Jamaica microgrid under construction
ABB is supplying key technology for a Jamaica microgrid being designed to integrate solar and wind energy into the tropical island’s power supply.
Jamaica Public Service (JPS) expects to have the $21.6 million microgrid operating in April 2019. The 24.5 MW project will include fly wheels and lithium ion batteries.
ABB will provide microgrid and energy storage technology for the project.
Munro Wind Farm in St. Elizabeth Jamaica (© Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS))
Emanuel DaRosa, JPS president and CEO, described the microgrid as one of the most significant projects to be undertaken by JPS this year. He expects it to be a model “for other countries in the Caribbean and beyond.”
Heavily reliant on fossil fuels, JPS has begun building more renewable energy, about 160 MW, accounting for about one quarter of its generation capacity.
ABB said that the Jamaica microgrid will make power available when solar and wind sources are interrupted due to cloud cover, reduced wind or other factors.
The microgrid project comes on the heels of a record year for capital investment in Jamaica’s electricity service. The utility invested $102 million on capital projects to improve the electricity service across the island.
Microgrids, IoTs & the cyber wars
Microgrids are increasingly looked upon as a cyber war protection tool, a way to keep electricity flowing to critical services, should hackers ever succeed in their attacks on the power grid.
Now, Navigant Research is heightening the warning about cybersecurity in a new report that looks at the impact of Internet of Things (IoT) devices on the grid.
IoTs – from smart meters to electric vehicles – offer possible portals for hackers.
“The mushrooming number of IoT devices being deployed by utilities and other enterprises carries an obvious and growing security risk,” says Neil Strother, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “Smart managers need a comprehensive strategy to stay ahead of potentially devastating threats to IoT assets. No longer can managers rely on an old-school reactive approach; instead, they and their security teams must adopt the latest proactive and predictive tools and methodologies to keep devices and systems safe.”
The report, “Managing IoT Cybersecurity Threats in the Energy Cloud Ecosystem,” examines the IoT cybersecurity threats that challenge utilities and other enterprises. The study also offers practical steps to significantly reduce risks from cyberattacks. An executive summary of the report is available for free download.
Crescendo teams with Hawaiian microgrid partner
Kokua Aina Energy Partners, a local Maui development team, has entered into an agreement with Texas-based project investment company Crescendo Power.
The agreement will help support sustainability project development in Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.
“From the first day our fund was established, we committed to finding an experienced, focused, locally-based project development team in Hawaii to partner with,” said Todd Price, co-founder and managing director of Crescendo Power. “We recognize that Hawaii’s unique industry leadership in distributed generation projects is strategically important and the unique culture requires local relationships for success. Working with Glenn and his group at Kokua Aina on this teaming agreement has set the foundation for immediate traction on meaningful projects for our customers.”
Kokua Aina is a Hawaii-based developer of renewable energy and microgrid projects. Crescendo Power is a project investment company that focuses on behind the meter distributed energy resource projects including microgrid systems.
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