Renewables Now Ltd’s Post

This week, Advanced Energy United sent a letter to PJM calling on the grid operator to stop dragging its feet and move forward on creating a better process for building long-range transmission lines. We were joined by 27 other organizations on that letter who, despite our range of backgrounds, all agree that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order No. 1920 is a can’t-miss opportunity to design a more reliable and affordable transmission system by giving states a central role in the planning process. Governors of several states served by PJM also recently called on the grid operator to come up with a plan that complies with FERC's new rules – it’s the kind of strong political leadership that will be required to ensure all grid operators and utilities think and plan regionally when designing the transmission grid of the future. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://lnkd.in/gwqctizC

Support energy choice and energy security -- tell your Senator to VOTE NO on ESHB 1589! ESHB 1589 allows Puget Sound Energy to choose when it’s no longer financially beneficial to provide natural-gas service to new and existing customers and force customers to use an alternative, affecting nearly 800,000 households in six counties in Washington that receive natural-gas service from PSE. ESHB 1589 also includes project labor agreement (PLA) language for any projects in a gas decarbonization plan or electrification plan with a cost of more than $10M. Don’t let this set a precedent for the rest of the state -- use our Action Alert system to quickly & easily tell your senator to vote NO on HB 1289! https://lnkd.in/gAwhamjH

On August 5th, the Hon'ble CERC notified the CERC (Deviation Settlement Mechanism & Related Matters) Regulations, 2024, for the treatment and settlement of deviations. The government published these new DSM regulations to manage the schedule of drawal or injection of electricity. Notably, the regulations have reduced the maximum deviation bands for RE sources—shrinking from the current 15% for solar and 20% for wind to 10% for solar and 15% for wind. This change will result in DSM penalties for generators increasing by 2-3 times. Additionally, the penalty for under-generation has been raised from 150% to 200%. Grid controllers are concerned about grid security, yet there has been little discussion on improving forecasting for RE generators. We are significantly lagging in the quality of data available for forecasting models like NCRMWF, NWP, and others. Moreover, there is a need to reduce the time lag between two revisions for RE generators, which is currently implemented in the 7th and 8th-time blocks from the punched-in system and implementing regulation on the aggregation of RE power at pooling station. It is hoped that the regulators will take serious steps to and improve forecasting accuracy at locations with significant installed capacity to minimize deviations. Additionally, reducing the time lag between revisions and Aggregation of RE at pooling stations should be prioritized. This will be mutually beneficial for RE generators and regulators to improve Grid security.

The PJM woes continue. Clean energy and environmental groups are urging FERC to reject PJM's plan for complying with FERC's Order 2023 on grid interconnection requirements. FERC Order 2023 aims to streamline the process for connecting new generation sources to the grid. However, critics argue that PJM's proposal doesn't go far enough. Specifically for the following reasons ▫ Lengthy interconnection study timelines ▫ Limited consideration of alternative transmission technologies ▫ Unrealistic assumptions about energy storage behavior ▫ Requests for exemptions from penalties for interconnection delays

Via Utility Dive: " FERC in Focus: What’s on tap for the rest of 2024 as FERC’s 3 new commissioners gear up?: Experts expect the commission will tackle rehearing requests on its new transmission planning rule and review interconnection reform compliance plans, among other actions, over the next six months. " #Energy #Utility #Utilities

By proclaiming Bill 22, the Electricity Statutes (Modernizing Alberta’s Electricity Grid) Amendment Act, 2022, we are taking another step towards ensuring an affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity system in Alberta. Alberta now has measures in place that will help lower long-term electricity costs while keeping our grid reliable. We are encouraging investment in the province’s energy sector as we modernize our electricity grid to accommodate future demand and innovation. With the proclamation of this legislation, Alberta’s government is allowing Alberta businesses to build more energy storage and more on-site power generation with the option to sell excess power to the grid while following through on our government’s commitment to wind-down the Balancing Pool.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips responded to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's letter about the importance of a strong transmission planning rule. Chair Phillips emphasized the value of Grid Enhancing Technologies in #RenewableEnergy interconnection and ratepayer savings. Senator Whitehouse's original letter highlighted how GETs can increase asset awareness and performance in extreme weather - an idea reinforced by the PJM Interconnection's supplemental comments last week in the #DynamicLineRatings Notice of Inquiry proceeding. See Senator Whitehouse's original letter: https://lnkd.in/gnmuYsEa See Chair Phillips' response: https://lnkd.in/gusJiYk4 See PJM's recent supplemental comments on Dynamic Line Ratings: https://lnkd.in/gFy9rTfz

The Ministry of Power has issued a notification to amend the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, regulating access for the sale and purchase of electricity through short-term contracts or power exchange; the National Load Despatch Centre may temporarily review access regulations for grid security, with access for non-short-term contracts being regulated by ten percent if dues remain unpaid for three and a half months, progressively increasing by ten percent each month of default, ending upon payment of dues and restoration within one day, with detailed procedures by the NLDC, defining "short-term contract" as up to one year for electricity sale or purchase, and "access" as open access to the Inter-State Transmission System, requiring distribution licensees to inform generating companies of power requisitioning schedules two hours before the day ahead market, allowing un-requisitioned surplus power to be offered in other market segments at a price not exceeding 120 percent of its energy charge, with NLDC issuing detailed procedures within fifteen days of the amendment. #windenergy #solarenergy #thermalpowerplant #renewableenergy https://lnkd.in/dNM9wgB3

I agree whole heartedly with Dr Gabrielle Kuiper and have been saying since the 2015 edition of 4777.2, that DER needs to be centrally managed by a single body. Different DNSP requirements mean control and coordination is as different within a State as across State borders. If DER is to be approximately +30% of our generation fleet in future, it needs to be managed the same as large scale generators on the NEM and WEM. It needs harmonised national electrical safety laws, regulations and licensing, and then needs to have the operational windows set and controlled through a body like Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had this discussion with AEMO and DNSPs. They cannot lead this, it needs our Federal and State Energy ministers to get on with the necessary, albeit unsexy and boring, policy work so the rest of the industries can get on delivering what’s needed. https://lnkd.in/gvBCDUnY

The AUC has made updates to the Hydro and Electric Energy Regulation to align with the Alberta government’s Electricity Statutes (Modernizing Alberta’s Electricity Grid) Amendment Act that came into force today. The updated regulation, which the AUC made through Commission Order 2024-001 came into force at the same time. https://lnkd.in/ep8hy3NM The updated regulation aims to improve efficiency and reduce regulatory burden by eliminating outdated filing requirements, includes new requirements for energy storage facilities and clarifies the approval process for alterations to existing facilities and certain types of connection applications. It also provides for exclusions from certain sections of the Hydro and Electric Energy Act in respect of small power plants and isolated generating units. A copy of Commission Order 2024-001, which includes the new Hydro and Electric Energy Regulation, can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g9psD-x3 Additional information can be found in Bulletin 2024-04: https://lnkd.in/gcTHq5wW