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The Joint Accounting Conference 2018
Solar Panels and Distributed Energy “Something Ventured” The Joint Accounting Conference 2018 May 17-18, 2018 Keith Johnson, P.E.
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History. Strata Solar - Chapel Hill, NC
Sixth largest Solar Farm Contractor in the U.S. In Awarded 40 MW of Renewable Generation by TVA – Renewable Standard Offer (RSO) Program Contacted Pickwick Electric about locating Solar Farms in our service territory. Partner with LPC. Could be positive for the County. Started working with Strata late 2012 on bringing 40 MW of Solar to McNairy County.
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Responsibility Strata Solar - Pickwick Electric Cooperative Design
Permits Construct each Farm Pickwick Electric Cooperative Get the Generated Energy from the Farms to TVA. Contracted to build Substation Contracted to build dedicated circuits to each farm.
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Dedicated 25 KV Circuit 1.18 miles
Site Layout Mulberry Farm Substation 157 Acres Selmer Farm Dedicated 25 KV Circuit 1.18 miles Dedicated 25 KV Circuit .82 miles 208 Acres
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Solar Farms Each Farm 20 MW DC -16 MW AC Output 66,000 Panels
18 – 880 KVA Inverters KVA 3 phase Transformers Fixed Panels
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Solar Farms Both Farms combined Average 3.7 million KWH a month.
Maximum Output 31 MW.
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Selmer Mulberry Substation
Pickwick owns and operates Substation Two Feeder Substation / For Solar Farms Only 25KV Stepped up 161KV Each Farm is Metered by TVA separately All of the energy generated is purchased by TVA.
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Important Things to Consider
Agreements Reimbursement Agreement Interconnection Agreement
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Agreements with LPC Reimbursement Agreement Scope of Work (Detailed)
Payments (Progress Payments) Milestones (Tentative Dates, Assume Delays) Contingency/Cost Overruns (Collected in Advance) Resolution of Disputes Interconnection Agreement Transporting of Generation to TVA Operating Procedures Inspection/Testing Outages (Routine vs Non-Routine) Annual Operating Costs (Billed Monthly)
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Agreements/Costs with TVA
For larger systems, typically over 10MW , TVA requires a parallel operating agreement even if the system is interconnected to the LPCs distribution system. All costs for the associated studies and any required equipment are the responsibility of the renewable system owner. Regardless of size the system owner is also responsible for the NEPA review and any permits or other associated costs.
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Agreements/Costs with TVA
Once the system is approved to begin generation, a time of use rate is applied to the generation. This rate generally aligns with the typical system load shape so that summer generation in the afternoon is higher than mid-morning. Spring and fall have the lower rates and weekday hours are higher than weekend hours. The Pickwick systems are part of the 2012 and RSO offering. The 2012 and 2015 time of use rates were based on the market price of power at the time, since then the market price has substantially decreased due to falling natural gas prices.
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Other Considerations Protection & Safety
Protect Your Equipment (Inverters UL 1741, IEEE 1547) Transient Events (Restore Farm after Trip) Permanent Faults (Lockout Farm) System Instability (Frequency or Voltage-Lockout Farm) Lightning Protection (Thousands of Posts Driven in Ground) Transfer Trip (Source Trips, get Farm Offline) Operating Procedures (Multiple Sources, Maintenance) Power Quality (No issues have occurred)
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Sunny Day
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Partly Cloudy Day
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Cloudy Day
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Why do This? County Embracing Sustainability with Projects Such as Energy Efficiency, Started Recycling Program Green Energy a Good Fit to Complement These Programs Hope that it Would Attract Green Friendly Industries to Locate in our Service Territory
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We Learned and Adapted 2016 – Silicon Ranch 20 MW DC (16 MW AC)
Construction Started March 2016 Similar Interconnection Agreements and Reimbursement Agreements as Used Before (With Some Changes) Both Projects to be Interconnected to Existing Substations at 25KV (Customers Served from Same Feeders and Substations) ISD 10 MW (June 2017) and 20 MW (October 2017)
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70 MW Completed 10 MW 20 MW 138 ACRES 20 MW Existing 199 ACRES
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Selmer North I – 20 MW 20 MW DC - 10 MW AC Output
6 – 2860 KVA Inverters KVA 3 phase Transformers Tracking System
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Selmer North II – 10 MW 10 MW DC - 8 MW AC Output
3 – 2860 KVA Inverters KVA 3 phase Transformers Tracking System
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Why do This Again? Still the Same Benefits From the First Projects
Helped Reduce Distribution Losses and Transformation Losses – Direst $$$ Benefit More Stable Voltage Profile on Affected Feeders It didn’t Cost the Cooperative or Members Anything Equipment and Line Upgrades, Full Ownership
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What We Did Different After First Project
Change Agreement to get a Fixed Monthly Maintenance Amount instead of Complicated Billing Each Month Currently working on Potentially two Additional Solar Farms
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Questions? Keith Johnson, P.E. Pickwick Electric Cooperative
P.O. Box 49 Selmer, TN 38375
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