GridSTART Research Overview

Grid System Technologies Advanced Research Team (GridSTART)

Principal Investigator: Leon Roose

Who We Are

Grid Systems Technologies Advanced Research Team (GridSTART) is a group of leading renewable energy transition and power grid modernization experts specializing in island power systems and advanced microgrid solutions.

GridSTART Overview

HNEI’s GridSTART (Grid System Technologies Advanced Research Team) focuses on the efficient and effective integration of alternative energies into the power grid. GridSTART advances solutions and technologies for the Asia-Pacific region by analyzing, modeling, and field deployment and verification.

GridSTART Research Focus & Facilities

HNEI’s GridSTART utilizes a laboratory equipped with PV systems, inverters, and power grid simulation tools in addition to the electric grid in the field as a living laboratory to tackle VRE grid integration issues and provide solutions.

Innovative Solutions for Alternative Energy in Island Grids

HNEI GridSTART leverages advanced modeling tools from encoord to support island grid planning and energy transition strategies across the Asia-Pacific region. Our collaboration enables holistic analysis of generation, transmission, and distribution systems.

Thailand: Variable/Intermittent Energy Integration Study

HNEI’s GridSTART is conducting a variable/intermittent energy integration study for Thailand in collaboration with Thai power system operator, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Energy variability and intermittency impacts and mitigation strategies are under evaluation with the Thai utility using advanced power system simulation tools.

Sky Imaging Systems

HNEI’s GridSTART Solar Forecasting instrument predicts short-term, local solar resource availability and photovoltaic power generation. The instrument directly measures solar irradiance and environment conditions, monitors sky conditions using an omnidirectional camera, and incorporates on board computing, controls, and communications for wireless operations, self-monitoring, and edge computing functionality.

Power Monitoring Systems

HNEI’s GridSTART Power Monitoring Systems offers a high-tech, flexible research-to commercialization platform including such features as voltage and current measurement, numerous communications options, GPS-based timing, and powerful processing capabilities for real-time data analysis.

Current Projects

Coconut Island DC Microgrid
Demonstrate and assess the reliability, resilience, and energy efficiency benefits of a HNEI-developed DC microgrid test bed serving two buildings on Coconut Island.

Advanced Conservation Voltage Reduction Development and Demonstration
Demonstrate conservation voltage reduction as an effective way to conserve energy.

Assessing Dynamic Response of Converter‐Dominated Power Systems
Develop local expertise in developing and validating modeling and control solutions for today’s power grid and identify converter models required for converter-dominated power systems.

Bidirectional EV Charging Demonstration Project
Develop, evaluate, and demonstrate the performance of novel algorithms to optimize the charge/discharge of shared fleet vehicles for energy cost minimization.

Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA) Collaboration
Develop a capacity building program focused on a variety of energy and grid assessment and integration for engineers from PEA.

Support to the Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) Program
Support program activities to advance economic growth and resilient energy sector development including the establishment of net energy metering rules and development of a regulatory framework for BESS adoption in the Philippines.

Sustainable Energy for Indonesia’s Advancing Resilience (SINAR) Program
Support program activities to advance Indonesia’s goals in accelerating deployment of advanced energy, improving utilities’ performance, adopting transparent and best value procurement, and strengthening institutional framework and capacity of the energy sector.

Southeast Asia’s Smart Power Program (SPP) – Laos EDL and MEM Support
Support SPP by supporting Électricité du Laos and the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines in enhancing power system resilience, implementing demand-side management/demand response strategies, and integrating VRE resources.

Southeast Asia’s Smart Power Program (SPP) – VRE Capacity Building Initiative
Support SPP by engaging with the national power utility of Cambodia, Electricite de Cambodge, to manage high levels of variable/intermittent energy penetration and conducting capacity building workshops.

Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership (PEP) Activity
Provide technical assistance to support PNG’s enhanced electric connectivity and its goal of connecting 70% of its population to electricity by 2030.

Energy Security and Resilience in Caribbean Islands
Provide technical assistance to the U.S. Department of State’s PACC 2030 initiative aimed at enhancing energy security and resilience in Caribbean countries by supporting development, building regulatory capacity, and strengthening utility capabilities.

Energy Systems Regulatory and Technical Support for Palau
Provide technical and regulatory/policy support to the Republic of Palau, Energy and Water Administration, and Public Utilities Corporation in implementing the country’s energy transition.

Energy Systems Regulatory and Technical Support for the Cook Islands
Provide technical and regulatory/policy support to Te Aponga Uira, the government-owned electric utility on Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands.

Energy Systems Regulatory and Technical Support for Yap, Micronesia
Provide technical and regulatory/policy support to the Yap State Public Service Corporation in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Previous Projects

Majuro Dock Resilient Power Strategy (2023-2024)
Analyzed the feasibility and benefits of sequentially modifying the current energy system at a commercial dock in the Marshall Islands to enable it to operate both as a microgrid connected to the local utility’s system or as a stand-alone facility.

