
3 comments
Well, the obvious answer is: educate the utility, if indeed there is a solution to putting a large proportion of un-dispatchable power onto a small grid without destabilizing it – which I doubt. This is increasingly a problem for even large grids, which are much more resilient. A small grid will have to install a great deal of on-line storage at great expense, and of course the subscribers will resent it when the utility tries to pass that cost on to them.
The story and powerpoint refer to “regulations” that the utility cannot or will not reduce its output to less than 30% of normal amount of power.
But a normally operated diesel generator can go down to 0, zero output.
This is how diesel generators are used in the rest of the world.
So, this utility has to explain why they want this 30% threshold.
Then there is the matter of the grid.
local grids may have a problem when local users generate more power than they usually take from the grid. The local grid is set up with a capacity to transport their maximum need to them.
The thickness of cables and transformers, are chosen for that power, plus, somewhat extra, sometimes.
So local solar panel power producers should not produce more, collectively, than the local grid allows. Or the local grid should be strengthened.
So, if the neighbourhood grid is set up to deliver 1000 kW max, the houses and businesses there cannot cannot have more than 1000 to 2000 kWp solar panels, together. If they exceed that, the powerline voltage will go up, outside the acceptable values, and appliances will break down.
Ask the utiliy, what they can do when everyone goes through a power savings program, and uses zero power, at 4 AM?
In many cases the most cost effective choice is to improve the grid, lines and transformers, to allow more power to be generated at home, and share that with the rest of the island.
The same is true for a wind turbine, somwhere on the grid (only 30% of the price of solar panels) . Both reduce the need for diesel.
But solar panel owners should be willing to reduce the output of their panels, when they collectively generate more then required at that time.
But the diesel has to reduce first.
Being hit by nine typhoons a year might be seen as an issue in the Marianas Islands.
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