Smart Grid
Key Takeaways: Transmission investments are expected to increase significantly to replace aging infrastructure, maintain reliability, and meet environmental obligations and state renewable energy goals Transmission is critical for connecting high-quality renewables and other lower-carbon resources far from load centers to the grid The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a decision reducing the base return…...
Key Takeaways: Arizona will investigate the costs and benefits of distributed generation (DG) to address net metering cost-shift issues and ensure a balanced share of grid maintenance costs between DG and non-DG ratepayers Arizona’s decision could set national model for states seeking reasonable net energy metering (NEM) reimbursement as DG penetration increases Reforms to NEM…...
Key Takeaways: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) revised Market-Based Rate Program will reduce administrative burden on industry participants and increase certainty for sellers FERC will no longer require market-based rate sellers to file quarterly land acquisition information for new generation sites Market-based rate sellers will not have to report behind-the-meter generation in the indicative…...
Key Takeaways: The New England Independent System Operator will extend its winter reliability program to address reliability challenges created by increased reliance on natural gas-fired generation until its Pay-for-Performance market design takes effect in 2018 Coordination with natural gas pipeline operators is becoming increasingly important for ISOs/RTOs in addressing gas supply constraints Natural gas transportation…...
Key Takeaways: California Senate Bill 350 requires 50% of utility power to come from renewable sources and 50% increase in energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030 Requirement to halve statewide petroleum use by 2030 was dropped after intense lobbying by the oil and gas sector Implementation will require enhanced transmission, energy storage, and demand…...
Key Takeaways: The Department of Energy’s (DOE) $1B loan guarantee for distributed energy projects addresses market barriers to deploy innovative solar, storage, and flexible demand technologies The loan program aims to aggregate distributed energy projects that would be too small to be financed individually due to high transaction costs Large-scale distributed energy providers and aggregators…...
Key Takeaways: Power generators will benefit from higher clearing prices in PJM’s 2018/2019 capacity market auction while facing higher penalties in case of non-performance Share of natural gas will remain significant through either new generation or uprates to existing generation Demand response, energy efficiency and renewables potentially have a larger role in subsequent auctions and…...
Key Takeaways: Proposed ratemaking and utility model reforms under the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) seek to align the earning opportunities of utilities with customer value by incentivizing near-term activities that support full-scale markets A shift from traditional regulatory incentives to market-based earnings would align utility profits with market activities The utility industry will increasingly…...
Key Takeaways: The Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative seeks a fundamental restructuring of New York’s centralized utility model in response to technology advancements and customer trends that favor decentralized power generation The 2015 New York State Energy Plan provides a roadmap to implement the REV strategy through increased renewable generation, energy efficiency, and emissions…...
Insight for Industry – FERC’s Push to Incorporate Reliability Safety Mechanism in the Clean Power Plan Increases Certainty for State Compliance Efforts On May 15, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) provided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a letter signed by all five Commissioners that details its role in implementing a Reliability Safety…...
Insight for Industry – Breakthroughs in Battery Storage Technologies Carry Impacts for Wind and Solar On April 30, 2015, Tesla Motors u The Breakthroughs in Battery Stor The Breakthroughs in Battery Storage Technologies by Tesla Motors impacts Wind and Solar energy resources. Learn more details with EnerKnol Research. age Technologies by Tesla Motors impacts Wind…...
Insight for Industry – Energy Efficiency Improvement Act Will Reduce Energy Demand The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, which President Obama signed into law on April 30, will add momentum to falling energy consumption per capita in the United States by reducing energy demand from commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, and homes. The relatively uncontroversial…...