Energynautics CEO, Dr. Thomas Ackermann recently completed his time as a visiting researcher at the Hawai’i Natural Energy Institute of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The three-month-stay was funded by a Fulbright-Schuman Fellowship.

Dr. Thomas Ackermann will share his learnings about the Hawaiian grid integration experiences at the 7th International Hybrid Power Plants & Systems Workshop that takes place on the Faroe Islands from 23-24 May 2023. Their unique strategies on the path to 100% renewables makes Hawaii an interesting case study.

In the special session “Hybrid Power System Experience from Hawaii”, Dr. Ackermann will firstly give an overview of the current situation in Hawaii, summarizing the Hawaiian experience with grid integration of renewables into the different island systems.

To include more first-hand experience, he brought in renowned Hawaiian grid integration experts for the special session. Thus, Ken Aramaki of Hawaiian Electric (USA) for instance will present the Hawaiian Electric’s plans to reach 100% RE. Brad Rockwell (Kauai Island Utility Cooperative – KIUC, USA) will report on the specific experiences from high shares of PV on Kauai. The island of Kauai actually has some of the largest shares of inverter based PV worldwide – up to 100% on a sunny day. Kauai is also one of the first islands with two large scale batteries using grid forming technologies.

This is the first attempt worldwide to use such a novel PPA structure to address some of the key technical challenges.

About the Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute

The Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) was established at the University of Hawai’i in 1974 to coordinate and undertake the development of natural energy sources for Hawaii. HNEI has assumed an important role within the state to reduce Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Specifically, Dr. Ackermann was visiting the Grid Systems Technologies Advanced Research Team (GridSTART), which was formed and is led by tenured faculty specialist Leon Roose. GridSTART tests and evaluates advanced grid architectures, enabling policies, and new technologies and methods for the effective integration of renewable energy resources and power system optimization. GridSTART integrates HNEI efforts across all its energy resource technology areas. It has developed strong partnerships with state, federal, and international agencies, organizations and businesses, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.