Silver Spring Networks, a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks, announced the integration of solar inverters with its Smart Energy Platform.

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, Silver Spring’s standards-based networking platform and CustomerIQ consumer engagement solution with photovoltaic (PV) enhancements have been selected by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (UH-HNEI) for solar integration projects in Hawaii, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

Silver Spring’s IPv6-based networking platform and industry leadership around standards such as Smart Energy Profile 2.0 and SunSpec was a key criterion for selection.

"The integration of renewable energy is becoming more prominent every day – residential PV penetration is estimated to double over the next few years. Taking an end-to-end approach, by empowering the end consumer and building in intelligence at every layer of the network itself, is critical as we integrate a greater diversity of distributed energy sources," said Raj Vaswani, CTO, Silver Spring Networks.

"Basic web-only consumer behavior modification solutions simply can’t handle the rising tides of complexity. Together with UH-HNEI and our partners we’re taking a holistic approach that unlocks benefits for both users and utilities."

In collaboration with the Maui Electric Company and Hawaiian Electric Company, the UH-HNEI project is designed to enable utilities to better manage and integrate PV systems through inverter control to allow for higher penetrations of solar energy on the grid. New enhancements to the Silver Spring CustomerIQ consumer engagement platform help analyze and present the data so customers better understand the net billing impact of installing solar in their homes, and helps guide economical energy usage throughout the day.

"Silver Spring has a long track record of proven networking technology innovation and commitment to open standards," said Dr. Richard Rocheleau, Director of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii. "Their Smart Energy Platform is a critical element of this innovative project and is helping the industry further integrate renewable energy sources into the grid."

Oklahoma Gas & Electric is also leveraging its inverter lab to conduct testing of the advanced inverters and providing a utility benefit evaluation of smart PV inverters. Pepco Holdings’ subsidiaries, Atlantic City Electric in New Jersey and Pepco in the District of Columbia, will host field trials of the smart inverter technologies to examine utility control of distributed solar inverters to both integrate higher penetration of solar as well as protect critical electric network infrastructure.

Additional partners in these solar integration projects include Fronius and Rising Sun Solar Electric and SolarCity for installation and management of the solar power systems.

UH-HNEI expects to deploy the Silver Spring networking platform for the multi-state projects for the demonstrations through 2015.