RFP alert: Puerto Rico launches tender for 1 GW of renewables, 500 MW of storage
Puerto Rico’s latest procurement exercise is the second round of a tender scheme designed to allocate 3.75 GW of renewables capacity and 1.5 GW of storage.
Solar Resilience: Keeping communities connected
Distributed solar energy systems can play an important role in increasing the resilience of the nation’s grid.
Grid experts call for a national initiative to facilitate a high-DER grid
To reach the full potential benefits of distributed energy resources (DERs), a national initiative is needed to transition efficiently to a high-DER electricity system, says a task force of grid experts convened by the nonprofit group ESIG.
Adopting new IEEE standard could ease interconnection, says EPRI executive
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.
DOE offers $26 million to demonstrate that grid can run on clean energy
The Demonstration Program intends to fund up to 10 projects that show how large-scale solar, wind, and energy storage can support the power grid by automatically adjusting to changing demand and disruptions.
Connecticut to allow distributed resources to compete with distribution grid upgrades
Connecticut would join five other states in enabling distributed storage, solar and other non-wires alternatives to compete with traditional distribution system capacity upgrades, under a program being finalized by Connecticut regulators.
Faster, lower-cost interconnection by combining ERCOT, MISO, PJM approaches
ERCOT’s approach enables interconnection in 2 to 3 years, whereas recent regional transmission planning by MISO and PJM found cost-saving ways to interconnect 53 GW and 75 GW of renewables respectively, said a Brattle transmission expert.
California moves a step closer to opt-in dynamic pricing to help balance renewables
Opt-in dynamic pricing of electricity, which could help balance renewable generation while lowering electric bills for participants and non-participants alike, is now on deck for a California decision.
To speed interconnection, federal regulators propose cluster studies and study deadlines
Transmission providers would face firm deadlines for completing interconnection studies, backed by penalties, under a proposed rule. Project developers would face readiness requirements involving study deposit amounts, site control, commercial readiness milestones, and withdrawal penalties.
SEIA proposes how to extricate hundreds of gigawatts of solar from interconnection queues
As applications to interconnect solar and storage projects have “skyrocketed,” the national solar trade group recommends ways to speed interconnection on both the transmission and distribution grids.
