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Posts from the ‘Electricity’ Category

May 15

Participation in electric net-metering programs increased sharply in recent years

Electricity consumers are participating in net-metering programs in growing numbers. When individuals or businesses install small onsite generators (such as a rooftop solar system), they can usually enter into a net-metering agreement with their utility. Between 2003 and 2010, the average annual growth in customer participation was 56%, with a 61% increase between 2009 and 2010. While participation is increasing, electric customers with net metering represented only 0.1% of all customers in 2010.

State policies and technological developments led to an increase in residential and business consumers installing small-scale, on-site generators. Starting around the late 1990s, many states began incentive programs to encourage the installation of renewable generation (such as rebate programs, performance-based incentives, tax incentives, or low-interest loans), as well as Renewable Portfolio Standards. Tariffs standardizing aspects of net metering like compensation and interconnection rules—making it easier for consumers to participate—are also an important part of this state-based effort.

Since EIA began publishing data on the incidence of net metering in 2003, there has been growth in its application. In 2003, utilities in 38 states and the District of Columbia reported having a total of 6,813 net-metered customers. Over three quarters of those were in California with 5,242 customers; the next-largest state, Arizona, had only 330 customers.

via Participation in electric net-metering programs increased sharply in recent years – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

May 15

BrightSource Argues for a New Way to Value Solar Power Plants

How do you accurately assess and effectively manage the costs of integrating the new kind of variability from renewables like wind and solar into transmission systems that are habituated to the more familiar standards of fossil and nuclear generation?

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is considering a new formula for such a cost assessment. In his April 5 Rulemaking, Commissioner Mark Ferron described a “least cost, best fit” formula for capturing the full range of costs and benefits of renewables selected to meet the state’s 33 percent renewables by 2020 renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

In it, the Net Market Value (R) of a generation source is defined as:

Energy Value (E) + Capacity Value (C) – Post-Time-of-Delivery Adjusted Power Purchase Agreement Price (P) + Transmission Network Upgrade Costs (T) + Congestion Costs (G) + Integration Costs (I)

For an Adjusted Net Market Value (A), the CPUC would sum that Net Market Value (R) and Ancillary Services Value (S).

This is complicated stuff and researchers have not yet defined all of those factors. But it is a more effective way, explained BrightSource Energy Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications Joe Desmond, of evaluating the value a generation source is delivering into the system. “There is a lot of work being done in this area — studies by NREL, studies by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, studies by the Cal ISO — and they’re all converging on the need to look at the full cost of operating a system when we choose and compare among different resources.”

via BrightSource Argues for a New Way to Value Solar Power Plants : Greentech Media.

May 15

Policies for compensating behind-the-meter generation vary by State

Most States have policies providing incentives for the general public to produce renewable electricity onsite to “spin the meter backwards” (see map above). The terms for such net metering arrangements are typically embodied in a utility tariff.

Net metering tariffs enable customers to use the electricity they generate in excess of their consumption at certain times to offset their use of electricity from the grid at other times. These tariffs are designed to encourage distributed renewable generation—i.e., the generation of small amounts of electricity at the point of ultimate use, rather than the generation of large amounts at a central location, which must then be delivered to the end users. These arrangements describe how an electric utility customer who installs a qualifying generator (typically a rooftop solar array, less often a small wind turbine, or a small combined heat-and-power system) will be compensated by their utility for the electricity they generate in excess of their consumption.

States’ net metering policies vary in a number of ways:

Technology and fuel. States may specify only certain types of generators as eligible for net metering tariffs. In Florida, solar panels are eligible while landfill gas generators are not.

Capacity limits. Most States place some limit on the capacity of an eligible generator. These vary from the tens of kilowatts to a few megawatts, but run as high as 80 megawatts in New Mexico. Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, and New Jersey have no capacity limit. Utilities are often allowed to cap the size of net metered systems in relation to the host’s electricity consumption.

Aggregate capacity. This limits the total amount of “behind-the-meter” generation on a utility’s system eligible for a net metering tariff. California, for instance, allows utilities to decline applications for net metering tariffs if the total amount of net-metered energy would exceed 5% of the utility’s total retail sales from the previous year.

