Data solves EV charging challenge, defers $3M investmentSponsored
How data-driven solutions deferred a $3 million investment and solved a remote EV charging challenge.
April's Energy News showcased the Meridian Energy installation of charging stations at the iconic but remote South Island road trip stop, Springs Junction. Another fascinating dimension of the project was the data science required to design this solution. Here's how data analytics informed Network Tasman's understanding and transformed their approach to addressing capacity challenges, without spending millions to upgrade their network.
For a number of years Network Tasman had been aware of the EV charging dead spot between Murchison and Hanmer Springs. The remote area didn't have the capacity required to meet the needs of high-capacity chargers.
For Network Tasman to make the necessary upgrades to their high-voltage network, to supply capacity for an EV charger at Springs Junction, an investment of $3 million would be required. The traditional network solutions were clearly not feasible.
"In 2022, we worked with Hiko and their LV network modelling platform to identify if a non-traditional solution could be deployed that would avoid the huge upgrade costs," says Andrew Stanton, fibre & technology manager at Network Tasman.
The findings of this work were shared with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), as well as applicants to their Low Emission Transport Fund.
Using the Hiko Energy Insights platform and smart meter data from their low voltage network, the company could see that the network was operating at capacity for a number of hours a day, and a number of months per year.
"However, there was still a large period of time that additional capacity was available," Stanton says. A battery that could store available energy from the network, then provide it to customers when needed, seemed an ideal solution.
Once the team at Network Tasman identified the scope of the issue, they used Hiko to gain insights as to when the network had available capacity at Springs Junction.
"We looked both across the seasons, and also at periods of the day, broken down into 48 x 30min segments. This information was used to produce a dynamic capacity envelope that could be delivered without network investment," Stanton says.
A dynamic capacity envelope or dynamic operating envelope (DOE) is a system that uses real-time information about network constraints to adjust the limits on how much power customers can import - as in the case of EV charging - or export, in the case of excess solar power. The limits can vary over time and location, rather than a fixed limit that doesn't flex with network capacity.
Network Tasman then worked with Frazer Engineering to develop a device that would enable the delivery of this dynamic capacity to Meridian.
"Going forward, this reduces the barriers to installing flexible loads like EV chargers in areas where network capacity is limited, or when using traditional methods would be expensive," Stanton says.
"We'd like to thank the Hiko team for their time and effort to identify the available capacity at Springs Junction, and then in developing the platform further. This enabled us to now identify capacity envelopes anywhere on our network with minimal effort."
"When we started our LV data journey there were no templates to follow and nothing available in the industry to provide the types of insights that Hiko provides."
Smart meter data and the analytics journey
Network Tasman, alongside other New Zealand EDBs, pooled their resources and developed Hiko with Smartco, to fill this gap.
"It is now mature enough to be easily deployed over the most complex of LV data sets. The set up is very quick and being web based requires almost nil effort from our internal IT resource unlike other tools that are starting to become available in New Zealand."
Hiko is now an integral part of Network Tasman's business, used daily - for identifying network performance issues, reducing time taken to investigate new connections, or to confirm supply restoration after an outage event.
"All of this benefits the region's electricity consumers," Stanton says.
In terms of future planning, Network Tasman is currently working to understand the implications of consumers installing distributed energy resources - DER - such as rooftop solar panels or EV chargers on the network.
"Hiko allows us to observe ICP loads before and after they install DER. We can extrapolate this to better understand how a consumer's load changes, including when they install various combinations of DER. These are valuable insights when trying to ascertain the extent to which these types of installation assist us in managing network peaks," Stanton observes.
About Hiko Energy Insights
Hiko Energy Insights has been collaborating with New Zealand EDBs to unlock the power of their smart meter data for more than eight years.
Hiko offers scalable data processing capabilities, handling over 250 TB of meter reads daily while their ISO 27001 accreditation ensures the highest levels of data security.
There's no need to invest in IT infrastructure either - Hiko will store and process the data, which EDBs have full access to for as long as they need it. The team uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) for powerful, secure data processing that is scalable and robust.
Every network is unique, from infrastructure to data management practices. Hiko's team works closely with each partner to provide flexible, tailored solutions that meet specific needs.
Keen to learn more about working with data? Get in touch with the team at natasha.gillison@smartco.co.nz or go to https://hiko.energy