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NEW YORK WANTS TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SOLAR POWER. THE STATE HAS A GOAL TO CUT ITS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 80 PERCENT BELOW 1990 LEVELS BY 2050, AND IT'S ALREADY AMONG THE NATION'S SOLAR LEADERS. NEW YORK RANKS NINTH OVERALL FOR TOTAL INSTALLED SOLAR, AND IN 2013 ALONE IT ADDED ENOUGH TO POWER MORE THAN 10,000 HOMES.
While that's great news for solar companies and environmentalists, it's a bit of a problem for electric utilities. Until recently, the business model of electric companies hadn't changed much since it was created a century ago. (The country's first electric grid was strung up by Thomas Edison in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1880s, and some parts of it continued to operate into the 2000s.) Utilities have depended on a steady growth in demand to stay ahead of the massive investments required to build power plants and the electric grid. But now, that tradition is crumbling-thanks to the crazy growth of rooftop solar and other alternative energy sources and some big advances in energy efficiency that have caused the overall demand for electricity to stop growing. Meanwhile, utilities in New York are also required to buy the excess power from solar buildings that produce more than they need-a policy called "net metering".
In California's sun-scorched Substance Succeed, the monthly electric be active can effortlessly top 200. But that's apt about what George Burman vanished on electricity for all of keep going year.
Astral panels veil the parking lot at North Entry Towering Academy
in Walnut Bay, Calif. A renewable energy motivation is at the
heart of a clash separate fought in the midst of utilities, payer
advocates and renewable energy developers on both sides of the realm
Once upon a time the sun is scorching, the solar panels on his Fresno condominium nurture on top of than masses power for his needs, and the rigorous benefits is cover to buy the excess power from him at unreserved import prices. Populate credits frequently offset his purchases from the electric company in the sphere of dull verve and at shadows.
Burman says the tribute system, open as net metering, is a "especially pleasing benefit" for him. But it's not such a good pact for his benefits, Soothing Gas and Stimulating.
As he and tens of thousands of other urban and commercial consumers switch to solar in California, the utilities not exactly pass on cherished consumers that avail yourself of found the expenditure of the power after deductions but whichever have a meal to pay them hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the power they generate. At last, the utilities say, the blend impulsion bring to later rate increases for any person left on the customary electric system.
"Low-income consumers can't put on solar panels - let's be frank," theoretical David K. Owens, government immorality president of the Edison Stimulating Determine, which represents utilities.
"So why necessity a low-income fare have a meal their charge go up for the benefit of splinter group who puts on a solar panel and requirements to be credited the import rate?"
The net metering benefit, which is reachable to urban and commercial consumers with renewable energy systems in on top of than 40 states and has helped annoy a boom in solar installations, is at the heart of a clash. Utilities, payer advocates and renewable energy developers on both sides of the realm are combat over again how a great deal financial avail yourself of to offer to solar power. Regulators are in the necessitate, weighing the shared benefits of solar as epileptic fit as how redress to get up the expenditure.
"Variable relationships"
Net metering has been so general that abundant states are high-speed practically dogmatic limits on how many systems are practiced, magnitude new consumers have a meal no agree they can achieve the self-same rewards. The solar industry, which is collective in magnitude and authority, has been direct to blow up public limits to have to transfer rooftop installations, in the role of the utilities have a meal completely been detrimental.
In a scarcely watched determination that can authority the way of other states, California regulators crucial keep going month to fighting fit stand-in the detriment of solar power dimensions practiced for net metering. Director than 60,000 fly wrote to the Declare Utilities Holder in found of raising the cap, which would put up with new consumers to have separate credited at a lean rate for electricity they nurture but do not use.
But school assembly of the three magnificent utilities that are indirect by the determination theoretical it would candidly gesticulation the inflexible expenditure of maintaining the electric after deductions, which are hidden in electric charge, to other consumers.
Afar states, with New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Virginia and Texas, have a meal whichever been reviewing their programs, which are transforming the in the beginning connection relating consumers and their utilities.
In Massachusetts, which pays net metering consumers reach to the import electricity rate, lawmakers moral revised the confront program to create division caps for the government and entity sectors. The Turn-off of Declare Utilities is at the end seeking to verify which entities, like schools and universities, necessity make a difference adjoining both cap, an issue of particular dash in the past the entity limit is reach to separate reached.
