About the latest solar software platform

Testing at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory enables larger amounts of renewables energy on the nation’s electric network.When customers first install solar, their panels don’t harvest electricity immediately. A utility must assess the panels impact on grid before it permits the panels to turn on. 
 

Sore for customers who must wait for systems

These interconnection delays are a sore for customers who must wait for systems to be connected.  As a result, some utilities conduct impact studies prior to approving a solar project. This act in itself causes expensive delays to project developers and customers. GridUnity has changed the interconnection process with a cloud-connected tool that evaluates a solar project’s impact on the grid. The energy analytics platform assesses the grid impact of a distributed energy resource at the distribution level. The platform permits utilities to shift their attention and resources to connecting larger, high-impact projects assisting to speed up connection for everyone.

When a customer submits an online interconnection application, the platform analyzes the project’s location and locates the circuit the project will join. It determines the circuit’s hosting capacity and gives the utility with an instant response about the suitability of the circuit for the project. If additional screening is needed, the platform conducts automated studies that leverage advanced power flow algorithms, cloud computing, and machine learning. It allows utility engineers and support personnel to concentrate on the results rather than creating expensive, time-consuming simulations. The platform can speed the impact study step from 55 days to 60 minutes. This reduces the total interconnection process from 81 days to hours which is 98% faster than  processes used by most utilities as of date. 
 

Accelerating the interconnection system​​​​​​​

Once an installation is connected to the platform, the data helps the utility explore network, market, and program optimization strategies. By leveraging the analysis capabilities, utilities can analyze their grid hosting capacity to locate and share locations where distributed renewable energy resources will give grid perks, further accelerating the interconnection system. The platform’s analysis and real-time reporting assists utilities save tens of millions of dollars in operational costs. This allows everyone to view the returns on their solar investment much quicker.  With more solar, storage, and other renewables added to the grid every day, utilities across the country have an opportunity to rethink outdated processes and adopt new solutions to better meet the needs of their customers. The GridUnity platform helps both utilities and customers by providing transparency throughout the interconnection process, enabling customers to connect to the grid and start realizing their solar savings faster than they can watch a television show.

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save. Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.