Distributed Energy
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Virtual power plant grid participation can grow with new business models, market rules: Guidehouse
Growth of virtual power plants will require system operators and regulators to develop supportive market frameworks, according to Guidehouse.
By Robert Walton • June 7, 2023 -
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Sponsored by Burns & McDonnellWhy HVDC cables are poised to provide valuable alternatives
HVDC technology could be a valuable tool in the U.S. energy transition, but it will need to overcome some constraints.
By Bob Hobson, Associate Technical Associate Consultant, Burns & McDonnell • June 5, 2023 -
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TrendlineSustainability
Power companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.
By Utility Dive staff -
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AI, climate change, fuel cells among energy transition ‘disconnects’ for utilities: Morgan Stanley
“Not all incumbent utilities will gain from the energy transition,” analysts said in a report issued Wednesday. Those that could be challenged include Consolidated Edison, Entergy and NextEra.
By Ethan Howland • June 2, 2023 -
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AlphaStruxure partners with Maryland county on first East Coast bus depot to produce green hydrogen
Construction on the depot, which will serve a fleet of 200 hydrogen buses through an electrolyzer, is scheduled to conclude by the end of 2025.
By Patrick Cooley • May 18, 2023 -
Courtesy of Bechtel
OpinionGeorgia’s Plant Vogtle is a $35B boondoggle. We need new and better solutions for a carbon-free grid.
Urgent utility business model reforms are needed to create a 21st-century, people-centered grid that delivers affordable fossil-free solutions.
By Patty Durand • May 18, 2023 -
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California could face $50B price tag by 2035 to prepare grid for DERs, study finds
The state could also see system-level peak load increase by 56% from 2025 to 2035, driven largely by transportation electrification, the study by analytics firm Kevala for the California Public Utilities Commission found.
By Kavya Balaraman • May 16, 2023 -
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Deep DiveHawaii leads the way on advanced rate design with default time-of-use rates, fixed charge innovations
Hawaii’s planned granular cost study still must prove to other states that the new TOU rates, fixed charge framework, and new way of defining costs will allocate costs accurately, analysts said.
By Herman K. Trabish • May 9, 2023 -
Courtesy of Apple
NGOs suing California PUC, utilities over net metering update could face ‘fairly steep’ challenge: attorney
The lawsuit names the California Public Utilities Commission and the state’s three investor-owned utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric — as respondents.
By Kavya Balaraman • May 9, 2023 -
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California regulators approve PG&E, Energy Vault green hydrogen and battery microgrid
The microgrid’s planned use of green hydrogen fuel cells and batteries marks a departure from PG&E’s earlier practice of using diesel generators for backup power during outages.
By Kavya Balaraman • May 1, 2023 -
Permission granted by Burns & McDonnell
Sponsored by Burns & McDonnellLet’s not forget about how renewables will impact the distribution grid
As many more zero-carbon generation sources connect to the grid, the urgency of grid modernization programs will continue to increase. Discover how the rise of renewables will drive the need for upgrades on our distribution systems.
By Luke Ezell, PE, Account Manager, Burns & McDonnell • May 1, 2023 -
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Xcel launches microgrid-based resiliency service for large Minnesota commercial, industrial customers
In Wisconsin, where the Empower Resiliency program was already offered, Xcel reached a deal to develop energy assets to power the Bayfield County jail and courthouse.
By Robert Walton • April 26, 2023 -
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NREL, UL publish requirements for a new distributed energy resource cybersecurity standard
UL Solutions has published testing and certification requirements that will be converted into standard UL 2941 after review by the company’s standard technical panel.
By Robert Walton • April 24, 2023 -
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North Carolina eases transition from fixed to variable net metering rates for some Duke Energy customers
Solar panel installers worried that the variable rate would discourage customers from installing solar panels because variable rates are less predictable.
By Patrick Cooley • April 21, 2023 -
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DOE offers Sunnova $3B partial loan guarantee for low-income solar, storage
It would be the first time that the agency’s Loan Programs Office has guaranteed a collection of small assets, LPO Director Jigar Shah said.
By Diana DiGangi • April 21, 2023 -
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Sunrun, others adapt as California’s new net metering rules spur booming interest in energy storage
The attachment rates of storage systems to distributed solar in California are projected to increase from around 11% today to over 80% by 2027, according to Wood Mackenzie.
By Kavya Balaraman • April 20, 2023 -
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Deep DiveWith looming EV load spikes, PG&E, Duke, other utilities adopt new rate design and cost recovery strategies
New dynamic time-varying rates and demand charge adjustments from California to the Carolinas could align customer usage with utility costs to make EVs a system benefit, rate design experts said
By Herman K. Trabish • April 18, 2023 -
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North Carolina forges new path on net metering as other states cut rooftop solar incentives
State regulators partially accepted a deal worked out by Duke Energy and other stakeholders that includes a variable payment approach to net metering based on overall electricity demand on the grid.
By Patrick Cooley • March 31, 2023 -
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California, CPower, Enel, AutoGrid, Voltus dominate virtual power plant market: WoodMac
Nearly a quarter of the virtual power plant projects in North America are located in California, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie.
By Emma Penrod • March 31, 2023 -
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Sponsored by GridspertiseA new era for smart meters: shifting intelligence to the Edge
The new generation of smart meters that are being developed by Gridspertise are the core of this innovation, since data management is performed both in the cloud and at the edge, closer to the source, enabling near-real time response.
March 20, 2023 -
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Deep DiveTreasury Department guidance urgently needed to tap IRA’s clean energy ‘gold mine,’ analysts say
Clarifications defining Inflation Reduction Act provisions on labor, domestic content, energy community, and clean hydrogen are urgently needed to put the “boldest action” by Congress to work, they say.
By Herman K. Trabish • March 16, 2023 -
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Deep DiveDuke, APS planning reforms show ways to work with stakeholders to meet emerging power system needs
Integrated planning with deeper modeling and greater stakeholder engagement may slow overburdened regulators and utilities now, but will lead to better long-term decision-making, planners and analysts agree.
By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 28, 2023 -
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CPUC poised to reject Sunnova’s plan to build microgrids in new residential communities
Sunnova’s proposal involves owning and operating microgrids as part of new, master-planned residential communities that would include up to 2,000 homes and some non-residential facilities.
By Kavya Balaraman • Feb. 21, 2023 -
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Deep DiveNew power system cybersecurity architectures can be ‘vaults’ against insider attacks, analysts say
Utility operations facing hackers now, and a future of minimally-protected distributed energy resources, will need smarter, more complex defenses, from control rooms to customer-owned devices, analysts said.
By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 17, 2023 -
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Sponsored by SenseUtility regulators must make smart decisions about smart meters: delays could be costly to consumers
For the first time ever, energy consumers and the technology providers that serve them have access to real-time energy data.
By Colin Gibbs, VP Energy Services, Sense • Feb. 13, 2023 -
Courtesy of AlphaStruxure
US microgrid market to grow 19% annually through 2027, Wood Mackenzie projects
Microgrids continue to add capacity as green initiatives spur development, but high costs associated with renewable technology remain a challenge, a Wood Mackenzie analyst said.
By Henrik Nilsson • Feb. 8, 2023
