What’s working and what’s not working with interconnection in the Southeast and across the country? Join IREC and SEIA at Solar Power Southeast in Atlanta on May 14, 1:00-4:30 and find out!
energy storage 
Report Guides States to Optimize Modern Electric Grid
An in-depth guide released by IREC, Optimizing the Grid: A Regulator’s Guide to Hosting Capacity Analyses for Distributed Energy Resources, will help states manage the grid redesign with new analytical tools and the benefit of lessons learned from states leading the way.
Sharing the Burden and the Benefits: The Quandary of Allocating DER Interconnection Costs
Interconnecting DERs to the distribution grid is generally a “cost-causer pays” system: consumers who want solar pay for necessary distribution system upgrades, even when the upgrades will likely support future interconnection projects. What’s more, future projects benefit from investment in the grid’s infrastructure and could escape upgrade fees. Economics and fairness theories aside, this practice can kill perfectly viable and beneficial projects that didn’t budget for high upgrade costs and cause major delays in the process.
Solar Codes and Safety Forum Presented During Intersolar
With an introductory perspective from IREC President/CEO Larry Sherwood, national solar code and technical experts Jerry Henderson and Pete Jackson discussed recent solar code updates and the impact on those tasked with enforcement.
IREC Helps Iowa Improve its Interconnection Standards
After nearly two years, the Hawkeye State recently made some notable improvements to its state interconnection procedures which will make it easier and more streamlined for distributed renewable energy and energy storage projects to connect to the grid. IREC played…
Deploying Distributed Energy Storage: Near-term Regulatory Considerations to Maximize Benefits
As the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources continues to grow in the U.S., particularly from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, technologies that can facilitate increased deployment of renewable energy, such as distributed energy storage, are front and center in state and national discussions. A report released today by IREC offers independent insight on how to address these new challenges – and opportunities – in the regulatory arena.
Landmark Report Released by IREC: Easing the Transition to a More Distributed Electricity System
Multiple compounding factors are driving national movement toward a more modern electricity grid, one that enables a cleaner energy future. A thought-leading report released today by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) offers a unique look at easing that transition, and offers five insightful approaches for state utility regulators who, ultimately, will facilitate this transition through the rules and regulations that govern the electricity system and electric utilities.
The New Mod Squad – Grid modernization for our shifting energy resources
We’ve heard a lot about smart grid over the past decade, but to achieve a truly intelligent grid we need to do much more than switch out analog meters for their digital counterparts. We must also implement comprehensive new regulatory structures to make use of the data and functionality provided by these equipment upgrades. In other words, we need to modernize the grid in addition to our modes of interacting with it.
FERC’s Energy Storage Ruling Could Jump-Start Big Batteries
If the price of grid-scale energy storage fell to zero dollars per megawatt-hour, regulators and utilities would still be puzzled in how to deploy the boon of energy storage. That’s because storage doesn’t fit neatly into the electrical utility’s regulatory universe of generation, distribution, and load — or into the utility rate recovery structure. But that regulatory uncertainty is starting to clear.
California Commission Sets Groundbreaking Energy Storage Goals for Utilities
On October 17, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established an energy storage target of 1,325 megawatts for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric by 2020, with installations required no later than the end of 2024.“This decision represents an important first step in encouraging the storage market and supporting grid reliability,” said Commissioner Carla J. Peterman, the lead Commissioner for this proceeding.
