BURLINGTON, MA--(Marketwire - Aug 28, 2012) - DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, the leading energy consulting, testing, and certification company, has enhanced its curtailment risk assessment services in North America by licensing GE Multi-Area Production Simulation Software (GE MAPS™) from GE Energy.
"DNV KEMA has many years of experience modeling power flows and assessing renewable energy curtailment risk on the North American grid. With the additional capabilities this new software provides, we can offer our clients increased visibility into curtailment risk," said Bill Erdman, president of DNV KEMA's subsidiary BEW Engineering. "This addition is a significant enhancement of our ability to help our clients manage the financial and technical risks of their projects."
According to Erdman, the tool facilitates estimating the risk of revenue loss due to congestion and forced curtailment over multiple years. "As both project sizes and numbers increase, the risk of congestion on the existing utility transmission system also increases. Curtailment provisions written into many power purchase agreements allow the off-take utility company to force the curtailment of power delivery in the event of congestion on the transmission system. Depending on terms in the agreements, such curtailment can adversely impact project revenue. As a result, the risk of curtailment must be considered in the financial model for any utility-scale renewable energy generation facility," explains Erdman.
"With increasing renewable penetration and complex interaction of renewable generation with existing transmission assets, the need to accurately assess the economic impact is required to make an informed decision. A detailed representation of the transmission system along with production costing data, allows GE MAPS™ to capture system dynamics which cannot be evaluated by using conventional production costing tools," he adds.
GE MAPS™ has been used widely by consultants, utilities, and system operators over the past 20 years to evaluate the operation of power systems within North America and abroad. The software is widely regarded for its detailed transmission modeling capabilities and accurate representation of system operations. It is being used extensively to model emerging market structures in different regions of the United States. It has been used to model the New York, New England, PJM and California ISOs for market power studies, stranded cost estimates, and project evaluations.
"GE MAPS™ simulates the operation of an interconnected utility power system, while maintaining the chronology of the load and monitoring the transmission constraints. Consequently, it is able to capture the curtailment risk originating due to transmission congestion and load diversity," says Anupam Gopal, Senior Power Systems Engineer for DNV KEMA, who has led product enhancements of GE MAPS™ and conducted economic studies for more than four years.
About DNV KEMA
DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, with more than 2,300 experts in over 30 countries around the world, is committed to driving the global transition toward a safe, reliable, efficient, and clean energy future. With a heritage of nearly 150 years, we specialize in providing world-class, innovative solutions in the fields of business & technical consultancy, testing, inspections & certification, risk management, and verification. As an objective and impartial knowledge-based company, we advise and support organizations along the energy value chain: producers, suppliers & end-users of energy, equipment manufacturers, as well as government bodies, corporations and non-governmental organizations. DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability is part of DNV, a global provider of services for managing risk with more than 10,000 employees in over 100 countries. For more information on DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, visit www.dnvkema.com.