Comprehensive Energy Management for Renewable Energy Sources
- Ensure Power Quality and Voltage Stability
- Measure Energy Delivered and Received
- Verify Utility Charges
- Implement Customizable SCADA Application
Comprehensive Energy Management for Renewable Energy Sources
- Ensure Power Quality and Voltage Stability
- Measure Energy Delivered and Received
- Verify Utility Charges
- Implement Customizable SCADA Application
Introduction
1 E&E news article, accessed 12/4/2025 from https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/088.%20Associated%20Press%2C%20Electricity%20from%20clean%20sources%20reaches%2030_%20of%20global%20total.pdf from Energy.gov website.
Introduction
Renewable energy has been around since waterwheels were first used in Europe at around 200 BC but in the last few decades it has become a cornerstone in plans to mitigate climate change and reverse global warming. The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy reports that as of 2023, 30% of the world’s energy is produced by renewable energy sources (RES), such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric.1 That number will certainly rise as stricter carbon reduction regulations take effect around the world.
Twenty or more years of research and implementation have resulted in the thousands of renewable distributed energy resources (DER) in existence today. In the United States, DERs consist primarily of solar and wind energy. These DERs range from small residential rooftop solar installations that generate as little as several Kilowatts to large wind turbine farms approaching several hundred Megawatts. But whatever the size of the installation, energy management for renewables has specific requirements.
Ensure Power Quality and Voltage Stability
The power quality of the energy being generated by RES is of utmost importance. Any RES being integrated into the grid must meet the power quality levels mandated for the utility. This means, for example, the RES-produced energy must match the frequency and voltage levels of the energy in the grid. Additionally, the energy must be free of harmonic distortion. The inverters on a line of solar panels are used to convert DC power to AC, which is used in the electrical grid. The inverters, however, tend to introduce harmonics into the system. Harmonics are known to contribute to equipment damage and costly downtime.2 These harmonics can have a detrimental effect on the grid when it receives energy from a solar DER. A power quality meter placed on the solar panel line can help to mitigate this problem in multiple ways:
- The power quality meter can analyze the voltage and current to detect harmonics or other anomalies.
- Limits can be set to email alerts when harmonics go above a set level, so that action can be quickly taken.
2 Problems Arising from Power-system Harmonics, Electrical Installation Wiki webpage.
3 Article from How Engineering Works website, accessed 12/10/2025 from https://www.howengineeringworks.com/questions/what-is-the-impact-of-renewable-energy-on-voltage-stability
The large amounts of power being sent from wind turbines don’t generally contain harmonics. However, the variability in energy output due to changes in weather can affect the voltage. This voltage variability must be managed to ensure grid stability3. For this reason, the substation on a wind farm needs a power quality meter that can provide detailed information on the voltage it is sending, and that can provide limit alarms when the voltage is outside of the desired range. Additionally, if the utility is running a synchrophasor application, the meter should be able to act as a PMU and provide the real time phase angles and other information to the utility’s synchrophasor system. This information is essential for the utility operators to manage the grid effectively and avoid power failure.
When a power quality event occurs, detailed information about the event leads to a better understanding of the cause and steps to prevent a recurrence of the problem. Power meters with advanced logging capability enable post-event analysis. Power quality meters with waveform recording provide valuable information about the event. EnergyPQA.com®, an AI driven energy management system, can analyze the waveform and determine the PQ direction of the fault – either from the utility or from the RES system. This information is important for understanding the event’s cause and possible reimbursement from the utility.
Measure Energy Delivered and Received
Using high accuracy smart meters to measure energy delivered and received also gives DERs the ability to verify the utility’s measurements for the energy they send and the energy they use. This gives the DER confidence that they are being correctly reimbursed for their energy output and are being correctly charged for their energy consumption. If mistakes are found, the energy management software can generate reports from the logged meter data. Having solid proof of the utility’s error will certainly speed the rectification process.
Also, DERs need to monitor the energy usage and demand for the energy they receive from the utility to either power their renewables’ equipment, e.g., wind turbines, or to supplement the energy they generate. Placing smart power and energy meters on the main line coming from the utility and polling the meters using energy management software gives renewable DERs the information they need to track both their energy output and their energy usage.
In addition to the meter on the feeder line, solar installations install meters at the end of a solar panel line. The meter’s high accuracy readings can send important information to the renewable’s energy management system, e.g.:
- Current generation from the solar panels
- Readings from batteries as they charge and discharge
- Power flow in both directions
- Watts and current readings, voltage stability, and log data for post-event analysis
Verify Utility Charges
An important aspect of energy management for renewables, is using high accuracy smart meters to measure energy delivered and received also gives DERs the ability to verify the utility’s measurements for the energy they send and the energy they use. This gives the DER confidence that they are being correctly reimbursed for their energy output and are being correctly charged for their energy consumption. If mistakes are found, the energy management software can generate reports from the logged meter data. Having solid proof of the utility’s error will certainly speed the rectification process.
Implement Customizable SCADA Application
Large wind farms and solar installations use SCADA applications to manage their operations. EIG offers the HMIPQA+™ system, which is a fully customizable SCADA solution. Supporting both EIG meters and third party devices, it is easily scalable to fit specific company requirements with highly customizable and intuitive graphical displays of both energy metering and other commodity data. It seamlessly puts the right tools at the operator’s fingertips for informed energy management decisions. Features include:
- Customizable one-line diagrams of all devices and sensors
- Alarms and notifications for over/under limit conditions, breaker operations, and power quality events, for immediate awareness of any fault conditions and for identifying areas of the electrical distribution system that need improvement and repairs
- Stored waveforms and events captured by EIG’s power quality devices during voltage surges, sags, transients, and current fault conditions
- Support for multi-vendor equipment and protocols
The HMIPQA+™ SCADA solution works with EIG power quality and revenue meters to address all the RES needs discussed in this guide. It provides real time power quality information and detailed energy usage in one centralized platform, to ensure that all RES personnel have the resources they need to perform comprehensive energy management.
Renewable Energy Source Diagram
Products
Renewable Energy Products
Nexus® 1500+ | |
|---|---|
 | Power Quality MeterExample Installation: Utility Entry Points, Wind Power Substations, Synchrophasor Applications |
Shark® 270 | |
|---|---|
 | Revenue MeteringExample Installation: Solar Panel Monitoring, Wind Turbine Monitoring, Ethernet or Serial Communication |
ST40 | |
|---|---|
 | Machine Level MonitoringExample Installation: Solar Panel Monitoring, Ethernet Communication, Power Quality |
HMIPQA+™ Next Generation SCADA Solution | |
|---|---|
 | Simple, scalable, fully customizable application with open connectivity and multi-protocol supportLearn More: https://www.electroind.com/products/hmipqa-power-monitoring-scada/ |
EnergyPQA.com® AI Driven Energy Management System | |
|---|---|
 | Provides energy analytics and predictions, reducing costs and improving power system reliabilityLearn More: https://www.electroind.com/products/energypqa-com-energy-management-system/ |
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