Source: ERCOT Energy produced in Texas using renewable resources grew by 12 percent in 2013, while capacity increased by about 2 percent. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) provided these updates on statewide renewable energy reporting to the Public…
grid 
Xcel asks federal regulators to ensure wind power pays its own way
Source: Denver Business Journal As wind energy grows as a power source in Colorado, Xcel Energy Inc. is asking federal regulators for permission to change the way it charges other utilities that use Xcel’s transmission lines to move their wind-based power to…
Tagged with: distribution grid, grid, grid connections, grid reliability, grid support, transmission lines upgrades
Transmission: More than Meets the Eye
True or false: Transmission and transmission planning are only relevant to large, conventional electricity generators, and distributed renewables are only concerned with the distribution system, and never the twain shall meet. For many decades, this statement was profoundly true. But nowadays, with evolving technologies, improved planning processes and an expanded emphasis on integrated systems, the two previously disparate elements of our energy system are beginning to intersect.
Tagged with: capital cost assumptions, DG, distributed generation, distributed renewables, distributed solar, Distributed Wind, distribution grid, EIM, energy imbalance markets, FERC, grid, grid connections, grid modernization plan, IREC, transmission, transmission lines upgrades, WECC, Western Electricity Coordinating Council
CMP and solar energy advocates clash over what’s the smartest grid for Maine
Source: Bangor Daily News Central Maine Power Co. says it needs to change a rate structure that no longer reflects its costs for delivering electricity. But some of the utility’s largest customers have countered that the proposed rate structure change…
Tagged with: grid, grid modernization plan, monthly net metering fee, net metering fee, rate schedule
Bank On It
Storage is cool. It’s so ingrained in our daily lives that it’s invisible. From the pantry closet and fridge storing our food to fuel tanks in our homes and cars, storage gives us the advantage to have something when we need it. It’s there waiting to be used. So, doesn’t it make a lot of sense to store excess power from photovoltaics and other distributed generation resources to provide backup during outages? And, wouldn’t storage change the intermittent nature of PV on cloudy days and at night into a more dispatchable resource? Couldn’t it also provide other grid services to help maintain power quality and reliability?
Tagged with: backup, dispatchable resource, grid, intermittent, outages, power quality, reliability, storage