Hawai‘i Virtual Power Plant Demonstration (2019-2024)
Assessed the economic value and operational effectiveness of battery and solar resources and evaluated the technology application and the value proposition of a VPP.

Automated Distribution Circuit PV Hosting Capacity Estimation (2020-2024)
Developed improved algorithms that significantly advance accuracy while reducing computation time for estimating the maximum capacity of distributed photovoltaic systems that can be effectively interconnected to utility secondary distribution services.

Real-Time Health Assessment of Distribution Transformers (2021-2023)
Developed and demonstrated a low-cost, real-time monitoring system using non-intrusive sensors and environmental data to assess distribution transformer health and support grid reliability amid growing distributed energy resources.

Advanced Power Systems Laboratory (2018-2023)
Designed and equipped a lab to conduct research, develop, test, and evaluate in support of power systems modernization and variable/intermittent energy integration by providing a state-of-the-art test environment to deliver next-generation smart grid technologies.

EGAT VRE Integration Study (2018-2022)
Conducted an energy integration study in collaboration with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for Thailand and enhanced the professional capacity of its engineers.

Developing Renewable Energy Storage System for the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) (2021-2022)
Provided technical assistance to a World Bank project by supporting 11 PICs in designing a regional battery energy storage system (BESS) policy framework and guidelines to support private sector participation in BESS development.

Solar Power Forecasting (2018-2022)
Developed advanced forecasting systems, including new methods and technologies, to predict solar photovoltaic power generation from minutes to days ahead.

Advanced Real-Time Grid Energy Monitor System (ARGEMS) (2017-2022)
Developed a low-cost device and system that can provide enhanced situational awareness allowing tighter, localized coordination of distributed energy resources.

Energy Generation and Resilience Opportunities Assessment for MCBH (2018-2022)
Identified and evaluated needs and opportunities for implementing proven microgrid technologies on Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i, while concurrently meeting their 14-day resiliency requirement.

Chulalongkorn University Smart Campus Project – ARGEMS (2020-2022)
Built joint research and development capacity in the area of grid modernization and smart grid initiatives, ultimately helping to enhance energy resilience and reliability while enabling Thailand’s energy transition.

U.S. India Collaborative for Smart Distribution with Storage (UI-ASSIST) (2018-2022)
Fostered international collaboration around smart grids, particularly distribution systems and microgrids with solar photovoltaics and energy storage.

Load and PV Data Synthesis (2017-2021)
Synthesized solar photovoltaic and customer load data from field measurements to enable more realistic distribution feeder modeling and state analysis for circuits with high distributed PV penetration.

NELHA HOST Park Microgrid Analysis (2019-2021)
Determined the feasibility and benefits of modifying the current energy system at NELHA’s HOST Park to enable it to operate as a microgrid connected to HELCO’s electric grid system or as a stand-alone facility.

ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III Support (2020-2021)
Provided technical assistance as a core member of the Technical Review Group for the AIMS III effort.

Recommendations on Methodology for Vietnam Power Development Plan (PDP) (2019-2021)
Delivered technical assistance to the Government of Vietnam to address their energy growth issues, in collaboration with Deloitte Consulting.

Technical Interconnection Requirements for Solar and Wind Projects in Laos (2020-2021)
Developed technical interconnection and performance requirements and grid codes for solar and wind projects’ grid interconnection in Laos.

Development of BESS Technical Standards for Thailand (2020-2021)
Leveraged critical stakeholder feedback provided by EGAT, in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University to develop a regional solar PV forecasting system for Thailand.

Thailand Regional Solar PV Forecasting (2018-2021)
Provided technical assistance to support Thailand’s Office of Energy Regulatory Commission in its ultimate adoption of codes and regulations for BESS applications in Thailand.

Laos Solar Pilot Auction (2019-2020)
Supported Laos’ first competitive solar pilot auction by developing interconnection grid codes and power purchase agreement terms to enable transparent, cost-effective solar procurement and strengthen energy security.

Clean Power Asia – Philippines’ Net-Metering Policy Update and Public Consultation Support (2019-2020)
Supported the Philippines’ Department of Energy in updating net-metering policies and building utility capacity through technical guidelines, training, and public consultations to facilitate greater distributed PV adoption.

Grid-Scale Battery Testing (2011-2020)
Evaluated three grid-tied BESS addressing different issues arising from increasing variable/intermittent energy penetration levels. Facilitated the discovery of benefits and unexpected adverse consequences arising from this technology on isolated grids.

Fast Frequency Response Battery on a Low-Inertia Grid (2017-2020)
Evaluated fast frequency response of a BESS on the island of Molokaʻi, which could impact industrial standards for metering and frequency measurement during electrical transients on low-inertia grids.

Dynamic Load Bank for Islanded Grid Solutions (2018-2020)
Demonstrated reliable and inexpensive means to prevent baseload diesel generators from operating below their minimum dispatch level during periods of high solar generation.

