While not central to most utility systems today, wind and solar power are growing nationwide, propelled by improving economics, renewable portfolio standards and positive consumer sentiment.
Because these resources cannot generate around the clock, utilities must alter the dispatch of other plants to compensate for their output. This increasing need for grid flexibility is driving investment in fast-acting natural gas plants and energy storage, while disadvantaging baseload coal and nuclear generators.
Amid concerns that these changes could threaten power reliability, the Department of Energy’s grid study concluded last month that increasing wind and solar penetrations have not made outages more likely. While reliability threats could exist in the future, DOE analysts concluded that renewables at present are helping form a diverse, resilient power mix.
The findings confirmed what utilities and grid operators across the country already know — changes to power system planning and dispatch are making it possible to integrate more renewable energy than ever before.
How is the sector doing it? That’s the subject of our latest Spotlight issue, featuring input from utilities and system operators across the country.
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As operators update grid planning for renewables, transmission remains key constraint
Flexibility and pricing reform are also challenges facing operators as they prepare the grid for more renewable energy. Read More >>
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How utility pilot programs are driving renewable energy integration
SCE and APS want to use electric vehicles, water heaters and demand response to help add more wind and solar to the grid. Read More >>
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An inside look at using energy storage to integrate renewable resources
Soaking up solar power during the day and dispatching it in the evening is often cited as a renewable-enabling use for energy storage, but in practice the renewable-enabling potential of storage is often not so simple. Read More >>
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Is renewable energy threatening power reliability?
In Texas and elsewhere, reliability concerns are merely a "Chicken Little argument" fossil generators use to advance their financial interests, analysts say. Read More >>
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Prognosis negative: How California is dealing with below-zero power market prices
A rainy winter and growing solar have CAISO prices going negative and renewable energy going to waste — what should policymakers do? Read More >>
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'Steel for fuel': Xcel CEO Ben Fowke on his utility's move to a renewable-centric grid
By 2021, Xcel expects wind to be its single largest energy resource — and that means big changes to grid operations. Fowke sat down with Utility Dive to discuss what the transition entails. Read More >>
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As gas plants struggle, California seeks new flexible capacity strategies
With up to 6 GW of gas plants at risk of closure in the coming years, energy stakeholders are scrambling for new compensation techniques and zero-carbon alternatives. Read More >>
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An embarrassment of riches? Maui shows why renewables curtailment isn't all bad
While it's something to minimize, curtailment is crucial to the functioning of MECO's grid today, and the goal of reaching 100% renewables by 2045. Read More >>