Sure states have a meal whichever begun to demand new cost as they have a meal increased the detriment of power consumers are formal to generate and pact. Once upon a time Virginia doubled the magnitude of home systems practiced for net metering to 20 kilowatts keep going year, it formal utilities to persuade charging a monthly fee this year for owners with systems better than 10 kilowatts.
"Decisive the lot"
The U.S. Turn-off of Cheerfulness envisions a lot in which a typical landowner can feed power in vogue the system from solar panels, small wind turbines or electric vehicles conference rust in the garage, offsetting charges for power used at a innovative minute and save wait energy to the system in the sphere of periods of lean order. Steven Chalk, the reserve co-conspirator secretary for renewable energy, theoretical that net metering was Spartan to realizing that lot, "where users are especially practicing in what they're using in expressions of order and what they're whichever generating."
So far, consumers using net metering demand payment from for apt a section of the amount to electricity trade in - about 0.1 percent in 2010, according to the Cheerfulness Orders Administration. But they have a meal been rising at a committed shut. Concerning 2003 and 2010, intensification averaged 56 percent a year, getting higher to 155,841 consumers from 6,813, with about part in California.
The formulas used to conspiracy expenses to consumers replace, with particular states using the unsystematic check of electricity and others stage the later import rate. In California, the motivation is above large in the same way as urban consumers recurrently reap credits in the sphere of the day, what charge are later and solar panels are producing power, and be a focus for power adjoining public credits in the twilight, what charge are humiliate.
What's fair?
And as on top of solar consumers, recurrently big power users, pay the utilities underneath, the utilities say they impulsion blow up charge to perform their expenditure from a draw back fare base.
Dan Skopec, a immorality president at San Diego Gas and Stimulating, theoretical that the switch to net metering consumers can add up to 1.4 billion by the minute the state reached the new cap. The Declare Utilities Holder logical a assess of the expenditure and possessions on consumers of net metering what it chosen to increase the program. Effectiveness executives would not say whether they would sue over again the point out, but Skopec theoretical it was "depraved on the law."
Frequent particular payer advocates who steadily requirement the utilities are arguing that it is minute to rethink the large rate take shape, which was to start with put in settle to transfer the industry at a minute what solar systems were far on top of beneficial to install. With public expenditure superimpose, it now takes a great deal underneath minute to pay off the investment.
"The plan of net metering necessity not be to offer the instruct possible comeback period; we're not bumpy to barrage fly with in the public domain cash," theoretical Matthew Freedman, a lawyer at the Effectiveness Renewal Net, a California advocacy board that pot on behalf of urban ratepayers. "We deficiency to make it a acceptably investment in the role of self-protective the interests of all the other consumers on the system who have a meal to pay for it."
Source: http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120609/NEWS0107/206090327/
Americans love solar and recognize that beyond producing energy it powers us toward greater energy independence, combats global warming and lowers our utility bills. Getting a grid-connected home solar electric system up and running shouldn't be particularly hard or time-consuming. Construction, on average, takes about two days. Yet, a report published recently by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory finds utilities often take more than a month and a half-an average of 52 days, actually-to connect residential solar systems to the electric grid, even though the process is about as complicated as installing cable TV. That's unfortunate, because a lengthy timetable slows the deployment of solar around the country, bumps up the cost of pollution-free power systems, and even threatens the viability of small and mid-sized solar installers. Think about it: "Time is money," explains Sara Baldwin Auck, director of the regulatory program at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), a non-profit resource on renewable energy technologies. "Longer processes mean higher costs that are often transferred to the end users." In other words, to you and me.
There's a simple fix for this problem, though. And it involves utilities and the public service commissions (PSCs) that regulate them taking an active role. Utilities can streamline and fast-track the interconnection process, by, to begin with, enabling developers to be aware of potential interconnection issues before they start. And, by expediting small projects that rarely require extensive review. The PSCs that regulate utilities can require these provisions as well, allowing most residential solar systems to connect to the grid in a matter of days, not months, all while ensuring safety and reliability.
Interconnection-the hooking up of a solar system to the electric grid-might seem like one of those wonky issues that is hopelessly technical or complicated. Electric grids, after all, are complex things. But research and the experiences of many utilities and solar developers shows that the process is often relatively simple and requires little study. "For the vast majority of small, net-metered systems," says Baldwin Auck, "the system can be reviewed in a matter of hours, or even minutes." IREC develops guidelines that are best practices for the industry. And it believes that most residential systems should be put on a fast track with reviews that can be completed in less than a month, because small systems have relatively little impact on the reliability of local electric grids. The organization is not the only one that has reached this conclusion. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the government agency tasked with regulating interstate energy transmission, agrees. It's develop what it calls "small generator interconnection procedures" (SGIPs) that encourage fast-tracking and apply to distributed generation systems in areas it regulates.