Sustainable Grid Platform with Enhanced System Layer and Fully Scalable Integration (2017-2020)
Supported the long-term goal of designing highly scalable technologies for distribution systems to operate reliably and securely with extremely high penetration of distributed energy resources.

Smart Grid Inverters for High-Penetration PV Applications (2011-2015)
Integrated grid management functionality software and standards-based communications hardware and software to develop and demonstrate use of a “smart grid inverter.”

Maui Smart Grid Demonstration (2008-2014)
Developed and validated the use of smart grid technology to reduce peak demand and facilitate the integration of energy from variable/intermittent resources.

Partnerships and Funding

GridSTART serves to integrate HNEI efforts across all its technology areas and has developed strong partnerships with state, federal and international agencies, organizations, and businesses, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Its funding sources include the Office of Naval Research (ONR) via the Asia-Pacific Research Initiative for Sustainable Energy Systems (APRISES) and Asia-Pacific Regional Energy System Assessment (APRESA); the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) administered through the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Hawai‘i (ARL-UH); the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); the State of Hawai‘i via the Energy Systems Development Special Fund (ESDSF); the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI); and private industry sources such as Hitachi, Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Skills, Technical Capabilities, and Resources

Development, testing, and evaluation of advanced grid architectures, enabling policies, and new technologies and methods for effective integration of variable/intermittent energy resources and power system optimization with great expertise focusing on the following areas:

Grid Modernization Planning and Technologies
Advanced energy control systems and architecture, micro-grids, distributed energy resources, load control, advanced function inverters, energy storage, electric vehicle grid applications, communications design and testing, data center and cloud infrastructure design and testing, etc.
Power Systems Planning
Alternative and conventional generation resource expansion, transmission and distribution system modeling, techno/economic analyses, etc.
Power Systems Operation
Generation commitment, dispatch, and optimization, variable/intermittent energy integration, operational constraints and mitigation, etc.
Energy Policy
Policy and regulatory design and guidance including energy legislation, executive orders, utility regulatory structures and rules, energy assurance plans, operations reliability, grid code development, emergency response, resilience, etc.
Power Systems Engineering and Standards
Transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure, overhead and underground equipment, energy system technology performance testing, etc.
Project Management and Execution
Generation and transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure permitting, environmental review and assessment, project scope and budget development and execution, project resource contracting and management, etc.

Core Team Members:

Leon Roose*, Specialist & Chief Technologist
Marc Matsuura*, Senior Smart Grid Program Manager
Damon Schmidt*, Senior Energy Regulatory/Policy Analyst
Quynh Tran, Power Systems Engineer II
Sawyer Poel, Power Systems Enginner
Brian Griswold, Power Systems Engineer
Saeed Sepasi, Assistant Researcher
Sarah Demsky, Junior Researcher
Ai Oyama, Research Technical Writer/Translation Specialist
Harun Or Rashid Howlader, Postdoctoral Researcher
Nattapat Praisuwanna, Postdoctoral Researcher

*Prior electric utility company senior management, with a combined 75+ years of utility and regulatory experience.

GridSTART Laboratory:

GridSTART’s Advanced Power System laboratory is equipped with PV systems, inverters, and power grid simulation systems in addition to the electrical grid in the field as a living laboratory to tackle variable/intermittent energy integration issues on grids and provide solutions.

GridSTART’s Advanced Power System laboratory architecture.

Equipment:

Grid-tied and off-grid AC Test Bed
Accessible at the AC test stations. Comprised of the three AC test buses:
– 1Φ/3Φ 0~520 VLL AC grid simulator bus served by the Chroma 61830 30 kVA Regenerative Grid Simulator
– 3Φ 208Y/120 V AC bus served by a 225kVA transformer
– 1Φ 240/120 V AC Bus served by a 100kVA transformer
Off-grid DC Test Bed
Accessible at the DC test stations. Rated at 600 VDC. Can be powered either by the direct output of the rooftop PV array or by the 30 kVA grid simulator configured for DC operation.
Chroma AC/DC Regenerative Grid Simulator 30 kVA (Single-Phase or Three-Phase)
Opal RT 5600 Real Time Simulator
For model-based design, rapid control prototyping, hardware-in-the-loop test and can be connected to the 30 kVA AC/DC Grid Simulator for Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop test.
A 35.3 kW rooftop photovoltaic system
Connected to four advanced PV inverters equipped with grid support functions serving three equipment test bays.
– Fronius Single-Phase Inverters (8.2 kVA)
– Fronius Three-Phase Inverters (12 kVA)
Advanced Real-Time Grid Energy Monitor System (ARGEMS)
Chroma Programmable AC/DC Load (4.5k VA)
Chroma High Precision Power DC Electronic Load (600 V/420 A/6 kW)
DC Power Supply
Chroma AC Power Source 12 kVA (2 quadrant)
Eagle Eye AC Load Bank 1 00 kW (1 or 3 phase)