Size or type of power provider. States like Virginia may require public utilities and electric cooperatives to have net metering tariffs, while exempting municipal utilities. Others may require only large utilities to offer net metering tariffs.

Compensation. Customers effectively receive retail prices for the electricity they generate, as they are charged only for their net electricity usage (their consumption from the distribution system, over and above their onsite generation). In some States, customers receive wholesale prices (which are lower than retail prices) for their excess generation supplied to the distribution system.

via Policies for compensating behind-the-meter generation vary by State – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

May 15

Two New Reports on Utility-Scale Solar from NREL

Utility-scale solar is still something of a novelty in the renewable energy ecosystem. Large-scale deployment of these multi-megawatt (MW) installations has only recently been enabled in the United States by two key pieces of federal legislation and state-level implementation of renewable energy standards. The market boomed in 2011, adding more than 760 MW of capacity and ending the year with a bullish outlook for 2012. In April, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a series of three reports on the market, technologies, policies, and cost of energy of utility-scale solar facilities in the United States. These reports provide a comprehensive portrait of this dynamic segment of the solar market.

The first report in the series, Utility-Scale Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaics Projects: A Technology and Market Overview, offers a rundown of all the technologies that have been and are currently employed in producing solar power at the utility-scale (defined in the report as projects of 5 MW or above). Several of these technologies are familiar (e.g., crystalline silicon PV and parabolic trough solar thermal systems), but some exotic representatives are also in the mix (e.g., linear Fresnel, and the far-out “solar chimney” and “space solar” projects currently under contract with California utilities).

via Two New Reports on Utility-Scale Solar from NREL | Renewable Energy Project Finance.

May 15

Report Shows Solar Becoming Mainstream Energy Source in US

Assessment of Incentives and Employment Impacts of Solar Industry Deployment, a report commissioned by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), details how solar is fast becoming a mainstream energy source in the U.S.

The report titled “Assessment of Incentives and Employment Impacts of Solar Industry Deployment,” commissioned by the Solar Energy Industry Association and published by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

The report outlines a variety of benefits of solar energy, which include:

Its ability to reduce energy costs by providing much of the nation’s electricity needs during peak usage times;

Its potential to produce hundreds of thousands of jobs; and

Its tremendous export potential for solar manufacturing and materials.

Download the UT Report: Solar Growing as Viable US Energy Source | Tennessee Today

via Report Shows Solar Becoming Mainstream Energy Source in US | Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

May 15

U.S. Coal Generation Drops 19 Percent In One Year, Leaving Coal With 36 Percent Share Of Electricity

Power generation from coal is falling quickly. According to new figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal made up 36 percent of U.S. electricity in the first quarter of 2012 — down from 44.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011.

That stunning drop, which represented almost a 20 percent decline in coal generation over the last year, was primarily due to low natural gas prices. As EIA explains, natural gas generation will climb steadily this year, while coal will see a double-digit drop by the end of 2012:

Natural‐gas‐fired generation continues to expand its share of total generation at the expense of coal‐fired generation. During the first quarter of 2012, natural gas accounted for 28.7 percent of total generation compared with 20.7 percent during the same quarter last year. In contrast, coal’s share of total generation declined from 44.6 percent to 36.0 percent over the same period.

Prices for natural gas delivered to the electric power industry fell by 7.5 percent in 2011, which contributed to a significant increase in the share of natural‐gas‐fired generation. EIA expects this trend to continue in 2012, with electric power sector coal consumption falling by 14 percent. Natural gas in the electric power sector grows by almost 21 percent in 2012, primarily driven by the increasing relative cost advantages of natural gas over coal for power generation in some regions.

via U.S. Coal Generation Drops 19 Percent In One Year, Leaving Coal With 36 Percent Share Of Electricity | ThinkProgress.

May 15

How U.S. Utilities Can Avoid A Risky $2 Trillion Bet

When your company’s job is to keep the lights on, you have to be cautious about risk. Power has to be there when people need it.

Risk comes in different forms, and there are times when business as usual becomes a risk in itself. America’s electric utilities are approaching just such a moment.

