Smart Grid » EnerKnol

EnerKnol’s alternative energy research focuses on non-fossil fuel and renewable energy industries, covering major U.S. policy developments and industry trends. Detailed insight into the alternative energy industry – biofuels, electric vehicles, energy storage, nuclear power, smart grid, solar power, wave energy, and wind power – provides valuable information for market analysts, clean energy investors, manufacturers supplying the alternative energy industry, and utilities incorporating renewables into their portfolios.

Dec112018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Time-Based Rates Pick Up Pace as Grid Modernization Efforts Rise

The move towards time-varying rates is on the rise as electric utilities seek rate designs that better align with the changing energy landscape. Utilities are increasingly experimenting with time-of-use rates (TOU) – which price electricity higher when peak demand drives up system costs –as customer-sited generation eats into revenues needed to maintain the grid and amid a widening disparity between average and peak demand.

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December 11, 2018

Nov62018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Ohio Seeks to Modernize Grid via Electric Vehicles, Non-wires Alternatives, and Data Accessibility

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio established the PowerForward Collaborative, a utility workgroup charged with monitoring the marketplace to propel the state along its roadmap of grid modernization. The collaborative will examine issues related to electric vehicles and deployment of non-wires alternatives. In addition, its two workgroups will consider integrated distribution planning and data access issues associated with grid modernization. The PowerForward roadmap aims to create a regulatory paradigm that will allow innovation to reach all customers. The plan envisions the modern grid as an open-access platform that helps applications interface seamlessly as they evolve and a marketplace that advances organically, allowing customers to buy innovative products and services from entities of their choice.

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November 6, 2018

Aug142018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Six Policies Pushing Hawaii Towards 100 Percent Renewables

Over the past four months, Hawaii has established performance-based ratemaking, initiated a microgrid tariff proceeding, unveiled a grid planning proposal, and enacted three bills on climate including a framework for carbon credits to fund carbon mitigation projects. The island is also exploring an electric vehicle roadmap.

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August 14, 2018

Jul102018

EnerKnol Insights – Changing Net Metering Landscape Relies on Solar-Plus-Storage to Solve Cost Shifting

Net metering reforms are becoming more common to keep pace with the evolution of solar and other forms of distributed generation. Regulators are increasingly pushing for adjustments to the valuation of distributed generation as higher levels of supplies begin to strain the grid. Rate designs that value solar-plus-storage could solve the growing concerns of cost shifts and approaching net metering caps.

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July 10, 2018

Jun262018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Utilities Adapt Resource Plans to Reap Economics of Renewables, Storage

Electric utilities are striving to develop Integrated Resource Plans based on an evaluation of the full range of available supply and demand side options in a changing energy landscape that is becoming more complex and uncertain due to emerging trends. These include intermittent large-scale renewable energy, customer-sited distributed energy resources, energy efficiency, demand response, upgrades to aging infrastructure, and legislative clean energy mandates.

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June 26, 2018

Jun122018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Utilities Seek to Weaken Renewable Energy Contracts as DIY Projects Proliferate

The dramatic fall in renewables costs have enticed several utilities to look at large-scale investments and also attracted a large number of independent developers seeking to qualify their projects for must-buy obligations under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Utilities have complained about having to overpay qualifying facilities and buy electricity even when they don’t need it. The must-buy requirements are also interfering with the utilities’ own plans of developing renewable plants, intensifying the pushback against PURPA.

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June 12, 2018

Jun52018

EnerKnol Insights – How Hurricanes Are Sparking Latest Push For Grid Resilience

Extreme weather is figuring more prominently than ever into America's energy policy as the nation recovers from a rash of storms and a catastrophic hurricane season that's inflicted hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. In the name of resiliency and reliability, the Trump administration and regulators alike are seeking unprecedented changes to wholesale power markets, as well as urging massive investments in nascent technologies, like microgrids and battery storage, to gear up for the next bomb cyclone, derecho, polar vortex or hurricane season.

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June 5, 2018

May152018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Retail Choice Under Scrutiny Amid Growing Consumer Complaints

After years of retail choice, some states have begun to examine whether customers are better off with competitive retailers or on the default service tariff. As retail choice comes under greater scrutiny, regulators will focus on stringent market entry rules and market monitoring that can help avoid deceptive tactics.

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May 15, 2018

Apr42018

How Utilities are Navigating the New Distributed Energy Landscape

Demand response (DR) is gaining relevance as a vital grid balancing tool amid the rapid surge in intermittent generation resources. The next generation DR will provide more localized responses to areas of stress to influence energy usage patterns. The digitally enabled grid, advanced metering infrastructure, and automated strategies coupled with dynamic pricing will support the DR market.

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April 4, 2018

Apr32018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – How Utilities are Navigating the New Distributed Energy Landscape

The penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) has led states and utilities to reconsider their strategies and planning processes. Advanced metering infrastructure and automation allow utilities to capture the full value of DERs and explore new uses of emerging technologies. Because of the rapid influx of DERs utilities must stay proactive to avoid issues on the distribution grid and capture new growth opportunities.

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April 3, 2018

Jan312018

Eversource Adopts Performance-Based Ratemaking in Massachusetts to Meet Clean Energy Goals

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved a performance-based ratemaking (PBR) mechanism for Eversource Energy to balance infrastructure funding with avoiding rate case expenses and rate redesign that create uncertainty for consumers. PBRs adjust utility revenues based on their measurable performance, and they have been gaining popularity nationwide as grid technology keeps evolving.

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January 31, 2018

Jan302018

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Eversource Adopts Performance-Based Ratemaking in Massachusetts to Meet Clean Energy Goals

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January 30, 2018

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