Expecting high growth in distributed energy resources (DERs), one California agency examines how distribution grids should be operated to prepare for that environment, while another explores how to foster the deployment of DERs and maximize their potential.

The group asked the commission to evaluate replacing TVA’s coal unit with renewables, energy efficiency and storage, instead of gas, as part of the commission’s review of a proposed new gas pipeline that would serve TVA’s proposed gas unit.

$15 billion of the funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act will support low-income and disadvantaged communities, including $7 billion for zero-emission technologies such as rooftop solar. The other $12 billion will support additional investments in low- and zero-emission projects.

The IEEE 2800 standard would make the transmission grid interconnection process more efficient, and updating modeling and performance requirements would help ensure system reliability, according to an executive from the Electric Power Research Institute.

Including real-time pricing of retail electricity in the design of a high-renewables system would “markedly” lower the system’s cost, researchers found, in an analysis for the island of Oahu, Hawaii. For continent-scale systems as well, they said the resulting demand-side flexibility is likely substantial.

An independent carbon plan for North Carolina would add storage instead of gas through 2030, and add 21 GW more solar and 22 GW more battery storage by 2050 than Duke Energy’s plan proposes.

As two regional grid operators have flagged a shortage of qualified engineers to conduct interconnection studies, pv magazine usa spoke with Kalyan Chilukuri, a vice president with Electric Power Engineers, about industry staffing challenges and measures that might help.

Net billing for rooftop solar, which incentivizes the use of battery storage to maximize solar self-consumption, is inefficient, researchers found, whereas incentivizing battery owners to discharge power during peak hours would provide greater value.

As several states will soon require smart inverters for new distributed resources, and more are considering such a requirement, nearly all manufacturers will be delivering smart inverters that meet a new industry standard by August 2023, finds an analysis by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

Energy efficient buildings, which are part of a least-cost strategy for 100% renewables, are being promoted through a $225 million program designed to accelerate adoption of the latest building energy codes by states and cities.