Distributed Wind/Solar Interconnection Workshop

Sponsored by UWIG, American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Western Area Power Administration, U.S. Department of Energy Wind and Water  Power Program, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy Tribal Energy Program

February 22-24, 2012 - Golden, CO

Online Registration

Event Overview

The Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) has been in the forefront of wind and solar integration and variable generation issues, opportunities and challenges for many years. This two-day workshop, with an optional virtual tour of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Energy Systems Integration Facility, planned for Friday February 24th, will answer your questions about interconnecting wind and solar plants and other distributed generation applications to electric distribution systems; and provide insight and understanding to integrating large scale renewable generation into the transmission system.

The workshop will provide an overview of wind and solar integration studies and common frequently asked questions; followed by case-study presentations on wind and solar project interconnection experiences. The workshop then moves into an introduction to the Utility Wind Integration Group's Internet-based tools designed to assess a distributed wind project's impact on the local distribution system. Training will cover the theory behind each tool and demonstrate their use with actual data.

Also, Western's Electric Power Training Center (EPTC) instructors will be there to offer a tour of the center. Participants will have the opportunity to observe a demonstration of the EPTC's hands-on miniature power system, which includes a Wind Farm Simulator developed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind and Water Power Program.

The virtual tour of NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) will describe the facility, scheduled for opening in the fall of 2012. The ESIF will provide laboratory and office space for approximately 200 NREL researchers and support staff who will engineer, design, test, and analyze components and systems to enable economic, reliable integration of renewable electricity, fuel production, storage, and building efficiency technologies with the U.S. electricity delivery infrastructure.

The staff will conduct research to overcome challenges related to the interconnection of distributed energy systems and the integration of renewable energy technologies into the electrical grid. The ESIF will also include a state-of-the-art, high-performance computing data center that will improve and expand capabilities in modeling and simulation of renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies and their integration into the existing energy infrastructure.

Continuing education credit will be available for this workshop.

Venue and Accommodations

The workshop will be held at the:

Western Area Power Administration
Electric Power Training Center
1667 Cole Boulevard, Building 19 - Suite 152
Golden, CO 80401

Accommodations are available at the following hotels, listed in order of proximity to the EPTC:

Courtyard by Marriott Denver West Golden
14700 W 6th Avenue, Frontage Road
Golden, CO 80401
303-271-0776

Days Inn and Suites
15059 West Colfax Ave.
Golden, CO 80401
303-277-0200

Golden Hotel
800 11th Street
Golden, CO 80401
303-279-0100

Hilton Homewood Suites
139 Union Boulevard
Lakewood, CO 80228
303-716-5737

Residence Inn by Marriott Denver West Golden
14600 W 6th Avenue, Frontage Road
Golden, CO 80401
303-271-0909

Table Mountain Inn
1310 Washington Avenue
Golden, CO 80401
303-277-9898

Workshop Agenda

February 22

7:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast at EPTC
8:00 a.m. - Welcome and Introductions, Steve Yexley, Electric Power Training Center (EPTC) Program Manager, Dave Mooney, NREL Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) Program Manager
8:30 a.m. - Wind/Solar integration studies and FAQs, Michael Milligan and Debbie Lew, NREL
9:15 a.m. - Distributed Wind and Solar Integration Experience , Tom Wind, Wind Utility Consulting; and Phil Barker, Nova Energy Specialists*
10:00 a.m. - Break
10:30 a.m. – Distributed Wind and Solar Integration Experience (continued)*
11:15 a.m. - UWIG's Distributed Wind and Solar Activities, Tom McDermott, UWIG
12:00 p.m. Lunch speaker – Wind and Solar Project Experiences, Rob Wolaver, Tri-State G&T
1:00 p.m. - Economics of Distributed Renewable Projects, Tom McDermott, UWIG
Lab Exercises: Capacity Factor, Production Tax Credit, Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
2:45 p.m. - Afternoon Break
3:15 p.m. - Standards and Interconnection Requirements, Tom McDermott, UWIG
Lab Exercises: UWIG Screening Tool, Flicker Evaluation*
5:00 p.m. - Adjourn

February 23

7:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast at EPTC
8:00 a.m. - Distributed Resources in Micro-Grids, Peter Lilienthal, HOMER Energy
Lab Exercises: Wind/PV/Storage Example in HOMER
9:45 a.m. - Break
10:15 a.m. - Application of the UWIG Feeder Simulator, Tom McDermott, UWIG
Lab Exercises: Multi-Speak Import, Voltage Control, Over-current Protection*
12:00 p.m. - Lunch speaker – Solutions for the Energy Imbalance Market, Steve Beuning, Xcel Energy
1:00 p.m. - Technical Challenges with High Penetration Solar, Barry Mather, NREL*
2:00 p.m. - DOE Solar and Wind Program Update, Venkat Banunarayanan, DOE
2:30 p.m. - Energy Storage, Paul Denholm, NREL
3:00 p.m. - Open Discussions and Q&A
3:30 p.m. - Tour of Western’s EPTC and Wind Simulator (Interactive Demonstration of Wind Energy Operations), Steve Yexley, EPTC Program Manager
4:30 p.m. - Eastern Renewable Grid Interconnection Study Update, Kara Clark, NREL
5:00 p.m. - Workshop Adjourned

Virtual Tour of the $120 Million Dollar NREL Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF)

7:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast at EPTC
8:00 a.m. - Leave for NREL ESIF
8:30 a.m. – Virtual Tour NREL ESIF
10:30 a.m. - Return to EPTC

The four workshop sessions marked with a * will be available for participation via webinar.

Registration

Online registration is available.

Registration Fee - $300 for onsite attendance

Registration Fee - $150 for single-day onsite attendance

There is no charge for the tour

Webinar Registration - $99 for the four online sessions marked with *

Registration for the onsite attendees is limited to the first 28 registrants.

A limited number of spaces for this workshop are available for university/college students to attend at no charge through UWIG's scholarship program. For additional information contact:

Sandy Smith
Utility Wind Integration Group
Phone: (865) 218-4600, ext. 6141
Fax: (865) 218-8999
E-mail: sandy@uwig.org

The Public Renewables Partnership effort led by Western Area Power Administration (Western) and funded through the U.S. DOE Wind and Water Power Program will offer ten $300 scholarships to employees of electric cooperatives and public power utilities to attend this event. The scholarship can be used to help defray travel expenses or registration fees. The applicant’s employer must be a member of NRECA or APPA and there is no limit on the number of scholarships per utility. To apply for the scholarship, please contact Randy Manion at 720-962-7423 or manion@wapa.gov.

Western will be offering $300 registration scholarships to Tribal representatives interested in attending the event. They are available on a first come, first served basis. To apply for the scholarship, please contact Randy Manion, manion@wapa.gov or call 720-962-7423.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

All registration cancellations and requests for refunds of registration fees must be submitted to UWIG in writing.

Requests received by February 17 - receive refund less $25 administrative fee.

Requests received after February 17 - receive refund less $150 administrative fee.

Note that individuals registered for the webinar option will be issued full refunds if they cancel their participation in advance.

Registrants who have not paid by February 17 will need to make arrangements to pay in advance via credit card or risk having their registrations cancelled.