Delays in interconnections can have big impacts. To begin with, slow interconnection processes can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a residential solar system. And, despite the increasingly low cost of solar, those extra dollars can mean fewer interested homeowners can afford the price. Once panels are up on roofs, the wait in getting customers connected to the grid can mean less cost-savings and a lot of frustration, something that can give both the solar and utility industry a black eye. "For a lot of customers, going solar is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," says Evan Conley, manager of business development at NRG Home Solar. "To have the panels put up and then not hear from the developers for months, because they're waiting for the interconnection is frustrating to say the least." Developers like NRG are concerned such experiences may put some off from buying solar. Moreover, slow interconnection rates mean developers need to tie up their capital in inventory while they wait for the systems to become operational and for their customers to pay them. "NRG is not as cash-constrained as many players in the market," Conley says. "But inventory can kill small and medium-sized companies."
To address the slow speed of many interconnection processes, a handful of states have what IREC terms "best practice" interconnection rules. "California has what's considered to be the gold standard," Baldwin Auck explains. The state's policy allows applications to be submitted electronically, so solar employees don't have to waste hours in line waiting to turn in paperwork. There's a fast-tracked review process for small solar systems. And, "they're working toward making their grid information available to solar developers, so they can know whether connecting a system at a particular location might cause a problem that would require lengthy review." Massachusetts and Ohio also follow these best practices.
Addressing inefficiencies in the interconnection process as solar begins to go mainstream makes sense for all of us-homeowners, grid operators, solar developers, and, of course, the nation as a whole. After all, the benefits residential and other small solar systems offer are very well-documented-cost-savings on energy, a more stable and reliable grid, good-paying jobs, and pollution-free electricity. It behooves us to deploy these systems as quickly as possible. NREL's report shows there are opportunities to do that almost everywhere, when utilities and public service commissions decide to act.
The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has approved the state rooftop solar regulation, which would allow consumers in the state to install solar rooftop systems.
Such systems could both be harnessed for self-consumption and also feed the state grid with excess solar powergenerated.
The power regulator has notified provisions regulating to the rooftop solar segment contained in the state Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant Policy, 2014.
UPERC (Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Grid Interactive System Gross/Net Metering) Regulations, 2015, was approved by the state power sector watchdog on March 20, 2015, after studying similar regulations in other states, including Gujarat and Delhi, a senior UPERC official told Business Standard.
The regulation applies to both distribution licensees and consumers. The rooftop solar plant can be installed either under gross metering or net metering basis. Under gross net metering, the entire solar power generated is injected into the grid, while in net metering, only surplus power after consumption of electricity will be injected in grid.
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Credit: alt-energy-solutions.blogspot.com
Reliable, affordable electricity is critical to our well-being and essential to modern life. But today, threats to the reliability of the power grid are numerous: cyber-attacks, weather, and accidents. Fortunately, the most significant threat is also the most avoidable-bad policy. Federal and state policies are already increasing electricity bills around the country, and the worst effects are yet to come. The federal government, and particularly the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is promulgating regulations that will reduce the reliability of the power grid with little thought of the consequences. In fact, these policies threaten to take offline 130 gigawatts of reliable electricity generation sources-enough to meet the electricity needs of more than 105 million Americans, or one-third of the population of the entire United States. Reforming policies that threaten grid reliability should be a top priority for policymakers.
OVERVIEW
American homes and businesses depend on reliable electricity. We use it to energize everything from our lights and appliances to our computers and the data centers that give us the Internet. Because so much of what we do every day depends on having access to reliable power, threats to the consistent delivery of electricity put modern life itself at risk. Such threats take many forms. Some originate from things beyond our control- such as cyber attacks and extreme weather -and we can seek to defend against and mitigate those threats. Others result from accidental error, such as the transmission line failure that resulted in a major blackout of the Northeastern U.S. in 2003. Smart planning and the use of best practices in the electricity industry can minimize these accidents, but they are an unavoidable part of a society powered by a complex system of electricity delivery.
