Catching Some Rays: Variable Generation Integration on the Island of Oahu

Abstract

Starting in 2009, the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, the Hawaiian Electric Company, and the General Electric Company, in collaboration with DOE, jointly developed and validated state-of-the-art power systems models of the Oahu and Maui electrical systems to study the operational impacts of increasing levels of wind and solar generation. These models were central to a series of coordinated, detailed technical studies which included the 2010 Hawaiian Islands Transmission Interconnection Studies (Stage I: Cable), the 2011 Oahu Wind Integration and Transmission Study (OWITS), the 2012 Hawaii Solar Integration Study (HSIS), and the 2013 Hawaiian Islands Interconnection Studies (Stage II: Grid Tie). This article focuses on key OWITS and HSIS findings for Oahu.