Across the country, a generation of power plants and transmission systems is aging and needs to be replaced. At the same time, rules on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are tightening. Clean energy technologies are getting cheaper and gaining market share. These shifts coincide with record spending: Utilities are expected to make $2 trillion in capital investments over the next 20 years – about double their recent spending rate.

How to move forward in this complex, risky environment? That’s the subject of a new report from Ceres, Practicing Risk-Aware Electricity Regulation: What Every State Regulator Needs to Know.

The industry experts who wrote the report analyzed a range of investment decisions utilities could make over the next two decades – decisions that will determine which utilities prosper and how their shareholders, ratepayers, and the wider society will be affected. The economic as well as environmental stakes are high.

via How U.S. Utilities Can Avoid A Risky $2 Trillion Bet | ThinkProgress.

May 14

I Want My TLC: Attaining Transparency, Longevity and Certainty in the California Renewables Market

Back in 2009, Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors (“DB”) published a study tracking 270 major climate policies in 109 countries. The study concluded that successful programs were those that offered investors “TLC” — transparency, longevity, certainty — a comprehensive, stable, and predictable set of rules that infused markets with a sense of clarity and security. The research went on to find that the United States lacked TLC and was lagging behind other countries, notably China and Germany. A more recent DB paper found little to cheer about at the Federal level in the U.S. Referring to the gridlock in Congress on energy policy, the paper noted “…while Congress stumbles, the U.S. stands to fall behind.”

While other countries have adopted strong policy frameworks with integrated plans and clear targets, incentives and mandates, the Federal regulatory regime has been described as a “chaotic patchwork, constantly changing,” with short-term approaches that amount to nothing more than just stop gap measures, with many sun-setting in 2011. A glaring example of this shortsightedness is Congress’ failure thus far to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind projects, which expires at the end of 2012.

Given the long lead-time needed for siting, permitting, interconnecting, and financing wind projects, the industry has come to a virtual standstill with only projects certain of qualifying for the PTC moving forward. Other PTCs expire in 2013, and other programs such as the 1603, 1703, and 1705 incentives ended last year. (The recently proposed rule for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants announced by the Obama administration may restore some credibility in the U.S., but it is too early to tell.)

via I Want My TLC: Attaining Transparency, Longevity and Certainty in the California Renewables Market | Renewable Energy News Article.

May 14

Winners and Losers in the Renewable Energy Race

According to a recent Pew Charitable Trust report entitled, “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race,” the United States overtook China in green energy investments during 2011 after lagging behind for the previous two years.

When you add up asset finance, public markets, venture capital, and small distributed investments together, we spent $48.1 billion compared to China’s $45.5 billion.

Part of this growth stems from a number of expiring U.S. incentives. Essentially, developers, manufacturers, and investors in the States rushed to fund pipelined projects in order to take advantage of renewable energy tax breaks and rebates that were about to be shelved.

In other words, green energy bragging rights for 2012 and beyond could very well go back to China now that this last-minute rush is over.

via Winners and Losers in the Renewable Energy Race | US Solar Institute.

May 14

Saudi Arabia targets 41GW of solar installations by 2032

Representatives from the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE), the government body directing alternative energy development, have announced the country’s ambitious long-term goals for solar power. The oil-rich kingdom aims to have installed 41GW of concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar PV projects by 2032, 25GW and 16GW respectively.

Plans to construct geothermal, biomass, wind and nuclear plants were also announced on at the Saudi Solar Energy Forum in Riyadh on May 8, 2012. The proposed framework would cost tens of billions of dollars and see Saudi Arabia producing almost 25% of its electricity from solar power installations. Solar PV projects will supply the country’s daytime electricity demand, while high-capacity CSP plants will provide the majority of solar power, while including thermal storage facilities.

If the plans come to fruition, Saudi Arabia will become one of the world’s largest solar power producers. The plans are currently under assessment from the KA-CARE board, though approval is expected to be granted for the scheme in the coming weeks.

via Saudi Arabia targets 41GW of solar installations by 2032 | PV-Tech.

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