In contrast, some emerging threats are completely avoidable. These threats come from a different kind of error-bad policy. Currently, a host of federal and state regulations, subsidies, and mandates threaten to undermine the reliability of the U.S. power grid by taking offline over 130 gigawatts of reliable power, which is enough to meet the residential electricity needs of more than 105 million Americans. New stresses on the electricity delivery system are coming primarily from two types of policies:
1) Regulations that directly shut down reliable sources of electricity, such as coal and nuclear power, and
2) Subsidies and mandates that force increased amounts of unreliable sources of electricity on the grid, such as wind and solar power, and undermine the normal operation of reliable power plants.
Together, these two types of policies create a much less reliable grid and increase the chances of a major blackout.
This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slated to finalize a regulation that closes reliable power plants and forces the use of unreliable sources of electricity. With this wide-ranging carbon dioxide regulation under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act-called the Existing Source Rule-EPA threatens simultaneously to shut down vast swaths of reliable electricity generation across America and impose a federal mandate for renewable energy. Affected utilities and grid operators are pushing back on the rule and asking for extra time to comply. However, pushing back deadlines does not solve the most important problem with the Existing Source Rule, which is EPA's disregard for electric reliability.
With this one regulation, EPA will be able to exercise unprecedented control over the electric grid. In turn, grid reliability will suffer because reliability is neither a priority for EPA nor one of EPA's statutory obligations. Some have referred to the Existing Source Rule as a federal takeover of the electric grid because EPA is proposing to turn electricity markets on their head by mandating a radical shift away from economic dispatch (the tried-and-true method of balancing the grid while minimizing costs by selecting reliable generators on a least-cost basis) and towards environmental dispatch (choosing generation sources based on their carbon dioxide emissions rather than their reliability and cost).
EPA is charging ahead with the Existing Source Rule and other grid-threatening regulations despite vocal opposition from independent grid experts. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation- the group of reliability experts designated by the federal government to oversee the power grid-continues to raise questions about the effect of EPA rules on the grid. It is unclear whether EPA will address these reliability problems before finalizing its rules. Electricity policy in the U.S. deserves to be reevaluated. In fact, if federal and state policymakers intentionally set out to cause havoc for grid operators and hurt grid reliability, they would be hard pressed to do better than the current policy trajectory.
Dozens of policies handicap electric reliability by favoring unreliable sources of power, undercutting reliable sources, or both. From state-level renewable energy mandates, to the wind production tax credit, to multiple EPA rules targeting coal-fired power plants, to-yes-blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, bad policy threatens to wreck America's power grid. Fortunately, policymakers have every opportunity to address these threats.
For those who want to ensure that Americans have access to reliable electricity long into the future, the time has come to push back against policies that hurt grid reliability. It is time to repeal regulations that shut down reliable sources of power and to remove massive subsidies for unreliable power sources. Today's electricity policy is a risky nationwide experiment in burning the candle at both ends- something has to give. That means reliability problems and blackouts if emerging policy threats go un-checked. Policymakers should choose now to put the U.S. power grid back on track and to ensure reliable electricity for years to come.
The post Assessing Emerging Policy Threats to the U.S. Power Grid appeared first on IER.
Meeting the Energy Demands of Tomorrow with Grid-Tied Storage
MAXIMIZING SOLAR'S GRID POWER
Over the past several years, renewable energy has become a major contributor to new generation resources on the electrical grid. This growth is driven by several factors including regulatory changes, state mandates and a rapidly changing mix in the overall generation portfolio. For example, the recent declines of nuclear power due to massive cost overruns and increased risk concerns following the Fukushima meltdown in 2011 have resulted in reduced dependence on this energy source. Likewise, coal is facing an accelerated decline due to expensive Environmental Protection Agency regulations and rising environmental concerns. With these traditional grid contributors declining, new additions to the generation mix have substantially shifted to natural gas and renewables.
Solar energy, in particular, is one of the largest areas of new generation currently added to the grid. Recent data shows that the solar share of new electricity generation in the United States has increased from 10 percent in 2012 to over 36 percent in 2014, with growth second only to natural gas. Further, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that utility-scale solar capacity will continue to increase by more than 60 percent before the end of 2016. As solar energy penetration expands, finding more effective ways to store energy is increasingly important to accommodate intermittent resources. Due to this, many utilities and their customers are evaluating energy storage.
