Christine E. Boyle

Sustainability requires Microgrids

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UtilityDive reporting that utilities are starting to consider climate resilience as part of their planning. "APS, Duke, other utilities pursue new climate resilience strategies as some await upcoming tools APS and Duke, along with PacifiCorp, Central Hudson Gas & Electric and Puget Sound Energy, see different paths to reach resilience planning’s potential while awaiting EPRI metrics. The U.S. has experienced 24 events so far in 2024 “with losses exceeding $1 billion each,” and billion-dollar events have impacted all 50 states in the last decade, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. There were 20.4 events per year from 2019 to 2023, but that jumped to 28 events in 2023 that cost $95.1 billion, NOAA added. “The utility industry is shifting from responding to an individual event to mapping vulnerability to financial risk and quantifying benefits of potential investments on four pillars,” said Aditya Ranade, GuideHouse director of energy, sustainability, infrastructure. “The first of the four pillars is hazard mapping,” which identifies types of threats, from flooding to wildfires." Read more at https://conta.cc/3C35zJJ #solar #energy #solarenergy #renewables #renewableenergy #electricity #energystorage #ESS #distributedenergy #solarpower #batteries #EVCha

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#Microgrid project Aims to Cut #Diesel Use, Save on #Energy Costs, Move Toward #EnergyIndependence in 8 #Rural Alaskan Communities: Lucas Miller Laurel Hamilton Trent Maw Michael Stadler https://lnkd.in/g85bhaP8

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Recent developments in grid modernization focus on enhancing grid reliability, resilience, and the integration of renewable energy sources. Innovations such as 'advanced reconductoring' are being explored to upgrade existing power lines for higher capacity, facilitating the transmission of electricity from renewable sources over longer distances. Additionally, there's a push towards creating a more resilient and responsive grid to accommodate the increasing demand from clean technology and AI.

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My hot take today is about a little noticed announcement the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released quietly today. It has reopened an opportunity to fund carbon dioxide transportation networks. This is a positive and a much-needed development because Cipher reporting earlier this year revealed that many of the carbon storage projects are not just dependent on securing permits but also on delivering the captured CO2. Aware of the paucity of transport networks, DOE itself noted, the U.S. will need to capture and permanently store approximately 400–1,800 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2050 to meet its commitments. https://lnkd.in/ef7JPEgr In other top reads by my colleagues, Cat Clifford highlighted a Bloomberg article that spotlights how Holtec International, a company involved in making nuclear waste storage casks, is now looking to revitalize a nuclear plant headed for decommissioning. And Bill Spindle reported about an upcoming gathering of corporate heads of fossil fuel and tech companies. We try to stay on top of breaking news about the global developments in the cleantech and climate space and share them with you so continue reading our Top Reads and Hot Takes at Cipher News. Cheers!

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Timely and topical as the Microgrid Knowledge 2024 conference wraps up today. Microgrids will be playing a greater role in our energy delivery systems- from centralized model to one that includes more distributed generation model for resilience and cost savings and meeting sustainability goals. Advanced internal combustion engines play a key backup role in Microgrids. As we like to say Microgrids deliver the renewable energy that you want with the reliability that you need.

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NRCS has just recently published conservation guidance for utility scale solar arrays... This guide can help raise the baseline impact of solar arrays. Meeting clean energy and land management goals is not either or. It is yes and yes. https://lnkd.in/eq4Nvj-Q

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Sadly the CPUC has come out with another bad proposed decision on distributed energy resources - this time on microgrids. The decision, six years in the making, is a utility centered proposal that only focuses on the use of microgrids during grid outages and does not incentivize their deployment missing the opportunity to save California's ratepayers billions of dollars and provide badly needed resilience in local communities. Here is the article in Microgrid Knowledge: https://lnkd.in/e5x4cSvG

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Solar developers take note: this analysis shows "connect and manage" or "flexible interconnection" results in revenue gains for community solar projects, especially in constrained areas of the grid. Many thanks to the team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for their good work.

