07.12.18
First Solar, Inc. has received the inaugural Smarter E Award for an Outstanding Project, presented during the InterSolar EU conference in Munich. The award recognized a test conducted jointly by First Solar, the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and grid operator California ISO (CAISO) on a 300MW utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plant in California to demonstrate its ability to provide highly responsive services essential for maintaining reliability of the grid.
“The results of this project can be used as a door opener to convince stakeholders that utility-scale solar can contribute to the reliability and stability of the grid and provide essential grid services that are today often associated with conventional generation,” the citation concluded.
“The study proves that more solar can be integrated into the grid, enabling even further growth in the PV industry,” said Mahesh Morjaria, First Solar’s VP of systems development.
First Solar, CAISO and NREL carried out tests that successfully demonstrated that utility-scale solar PV resources can be relied upon to provide essential reliability services. The tests demonstrated that solar plants can react rapidly to grid signals regarding frequency regulation, and more accurately than conventional generation such as thermal, hydro or gas turbines – and can be tightly regulated.
“The results of this project can be used as a door opener to convince stakeholders that utility-scale solar can contribute to the reliability and stability of the grid and provide essential grid services that are today often associated with conventional generation,” the citation concluded.
“The study proves that more solar can be integrated into the grid, enabling even further growth in the PV industry,” said Mahesh Morjaria, First Solar’s VP of systems development.
First Solar, CAISO and NREL carried out tests that successfully demonstrated that utility-scale solar PV resources can be relied upon to provide essential reliability services. The tests demonstrated that solar plants can react rapidly to grid signals regarding frequency regulation, and more accurately than conventional generation such as thermal, hydro or gas turbines – and can be tightly regulated.
