Wind Today

by Uwe Roeper, Ortech

Since the FIT applications were submitted in Ontario in November, Hydro One has been quietly reducing the amount of available capacity on the distribution side of transformer stations (“TS”) and on distribution feeder lines.

The reductions appear to be as much as 80% of the available MWs and could result in projects not receiving a FIT contract that otherwise should have, if they relied on Hydro One information available at the time of FIT submission.

Hydro One has just come out with two major issues that affect the 2,500 MW of available connection space that the province has repeatedly referred to.

The first relates to a new capacity screening test called the Distance Limiting Test (“DLT”), the other to technical constraints on transformer stations equipped with dual wound equipment.

Apparently, Hydro One has just realized that its current grid equipment is not adequate for connecting the amount of distribution system capacity that was advertised prior to the FIT submission deadline.

The lesser issue is the new “Distance Limiting Test”.

Over the past three weeks, Hydro One has been advising grid applicants in private meetings that the capacity available on distribution feeder lines is less than what was posted prior to FIT submission depending on the distance that the proposed project is located from the TS.

The fix is either to ask the generator to reduce the size of the project or to connect further away (i.e. closer to the TS).

The net result could either be that a FIT contract is not awarded or that the developer will have to bear additional costs.

The greater issue appears to be that Hydro One has identified a technical problem with any generation connections to dual-wound transformer equipment.

Any TS with such equipment will only be able to connect a fraction of the capacity posted prior to FIT submission.

One specific example that we are aware of, is a TS that has be de-rated from 101 MW (prior to FIT submission) to 16 MW now (to be used to decide FIT awards).

We have been told that a large number of TS stations with the dual-wound transformer equipment could be affected.

Apparently Hydro One has quietly started to change the posted capacity advertised on the web link without notifying FIT applicants.

According to a source at Hydro One, an updated capacity list will be sent to the OPA in the near future and will form the basis for FIT awards.

As this issue pertains to the distribution system, it will primarily affect the many smaller FIT projects that had followed earlier recommendations to connect to the distribution system.

It remains to be seen if Hydro One will upgrade its distribution equipment over time to allow the many smaller distribution connections to occur.

The concern is that it may be too late as the FIT capacity may have been awarded to larger transmission connection projects in the meantime.

Small may not be beautiful after all.

The issue is likely to be delicate.

FIT applicants had to state the connection points in the FIT application and commit to their connection decisions.

The FIT program has no provision for changing the connection point as new information is made available by Hydro One.

Given the recent sensitivity over the available grid capacity, the current attempt by Hydro One to further reduce the available grid capacity or reallocation, it could get a lot of unwanted attention by the industry.

We are aware of two “shovel ready” projects that had completed Hydro One’s Connection Impact Assessment (“CIA”), been told that they had capacity and could connect, were then encouraged to rescind the CIA to participate in FIT, and are now being told that they will not be able to connect or get a FIT Contract.

We speculate that there are many projects in a similar situation.

We are advising our clients to monitor the Hydro One website over the coming weeks to determine if their connection points will be affected.

In some circumstances, it may be possible to mitigate the issue either through dialog with the OPA or by changing the project size to fit the de-rated specifications.

Please contact ORTECH if you would like our assistance with this matter.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Hydro One
• Ortech

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