SMA Helps Inform Energy Policy Recommendations for State of California

With global operations, SMA and its employees have the privilege of helping to shape the future of energy all over the world. And with headquarters in Rocklin, California – just outside the state’s capital city of Sacramento – SMA America is front and center to where state energy policy is created.

SMA recently had the opportunity to share its thoughts on the future of energy in the state, thanks to an invitation to participate in a public workshop held by the California Energy Commission (CAC), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO). The purpose of the workshop, which took place June 29, 2017, was to discuss the application of distributed energy resources (DER) on the California grid. Comments and discussion from the workshop will be used to develop energy policy recommendations for the California State Legislature.

Senior Application Engineer Carmen Garralaga represented SMA to speak about smart inverter technology and its role in California’s DER integration. SMA was the only inverter manufacturer invited to participate on a panel consisting of industry representatives from utilities, storage, renewables and others.

At the workshop, Carmen addressed the main functions of smart inverters and why this technology benefits the electrical grid. Her presentation was well-received, and Keith Casey, vice president of Market and Infrastructure Development for CAISO, stated that SMA has been very collaborative with CAISO in the past and has produced spot-on technology.

After the event, SMA was invited to provide additional comments on how the state can implement smart inverter technology in the future. The comments will be incorporated in a report to the state legislature.