Integrating Solar Panels with the Australian Grid

Arnold McKinley, ANU Research School of Engineering, will speak on "Issues of PV Integration with the Electrical Grid", at the Australian National University in Canberra, 13 October 2011.

Issues of PV Integration with the Electrical Grid

Arni Mckinley (Research School of Engineering)

SOLAR SEMINAR SERIES

DATE: 2011-10-13
TIME: 15:00:00 - 16:00:00
LOCATION: Ian Ross Seminar Room
CONTACT: arni.mckinley@anu.edu.au

ABSTRACT:
This is an informational talk about Australia's Electrical Grid in relation to Photo-voltaic systems, including - the regulation and operation of the grid; - the structure of the grid; - what services "ancillary services" provide; - power flow issues, particularly the effects of excessive reactive power flow; - what "demand network charges" are and why they are so costly to commercial customers; - how utility scale PV systems can act as ancillary services; - and how small scale PV systems can reduce demand network charges for commercial customers.
BIO:
Arnold McKinley is a second year PhD student at the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems. He holds two Master's degrees from Stanford University, one in Electrical Engineering and one in Engineering-Economic Systems. During his college years, he worked for two summers as an intern at San Diego Gas and Electric Company in their Electrical Planning Department where he learned the ins and outs of the transmission and distribution grid. After completing his Masters studies, he coordinated a large study of the US Energy System for the US Department of Energy while working at Stanford's Institute for Energy Studies. For the four years prior to his arrival at the ANU, he worked for a startup in California where he advised the development of a dual-power micro-inverter for PV systems. His name is on two of the patents. He also wrote a server-based energy monitoring program, accessible from an internet browser, for owners and managers of PV energy systems.