The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Master's Projects and Capstones Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 5-19-2017 Analysis of Solar Community Energy Storage for Supporting Hawaii's 100% Renewable Energy Goals Erin Takata [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone Part of the Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Recommended Citation Takata, Erin, "Analysis of Solar Community Energy Storage for Supporting Hawaii's 100% Renewable Energy Goals" (2017). Master's Projects and Capstones. 544. https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/544 This Project/Capstone is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Projects and Capstones by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This Master's Project Analysis of Solar Community Energy Storage for Supporting Hawaii’s 100% Renewable Energy Goals by Erin Takata is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: Master of Science in Environmental Management at the University of San Francisco Submitted: Received: ...................................……….. ................................…………. Erin Takata Date Maggie Winslow, Ph.D. Date | Erin Takata ii May 14, 2017 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ iv Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................... v Chapter 1 – Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1: Overview of the Current Solar Energy Market in Hawaii ............................................................ 1 1.2: Community Solar Overview ....................................................................................................... 3 1.3: Renewable Energy Storage Overview ........................................................................................ 4 Chapter 2 – Solar PV Background ............................................................................................ 6 2.1: Overview of Solar Energy ........................................................................................................... 6 2.2: Types of Solar Installations and Storage Applications ................................................................ 7 2.3: Global PV Market Growth .......................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 3 - Community Solar, Storage, and Microgrids .......................................................... 12 3.1: Community Solar Background .................................................................................................. 12 3.2: Types of Renewable Energy Storage ........................................................................................ 15 3.3: Community Energy Storage Applications ................................................................................. 18 3.3.1: What is Community Energy Storage? ...................................................................................... 18 3.3.2: Benefits & Challenges .............................................................................................................. 19 3.4: Microgrid Communities ........................................................................................................... 20 3.4.1: Microgrid OBjectives ................................................................................................................ 20 3.4.2: Microgrid Projects in the United States ................................................................................... 21 Chapter 4 – Hawaii’s Solar Energy Industry ............................................................................ 22 4.1: History Before Removal of the Solar Incentive Tax Credit ........................................................ 23 4.2: Community Solar Policy in Hawaii ............................................................................................ 25 4.3: The Future of Hawaii’s Renewable Energy Portfolio ................................................................. 26 Chapter 5 – Methods ............................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 6 – Analysis of Solar Community Energy Storage Projects ......................................... 30 6.1: Detroit Edison Community Energy Storage Project .................................................................. 31 6.1.1: Was the Project Successful? .................................................................................................... 31 6.1.2: What Made the Project Successful? ........................................................................................ 32 6.2: Sacramento Municipal Utility District – Anatolia Pilot Project .................................................. 35 6.2.1: Was the Project Successful? .................................................................................................... 36 6.2.2: What Made the Project Successful? ........................................................................................ 37 6.3: Summary of Analysis ............................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 7 – Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................... 43 7.1: Recommendations for Solar CES Project Implementation in Hawaii ......................................... 44 7.2: Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 51 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................................... 53 | Erin Takata iii May 14, 2017 Abstract Solar PV generation has become an integral part of the renewable energy inDustry. With state-level, renewable portfolio standards in place, solar power DemanD has substantially increaseD anD become a competitive anD economically viable energy solution throughout the world. Hawaii has one of the most aggressive renewable portfolio stanDarDs with a goal of 100 percent renewable generation by 2045. However, there are challenges that are preventing the growth of the solar PV market in Hawaii including equal accessibility to solar power and solar power overloading causing grid instability. With Hawaii’s high annual solar radiation, PV generation coulD play a significant role in reaching 100 percent renewable generation as long as a solution is put in place to alleviate overload to the grid while also expanding the adoption of solar. Community solar anD energy storage techniques coulD potentially provide the support the solar industry needs to achieve this goal in Hawaii. This paper evaluates the success of two solar community energy storage projects, the Detroit EDison Community Energy Storage Project anD the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Anatolia Pilot Project, baseD on five criteria, the state’s renewable portfolio standard, available funding, level of solar incentives, site location, and amount of annual solar raDiation. BaseD on this analysis, recommenDations for the implementation of solar community energy storage projects in Hawaii are provided to Determine if solar community energy storage techniques can facilitate growth in the solar PV market by overcoming the griD instability anD accessibility challenges affecting utility companies throughout the Hawaiian Islands. | Erin Takata iv May 14, 2017 AcknowleDgements I woulD like to thank my aDvisor Maggie Winslow for her support through the Master’s Project process. Her continueD feeDback anD suggestions were greatly appreciateD anD contributed to the success of this research. I woulD also like to thank my family for their encouragement anD support throughout the last two years. Acronyms anD Abbreviations CBRE Community-Based Renewable Energy CES Community Energy Storage CGS Customer GriD-Supply CSP Concentrated Solar Power CSS Customer Self-Supply DER Distributed Energy Resources DG Distributed Generation DR DemanD Response HECO Hawaiian Electric Companies IOU Investor-Owned Utility IRS Internal Revenue Service kW Kilowatt KWh Kilowatt Hour MW Megawatt NEM Net Energy Metering POU Publicly-Owned Utility PPA Power Purchasing Agreement PUC Public Utility Company PV Photovoltaics REC Renewable Energy Certificate RPS Renewable Portfolio StanDarD TOU Time-Of-Use VNM Virtual Net Metering | Erin Takata 1 May 14, 2017 Chapter 1 – IntroDuction 1.1: Overview of the Current Solar Energy Market in Hawaii Hawaii’s solar PV market has taken off quickly because of the high cost of electricity anD abunDant irraDiance from the sun. With importeD energy costs close to four times higher than the rest of the contiguous 48 states, Hawaii was the first state to reach grid parity