Making Peace With Solar
Electric executives open up on what they’re planning next.
Electric power executives open up about their solar investments. What motivates them? What are they planning next?
Renewable
Working at the Edge of the Grid
How to find value in distributed energy resources.
Distributed resources create a new multi-directional power grid, achieving the sort of scale-driven cost levels and ease of installation that portend of future mass deployment.
Big Wind in the Big Oil State
ERCOT readies for renewable market integration.
ERCOT readies to integrate a large future influx of wind generation and finds need for new, more flexible resources to provide ancillary services – preferably a zero-to-five-minute ramping resource which, unfortunately, does not correspond to any currently existing technology or market product.
Scare Tactics
New England’s proposed capacity market reform would force generators to ‘Be There or Else.’
Facing worries about resource adequacy, ISO New England proposes changes that would penalize generators that fail to perform when needed -- for any reason. Market players say it can only work if the system operator allows for reasonable exceptions.
Community Renaissance
When one age ends, another begins.
Community microgrids raise questions about the role of the utility franchise, versus the free market.
Toward a 21st Century Grid
Producing value with advanced distribution management systems.
Changing demands from regulators, customers, and shareholders are driving utilities toward better operational technologies to manage an increasingly complex grid. Advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) promise nearly real-time operational insight for maintaining reliability, safety, and security.
Results-Based Regulation
A more dynamic approach to grid modernization.
The utility’s role is changing, and regulation must change along with it – to spur innovation and respond to evolving customer needs. Modernizing the industry will require a dynamic approach.
Reinventing the Grid
How to find a future that works.
The traditional central-station grid is evolving toward a more distributed architecture, accommodating a variety of resources spread out across the network. An open and thoughtful planning approach will allow an orderly transition to an integrated system – while fostering innovation among a wider range of industry players.
Don't Get Netflixed
The tide is turning. Are we planning for it – or hoping to stop it?
The central station system is the most cost-effective way to provide utility service, but that's beside the point. Customers don't care about 'utility service.'
Putting a Price on Carbon
How EPA can establish a U.S. GHG Program for the Electricity Sector.
With the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards expected in June 2014, many states are considering their own approaches to provide flexibility in meeting compliance requirements. Experience in North America to date provides policy guidance.