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PALATINE, Ill. – Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, and Fonroche, an energy solutions provider specializing in renewable energy, are partnering on a 40 megawatt (MW) solar field in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Upon completion, it will be the largest solar field in Puerto Rico operating at 1000Vdc.
With rising oil prices and an increasing demand for greater energy independence, Puerto Rico is striving to incorporate more renewable energy sources. In fact, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) Smart Grid initiative aims to upgrade the island’s electrical infrastructure and to develop more renewable energy projects. Additionally, Puerto Rico recently adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring that 20 percent of net electricity sales come from renewable energy resources by 2035.
As the island seeks to connect more renewable energy sources to the grid, PREPA has designed strict minimum technical requirements (MTRs) to protect the grid’s stability. In order to obtain an interconnection agreement with PREPA, developers must meet these MTRs which are designed to protect Puerto Rico’s electricity grid from immediate ramp-downs or ramp-ups resulting from variable weather impacting utility-scale solar installations. Additionally, PREPA requires Power System Simulation for Engineers (PSS/E) modeling which mimics the entire performance of a solar farm to help the utility understand how the farm will behave once it’s connected to the utility grid.
Fonroche selected Schneider Electric as a partner to help navigate the regulatory conditions along with the issues and challenges of developing large-scale solar projects in Puerto Rico.
“Fonroche has partnered with Schneider Electric on a number of solar projects across the globe, so as we embarked on designing a solar farm in Puerto Rico, we knew Schneider Electric was the right partner to turn to,” said Enmanuel Boillos, Chief Engineering & Procurement Manager, Fonroche. “Schneider Electric’s solutions and services - ranging from modeling tools to inverter substations – helped us navigate the design process for this solar field and enabled us to meet PREPA’s minimum technical requirements.”
Through this partnership Schneider Electric is providing a number of solutions and services including PSS/E Modeling. Schneider Electric’s capabilities in the PSS/E modeling field are unparalleled. The solution models the entire performance of a PV plant to demonstrate to PREPA how it will comply with MTR’s – including ramp up and ramp down control, over- and under-frequency, over- and under-voltage, and dynamic power factor correction. The model demonstrates the inverters and their behavior as well as the behavior of the battery energy storage system. Through this modeling system, Schneider Electric is able to derive the final solar system design and component selection and demonstrate that the components meet all the necessary requirements.
Schneider Electric also provides the Power Plant Controller which is the physical implementation of the PSS/E modeling. It takes commands from the utility and sends commands out to the inverters and battery energy storage system allowing the entire solar system to operate as designed.
In addition to PSS/E Modeling and the Power Plant Controller, Schneider Electric is also providing its Conext Core XC inverters, Conext Control Monitoring, String Combiner Boxes, and a Medium Voltage Capacitor Bank.
“Schneider Electric is proud to partner with Fonroche on the design and supply of equipment for this solar farm in Puerto Rico,” said Rudy Wodrich, Vice President of Solar for Schneider Electric. “We are dedicated to driving the adoption of renewable energy solutions across the globe and are excited to enable a greener Puerto Rico through our relationship with Fonroche.”
Schneider Electric has provided equipment and services on a number of other projects in counties including France, India, and the Ukraine. The two companies are engaged in a long standing partnership and will continue to work together across the globe.
Schneider Electric’s partnership with Fonroche illustrates the company’s commitment to providing safe, reliable and easy to install solar solutions in order to help drive the adoption of renewable energy solutions and increase energy efficiency.
Supporting Resources:
To learn more about Fonroche: http://www.fonroche.fr/en
To learn more about Schneider Electric Solar Solutions: http://www.schneider-electric.us/sites/us/en/solutions/renewable-energy/solutions-intro.page
Follow Schneider Electric at: http://twitter.com/schneiderna
Follow Fonroche at https://twitter.com/Fonroche
About Fonroche:
Fonroche is specialized in the development, manufacturing, financing, construction and operation of renewable energy power generation solutions (solar, geothermal & biogas). Fonroche is the largest private solar company in France and has built a truly global solar business, developing projects in such countries as Kazakhstan, Mexico, Brazil, USA and India. Fonroche is currently executing 300MW of projects worldwide, including investment of 200MW in proprietary plants.
About Schneider Electric
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructure, Industries & Machines Manufacturers, Non-residential Building, Data Centers & Networks and in Residential. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company's 140,000 plus employees achieved sales of 30.8 billion US dollars (24 billion euros) in 2012, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy.
www.schneider‑electric.com/us