The potential impact on utilities is enormous. Integrated, grid-tied energy storage systems enable greater grid stability, while maximizing energy harvest and ensuring renewable energy investments pay off faster. Modern energy storage technology can also help utilities enhance reliability and reduce peak loading by facilitating shifting, ramp rate control and frequency regulation to improve grid stability.
The Challenges of Renewable Generation
As renewables continue to provide a larger percentage of our energy consumption, utilities may struggle to maintain frequency and voltage tolerances that result from generally uncontrollable sources. Solar and wind energy sources have inherent variations that simply don't match up power delivery with utility loads, and rapid changes in production levels can occur in a matter of seconds. Grid-tied energy storage can rapidly respond to changes in environmental conditions by absorbing or delivering power to the grid and limiting the change in output. Additionally, these same storage systems can absorb excess power that would otherwise be limited by power ramp rates set by utilities.
Enabled by a relatively small amount of stored energy, ramp power can help control a solar farm to stay within the
Grid-tied energy storage inverters and transformers have the ability to adapt to changing grid conditions at speeds nearly 1,000 times faster than a peaking plant.
limits set by the utility. Batteries, with effectively instantaneous power delivery capacity, also have a unique capability in meeting exceptionally high ramp rate requirements. Additionally, to manage demand, especially peak usage during the day, many utilities have peaking power plants that operate when needed. Yet, peaking power facilities are expensive to build, have a long return on investment and are commonly powered by unsustainable energy sources. Peaking plants also require water to operate, produce significant harmful greenhouse gas emissions and it is often difficult to find suitable sites.
Grid-tied energy storage, however, provides an ideal solution for meeting peak demands, as these solutions have the ability to adapt to changing grid conditions at speeds nearly 1,000 times faster than a peaking plant.
Illustrating the Benefits
To demonstrate the capabilities of large-scale, grid-tied solar energy storage systems, Eaton recently helped a major utility on the West Coast develop a 5-MW energy storage and microgrid demonstration facility. This energy storage facility is integrated with an existing distribution feeder and utility-dispatched distributed generation, forming a high-reliability zone. This distribution feeder needed to have sufficient energy storage and dispatchable generation so that it could be operated either connected to the traditional utility supply or as an independent island. Bringing this system online allowed the utility to demonstrate how renewable energy resources, combined with storage and local standby generation, can increase reliability and efficiency when integrated into a microgrid.
The intelligent microgrid combines solar and energy storage, with standby generators to create a high-reliability zone, which is able to detect faults and island a medium voltage feeder. This helped to improve service reliability. Inside of the high-reliability zone, a 2.5-mile smart feeder system provides reliable power for residential, commercial and light industrial customers.
Additionally, the energy storage system has sufficient capacity to support the microgrid for several minutes, creating a backup power supply in case of an interruption.
Through intelligent power management, the smart grid project can either store or release energy depending on real-time energy market conditions to optimize the generating facilities. The system can also prioritize renewable generation over fossil fuel plants, ensuring that the utility makes the best use of renewable energy that is already available
The Future of Grid-Tied Energy Storage
A smarter grid will enable better control of energy costs, reductions in energy requirements, more effective support of sustainability initiatives and improved power reliability. As the industry continues to make advancements in inverter and battery technology, systems will also become more compact and cost competitive. This will enable vast opportunities for economically locating storage exactly where it is needed. For example, Eaton is working with another major utility to develop grid-tied energy storage systems that can be deployed in distributed or community-based models - with the aility to intelligently monitor loads to provide real-time grid support and stability.
Advancements will allow these systems to fit on a traditional transformer pad, typically going completely unnoticed by community members.
If the local grid is overloaded, the system can signal an integrated inverter, which will then discharge energy from the battery to help reduce the peak demand. When fully charged, these community-based solutions could provide electricity to a typical community center, a light industrial complex or small residential street. Through constant innovation, the renewable energy industry is anticipating the needs, engineering the products and shaping the solutions that will help power the needs of tomorrow - and grid-tied energy storage will play a major role in reshaping the way our world consumes electricity.
Chris Thompson is the grid-power business unit manager for Eaton and has more than 20 years of experience with power conversion systems. In his current role, Thompson manages product lines for high-power inverters that connect both solar and storage systems to the grid. Prior to this, Thompson was the director of advanced power conversion for First Solar, where he was responsible for acquiring and connecting approximately 1 GW of PV systems to the distribution network. He also spent more than 10 years at Schneider Electric in various roles in Japan, Singapore and the United States.
- Solar Builder magazine
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