Islanded Grid Resource Center April 2015 Market Update ...April 2015 Market Update: New England...

Islanded Grid Resource Center April 2015

Market Update: New England Islanded Grids

Islanded Grid Market Updates:New England

Suzanne MacDonald

Island Institute/Islanded Grid Resource Center

April 15, 2015

Island Institute

• Work to sustain Maine’s island and rural coastal communities and exchange ideas and experiences to further the sustainability of communities in Maine and elsewhere– Energy: Increase local capacity and share replicable models that help

to develop strategies to lower energy costs

New England Market

New England Market

• Islands vs. islanded

– Roughly two dozen island grids participating in our programming

• Seven of which are islanded*

• All of which are connected by island culture and power system constraints

– Hundreds of other islands inhabited seasonally

Denotes offshore islanded grid*Islanded grids include: Matinicus and Monhegan (ME), Appledoreand Star (NH), Cuttyhunk and Naushon (MA), Block (RI)

NE Islanded Grid Overview

• Small

– 60-75 up to 1,000 people

• Seasonality

• Mixed use

– Year-round fishing communities

– Research centers

– Historic retreat

Monhegan, ME, modeled electric load, UMASS, 2002

Operator Profile

• Coops/Munis

• Many hats

• Volunteer board

Chris Smith, Monhegan, ME• Captain, F/V Chris• Plant Operator, Monhegan

Plantation Power District

2013 Island Journal, Scott Sell

Courtesy of Chris Smith

Wind Resource

NWF

• 4 out of 7 islanded grids have explored wind, only one has installed

Fox Islands Wind

• Project overview– 4.5 MW (3 x 1.5 MW GE)

– Coop-owned, built in 2009

– 10 miles offshore but grid-tied

• Islanded grid “connections”– Offshore deployment

– Community ownership

– Innovative financing model

– 2010 fuel substitution pilot with electric thermal storage

– Public acceptance

Vinalhaven Island, ME

Penobscot Bay, ME – August 2009

Offshore Wind• Block Island, RI

– Deepwater Wind

– 30 MW (5 x 6 MW)

– Lower rates by 40%

• Monhegan, ME

– University of Maine/Maine Aqua Ventus

– 12 MW (2 x 6 MW)

• Martha’s Vineyard

– Vineyard Power & OffshoreMW collaboration

Solar

125 kW PV array with 4,800 Ahr battery bank

Naushon Island, MA

132 kW PV array with 600 kWh battery bank

Star Island, NH

• All 7 islanded grids in New England have installed or have begun to pursue PV over the past three years

Efficiency First!

• Inventory use

• Identify opportunities to aggregate demand for bulk purchase

• Size it right

Credit: Paul Elias, Naushon Island, MA

Follow the work on Matinicus and Monhegan: https://dieselislandpost.wordpress.com/

Challenges

• Tier IV!

• Seasonality of load

• Confusion over options

– How to address heating loads?

• Public acceptance

• Serious lack of funding

– ME: $100K for renewables per year

• Technical resources for operators

Tier IV compliant genset, Block Island Power Company

Next Steps

• Peer-to-peer and other networking

• Comprehensive energy planning

• Documenting best practices for stakeholder engagement

Maine islanders visit Samso Island’s offshore wind project in Denmark New England Islanded Grid Operators Exchange Trip, 2014

2015 New England Islanded Grid Operator Exchange Trip

Thank You

For More Information

Suzanne MacDonald

Community Energy Director

Island Institute

smacdonald@islandinstitute.org

(207) 594-9209 ext. 144

http://islandinstitute.org/energyinitiatives

www.islandedgrid.org

Save the Date!6th Annual

Island Energy ConferencePortland, ME

November 6, 2015

“The Future,” Peter Ralston/Island Institute, 2009

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