Mainebiz

Q: What is Versant Power doing to support integration of more renewable energy to the grid, including solar? Versant Power's Distributed Genera- tion team employs more than 20 peo- ple to guide developers and customers through the process of interconnect- ing solar arrays to the grid. This team of coordinators, engineers and project managers has three important roles. First, they evaluate each project to ensure it can be interconnected safely, for the good of that customer and their electrical equipment as well as that of their neighbors. Second, they assist customers in meeting interconnection requirements estab- lished by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Finally, they design and build equipment to connect the proj- ects to the grid, allowing customers to safely export energy to the local distribution system. Q: What progress has been made toward moving northern and eastern Maine to 100% renewable energy? Since the Maine Legislature expand- ed distribution-level solar energy incentives in 2019, more than 1,800 solar projects of various sizes have been built within Versant Power's footprint. This represents 166 mega- watts of additional capacity across the 10,400 square miles of our ser- vice territory, with 350 megawatts of additional proposed solar energy in the interconnection queue. Before 2020, Versant Power re- ceived a few dozen applications each year. This year, we're receiving near- ly three applications per day. Our utility's Maine Public District, which comprises most of Aroostook County, has a greater percentage of current and proposed solar projects than Hawaii and California – perhaps the highest penetration in the na- tion. For four hours on May 1, 2 and 3, 2024, our Fort Kent district was powered entirely by locally generat- ed solar energy. The excess energy was exported to Canada. Q: What are the challenges we face in this transition? The grid connects generation fa- cilities to electricity users through transmission lines, substations and distribution lines. Utility distribu- tion systems were designed to deliv- er energy one way, not to facilitate relatively large loads flowing from users back to the transmission sys- tem. However, individual rooftop or household-level solar facilities are generally designed to produce seven times the customer's average annual load in order to generate enough energy for customers to financially make up for the fact that the sun does not shine all the time. Excess energy is exported back to the grid. At Versant Power, our job is to ensure the grid can support that kind of power flow. Not surpris- ingly, there are places that it can't accommodate bidirectional energy flows without significant upgrades. Our engineers identify these areas and determine the type of upgrades needed to ensure adjacent customers continue to have a reliable system. Q: What skills are needed to enable our state to meet its goals? Utilities are essential partners in enabling Maine's energy future. We need engineers to study electrical system impacts, project managers to oversee necessary upgrades al- lowing interconnection, line work- ers to install new electrical lines connecting projects, electricians to upgrade controls, specialists to validate metering and billing, and coordinators to oversee the whole process and pull everyone together on behalf of customers. Q: What do businesses need to understand when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint? The best first step to reducing your carbon footprint is maximizing your energy efficiency. Along with your electric utility, the Efficiency Maine Trust, the Public Utilities Commis- sion, the Office of the Public Advo- cate are all resources that can help you understand different steps to take to use energy more wisely. The electric grid is widely consid- ered the most complicated machine ever built because we are all phys- ically connected together through the electrical lines. Similarly, the interconnection process can be com- plicated to understand and navigate. To reduce our carbon footprint, we all have to understand the impact we have on one another. S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T Renewable energy transition Dave Norman is Versant Power's Manager of Regulatory Support and Market Based Solutions. Previously, Dave served as the utility's Manger of Engineering & Asset Management. A licensed professional engineer, he has more than 30 years of experience in the energy and power sector and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from Cornell University. Celebrating one hundred years of providing safe and reliable power to northern and eastern Maine. Ask the Expert

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