CUB Conference Preview: Efficiency At The Grid Level
Posted on October 3, 2018 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Conference & Events
In the Pacific Northwest, we understand energy efficiency. We have been investing in it for decades and getting results. The average Oregon household uses about 20 percent less energy than it did in 1990. With the pressing need to decarbonize our electric system, we need to take our commitment to efficiency and apply it to the electric grid, both the distribution grid that provides power to our homes and businesses, and the transmission grid that moves power between utilities.
Among other topics, we’ll be discussing this in-depth at CUB’s upcoming 8th annual energy policy conference, Destination: Decarbonization at the downtown Portland Hilton on Friday October 19. Tickets are still available – secure your spot today!
So, what does a more efficient grid look like?
The distribution grid has historically operated one-way: utilities use it to deliver power from generating assets to homes and businesses. Each component on the grid is sized for the maximum possible load that might be required to meet our demand. If that maximum load is a one-in-ten-year event and lasts 30 minutes, this means our distribution grid is oversized 99.994 percent of the time. This is inefficient, and it will become even more so as we move to more intermittent renewable resources. Because the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, a one-way distribution grid will require us to overbuild our generation system to make sure that we are generating enough power even when renewable output is low. The solution is an efficient two-way grid, with rooftop solar, battery storage and demand response programs that allow us to avoid overbuilding the grid and overbuilding generation.
The regional transmission grid has similar issues. Utilities need to have enough resources to balance their systems. As renewables become an increasing share of our energy mix, there will be times of over-generation and times of under-generation. Many utilities in the region recently joined the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) which shares resources across utilities and dispatches the least cost resource to balance the system in the sub-hourly market. This means that over-generation of renewables by one utility can find a home displacing gas generation from another utility. As we decarbonize utility systems across the west and add more renewables there is a need to expand regional efficiency. This can be done by establishing additional western energy markets, such as a day-ahead market. On a grander scale, a Western Regional System Operator could be established to manage the western grid. Additionally, larger storage projects such as pumped hydro can help reduce over-generation and under-generation and additional efficiency to the regional grid.
Discussing these issues at the October 19 conference will be Don Furman, Director of Fix The Grid Coalition; Jason Salmi Klotz, Manager of Emerging Technologies, Customer Energy Solutions at Portland General Electric; Erik Steimle, Vice President of Project Development at Rye Development; and Mary Wiencke, Vice President of Market, Environmental, and Transmission Policy and Strategy for PacifiCorp. This panel will be moderated by Clearing Up News Editor Rick Adair.
Early Bird pricing has now ended, but registration is still open for Destination: Decarbonization – register today to secure your spot! You can find more information about the day’s agenda, travel and lodging, and other details on the conference website. We are grateful to Polar Bear Sponsors, Pacific Power, and Portland General Electric; Grizzly Bear Sponsors Avangrid Renewables, and NW Natural; and Media Sponsor Clearing Up, for their generous support of this event.
CUB is offering Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for this conference; 5.5 credits have been approved by the WA state bar, and confirmation from the OR bar is pending. Follow conference news by joining the CUB email list, on our blog, and on Twitter (hashtag: #CUBCon18).
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10/03/18 | 0 Comments | CUB Conference Preview: Efficiency At The Grid Level