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This is the most authoritative piece I’ve read on emissions, and really highlights the benefit of living and operating a business in California. It should make emissions accounting much easier if the cost is already included in electric rates. It should make businesses outside California want back in. https://lnkd.in/eeVkj-_3

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Groundbreaking from Google and NV Energy! “Typically companies procure clean energy, primarily #wind and #solar power, through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with project developers — a model that Google pioneered. This approach has been incredibly successful: since 2008, corporate clean energy buyers have unlocked nearly 200 GW of new solar and wind capacity around the world. But this approach has limitations. PPAs are often isolated from broader grid planning and utility investment processes, and the variability of the weather can mean inconsistent solar and wind availability. Therefore, fully decarbonizing electricity systems will require other technologies that can deliver clean power whenever it is needed (also known as “#cleanfirm capacity”). These technologies, like enhanced #geothermal, #longdurationenergystorage and advanced #nuclear power, are early-stage, relatively costly and poorly incentivized by current regulatory structures. As a result, customers often still rely on fossil fuels for reliable power when solar and wind aren’t available. To access the benefits of 24/7 carbon free energy technologies and meet the growing needs of local grids, we need a new approach that makes it easier to invest in clean energy projects that provide firm capacity to the grid.”

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More context on the #bipartisan #permittingreform bill from Sens. Manchin and Barrasso. #ferc #transmission #climatechange #renewableenergy #energyinfrastructure #gridpermitting #energygrid

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A new analysis examines the 'Regulatory Gap' between utilities and their regulators, which is cause for them to focus on taking the easy route and building local transmission when it would be much more valuable to build large interstate transmission lines. 🛣️ ⚡ This 'Regulatory Gap' exists in Missouri and is partially driven by PISA legislation, which requires grid investment and allows certain recovery of it. Sadly, these grid improvements still aren't addressing reliability and aging infrastructure issues in the lower income or minority neighborhoods, and a large chunk of investment is being put into more affluent neighborhoods. https://lnkd.in/gQiMgztj

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Grid conditions were tight this week as 90-degree temperatures enveloped much of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. As a result, the Midcontinent Independent Sytems Operator (MISO) issued a Maximum Generation (Max Gen) Warning, PJM issued a Max Gen Alert, and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) issued an Energy Emergy Alert 1 (EEA1). During Max Gen Warnings and Alerts, grid operators warn power plant operators that electricity supplies on the grid are getting tight and instruct generation owners to take steps to ready their fleets to meet the moment. During an EEA1, all non-firm exports are curtailed, and all available resources are committed to meet demand. Apparently, the wind turbines in MISO didn’t get the memo, leaving the system operator scrambling for imports from neighboring regions. https://lnkd.in/g69KrRhN

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Explore the captivating story by Eva Kappas from Brown University, featured in Climate & Capital Media's Emerging Voices series. She delves into why the time has come to prioritize investment in grid repair and expansion. Which will enable us to advance confidently in the energy transition while enhancing safety and resilience. https://lnkd.in/gNrx9m-6 Climate & Capital Media National Renewable Energy Laboratory FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) American Society of Civil Engineers American Sustainable Business Network Climate Power Princeton University Climate Power Education Fund United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) United Nations UN Climate Change American Journalism Project ConnectDER Solar Builder Magazine 2035 Springer Nature Group Pacific Gas and Electric Company #climatechange #climatecrisis #climatefuture #climatechangereporting #climatereporting #climateinvesting #cliamteeconomy #climatefinance #esg #esgdata #esgreporting #esgeconomy #esginvesting #esgfinance #infrastructure #climateinfrastructure #esginfrastructure

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📣 NEW REPORT! This is the first resource to summarize the main solar savings models across sectors and offer best practices for making savings meaningful. As solar programs are established nationwide, the doc also includes avenues for further research. 💵 Solar savings are a broad topic. This won't answer every question, but I hope it will get you a good chunk of the way there. What does it mean for savings to be guaranteed in practice? Read on and find out! 🧠 The report brings our research together with the input and knowledge of over 140 individuals and the 29 organizations in the field (including the core project team) that participated in this project. This is not counting the additional feedback gathered at RE+ in Anaheim last year. 🙏 A big thank you to coauthors Warren Leon, Cici Xu, and Allie Garrett, and to our core team members Kerry O'Neill, Kyle Wallace, Jon Abe, Lavonya Jones, Lauren Westmoreland, and Matt Cox for your insights and time! And of course, a big thank you to DOE.

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