January 18, 2006
Newly Invented Electronic Shock Absorber Will Give Big Boost to Hawaii Wind Farm.
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO) and S&C Electric Company held on Jan. 17 a dedication at Lalamilo Wind Farm near Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii to mark the installation of the first PureWave® Electronic Shock Absorber (ESA), an innovative grid stabilizing device for wind farms.
“The wind conditions at Lalamilo are ideal location to test the first electronic shock absorber,” said Mike May, HECO president & CEO.“ The PureWave® ESA will demonstrate the potential for increasing the wind power that can be generated for a stand-alone electrical system as those we have on each island. Today marks a significant advance in the development of wind power.”
“The potential of this device for other small or isolated electric grids is tremendous,” said John W. Estey, President & CEO of Chicago-based S&C Electric Company. “The PureWave® ESA can provide short-term electrical energy storage and improve voltage support and overall stability of the transmission system. It is a major step in boosting wind power.”
In addition, for larger, interconnected grids, the ESA has significant potential to smooth out fast changing wind power outputs, called ramp rates.
May and Estey congratulated Dr. Karl Stahlkopf, HECO senior vice president for energy solutions & chief technology officer, for inventing the concept. Stahlkopf worked with teams at HECO and its subsidiaries Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) and Maui Electric Company (MECO) to further develop the idea. HECO received patent approval for the device in early 2005.
S&C, a leader in power electronic system design and delivery, received exclusive rights from HECO to design, build and commercialize the ESA. The device employs S&C’s trademarked DSTATCOM™ Distributed Static Shunt Compensator with the addition of ultracapacitor energy storage. Production of the first PureWave® ESA began in early 2005. Attendees at today’s dedication toured the inside of the 30-foot trailer that houses the ESA system.
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