Technology Leadership

Partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy

In order to enable a higher penetration of solar energy and mitigate problems due to its intermittent nature, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) program in early 2008, in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia). SEGIS is an industry‐led effort focused on the development of advancements to ensure solar deployment does not have adverse effects on the grid which would decrease electricity reliability.

Under the DOE program, Petra Solar has received approximately $6M for the development of smart grid integrated solar solutions for electric utilities. Solar plus smart grid technology enables utilities to control distributed solar systems and to closely monitor the grid past the substation where they do not have visibility today. This capability of the Petra Solar smart energy system prevents instabilities caused by renewable energy which enables utilities to maintain high power quality for electric customers as solar deployment growth accelerates.

Technologies developed through the SEGIS program define specific technical attributes that should be deployed to make solar a reliable and cost-effective part of the energy mix.