Eguana to provide AC battery for rooftop PV on Molokai

2016-03-08 09:35 ET - News Release

Mr. Justin Holland reports
HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC TO DEPLOY E-GEAR/EGUANA AC BATTERY TO INCREASE ROOFTOP PV ON MOLOKAI
Eguana Technologies Inc.'s alternating current battery will be deployed by the Hawaiian Electric Companies as part of the E-Gear battery energy storage system residential energy management control and storage system to help clear the backlog of rooftop photovoltaic applications and improve grid power quality and reliability on the island of Molokai. This will be the first utility deployment of residential energy storage systems in the United States for the purpose of increasing rooftop PV on saturated feeders.

"Many approaches are being explored to increase rooftop PV penetration [in] Hawaii and elsewhere, but residential energy storage is demonstrating its advantages," said Brent Harris, chief technology officer at Eguana Technologies. "No matter who is deploying the solution -- new PV customers, the utility or others -- energy storage offers a level of versatility and capability that is unmatched by any other grid-edge solution, and no other storage solution matches the performance of our AC battery."

"We have focused on ensuring we are able to deliver value to both utility customers and the utility while developing our BESS over the past several years," said Chris DeBone, co-founder of E-Gear LLC. "To have the opportunity to enable utility efforts to overcome such a fundamental barrier to continued rooftop PV growth in Hawaii is truly an honour," continued Mr. DeBone. "We are ready to support a range of deployment strategies and expect to see a broadening range of use cases for residential energy storage and renewed growth in rooftop PV installations in Hawaii through 2016," added Steve Godmere, co-founder of E-Gear LLC.

E-Gear and Eguana have had their solution under laboratory evaluation with Hawaiian Electric since early 2015.

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