The Hawaiian Electric Cos. are now sharing with their customers the Renewable Watch online displays for Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island. The displays, hosted on each subsidiary utility's site, show the daily contribution of solar and wind generation on the respective island and how energy from these resources changes throughout the day.
Data from wind facilities and utility-scale solar facilities comes from utility system-monitoring equipment. Data for customer-sited solar power comes from regional estimates using solar sensors strategically placed throughout the islands and other sources.
‘This information can help us integrate higher levels of renewable energy more effectively,’ says Scott Seu, Hawaiian Electric vice president for energy resources and operations. ‘Solar and wind power are increasingly important to our energy mix, so we need to understand when and how these resources affect our system.’
