Lowell power curtailed despite high power demand during recent New England heat wave

Very in-depth article on why power from a wind turbine farm in northern Vermont had to be curtailed (ie, its output deliberately reduced) to ensure stability of the local grid during a recent heat wave. Transmission line inadequacies and not having all the needed interconnection equipment were to two causes.  FYI, it starts out from the perspective of Vermonters who wonder why these turbines were not used but diesel-powered generators were, then ends with a clear explanation from ISO NE.

I recommend reading this piece if you are involved in utility-scale renewable energy projects anywhere.

Walter

PS–smaller renewable energy projects (like PV panels on homes or businesses) on their own do not usually cause these types of grid stability problems.  Another reason to push for more distributed energy in our future electrical system.

Lowell power curtailed despite high power demand during recent New England heat wave.

Georgia Solar — Tea Party Gives Boost!

Here’s a follow-up to an earlier post.  Good news for solar in the Deep South!

BTW, if you think solar is a no-brainer in the deep south because they receive so much sunshine, think again. Excellent sunshine means solar is technically very productive.  However, the South has some of the lowest electric rates in the country. Those low rates make it hard for solar (as in photovoltaics–converting sunlight to electricity) to compete with what the utilities are selling.

However, demand for electricity is increasing, and that requires the utilities to increase production by building more power plants and transmission lines/distribution lines. They in turn pass those costs on to their customers.  Therefore, electric rates are going up in some areas, even in Dixie.

PV systems built on roofs or land adjacent to buildings, however, generate electricity right where it is needed.  This eliminates the need for more power lines and lowers the demand on the grid.  If enough PV is built, then the increase in demand can be met by this “distributed” power, and utilities won’t even have to build new plants.  Of course, demand in the South is highest in the summer due to air conditioning. Happily, sunny summer afternoons are also when PV systems are cranking out large amounts of kilowatthours, too.

525 MW is about the size of a conventional power plant. So, assuming that that amount of PV is built in Georgia per this decision, that’s one less power plant Georgia Power needs to build. Fewer power plants = fewer power lines AND fewer green house gas emissions.

Now, we just need battery technology to catch up. Then all these systems can have on-site storage capability. That means they can use up stored energy created during the day at night, and may also provide some capability of keeping the lights on even when the grid goes down. On-site generation + on-site storage  = energy independence, the Nirvana of Distributed Energy!

 

Georgia Solar — Tea Party Gives Boost!.

Future Utility Success: Top 10 Best Practices – Public Power Magazine – Public Power Media

This article may seem a bit of a stretch for my blog on distributed energy. It’s essentially an advice piece by a senior consultant  for SAIC (Rebecca Shiflea) to utility companies.  However, I think it is applicable, as she brings up the point that utilities need to get prepared for the big changes coming in their business models. For example, their customers will be focusing more on reducing energy consumption (through energy efficiency) and also generating their own energy, i.e., installing distributed energy systems.  Hence my decision to post it here.

BTW, Rebecca mentions the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in her piece, explaining how SMUD is rebranding itself to improve customer loyalty.  I have worked with SMUD on a research project through my work at NEO Virtus Engineering (www.neovirtus.com).  I am not surprised they are a leader in adapting to the new paradigm in utility customer relations, as SMUD is also a leader in integrating distributed energy into their grid, including solar power production forecasting.

If you are in the utility sector or just curious for a peak behind the curtain, check out this article in Public Power Magazine.

 

Future Utility Success: Top 10 Best Practices – Public Power Magazine – Public Power Media.