Page 949 – RTO Insider

April 2, 2021

TCI-P Bill Advances in Conn. General Assembly

Connecticut lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would direct the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to create rules for implementing the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P), a legislative priority for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont.

The General Assembly’s Environment Committee voted along party lines to send the TCI-P bill to the Senate, with Democrats hailing the cap-and-trade program’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles by 26% from 2022 to 2032.

The bill also outlines plans for how to invest Connecticut’s proceeds from the auction of emissions allowances. TCI-P is projected to raise up to $89 million starting in 2023, increasing to up to $117 million by 2032. The bill would direct at least 50% of this money to communities overburdened by air pollution or underserved by the transportation system. It also would establish an equity and environmental justice advisory board to counsel DEEP and the Department of Transportation on TCI-P to ensure equitable outcomes.

Sen. Will Haskell (D) said the decline of carbon emissions to historic lows is one of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic and that “it would be a real shame if we decided to just return to the old normal.”

“Let’s not put kids back on those diesel buses that pump exhaust into their lungs,” Haskell said. “Let’s not just accept as fact that urban communities are going to see higher asthma rates, which by the way is not just a moral injustice, but it’s an economic cost for all of us.”

Connecticut TCI-P Bill — | *Shutterstock*

Republicans decried TCI-P as a Trojan horse for another gas tax in the form of potential pass-down costs from fuel suppliers to consumers. DEEP analysis shows TCI-P participation could boost gas prices by 5 cents/gallon beginning in 2023, assuming fuel suppliers choose to pass down 100% of allowance costs to consumers. Multiple consumer protection safeguards, including a cost-containment reserve, would kick in at 9 cents/gallon. One Republican said the 5- to 9-cent increase applies to the first year of TCI-P alone, with prices potentially rising by as much as 26 cents.

“I know there’s a lot of schematics to how this bill operates in terms of how the additional revenue comes into the state, but at the end of the day, no matter how we examine it, this is going to be a tax on the consumers,” said Rep. Stephen Harding (R). He conceded that elements of the bill are “critically important” but said increasing gas prices “is not good policy.”

Rep. Patrick Callahan (R) said that Connecticut has the “highest gas tax in New England” and that electric vehicles are cost-prohibitive for many people.

“I have numerous concerns trying to legislate people to behave a certain way,” Callahan said. “What’s next? Are we going to legislate people and tell them not to eat red meat? I just don’t think this is what we should be doing.

Sen. Christine Cohen (D), co-chair of the Environment Committee, said the bill is not intended “to change behavior.” She compared TCI-P to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which she said has been “incredibly successful and a model that we can look to.” After dozens of RGGI auctions, the cost-containment reserve has been triggered only twice, she said.

“That’s really important to recognize: We have the protections in place if they are needed for consumer protection,” Cohen said.

Noting that her rural Litchfield County district includes “a lot of small towns,” Rep. Maria Horn (D) said constituents have no access to robust public transportation and must drive nearly everywhere they go, so they would feel the pinch of rising gas prices. But she expressed hope that the auction’s proceeds will be invested in increased transportation options and have a positive environmental impact.

Reaction

Christian Herb, president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, opposed the bill but was not surprised that it was voted out of committee.

Herb said that with 50% of the allowance proceeds ticketed for the state’s most vulnerable communities, rural districts like Horn’s would be fighting for a smaller pool of funding.

“I think about Rep. Horn, who’s saying up in Litchfield County that she thinks she’s going to get money to build an infrastructure for handicapped people to be able to get on electric buses and that she thinks this is going to increase transportation. I would say that half the money is going to the cities, so you have no access to that,” Herb told NetZero Insider. “I don’t think that helps those rural districts that may be interested in trying to see some money come to their areas to build infrastructure. It seems to me that this has been set up for failure.”

Connecticut Director of the Acadia Center Amy McLean said the clean energy advocacy organization “couldn’t be happier” that the bill advanced, but that there is still plenty of “heavy lifting to do.” McLean said the coalition developed to support the bill needs further nurturing ahead of additional votes. McLean said that moderate Democrats might not support the bill and that environmental justice communities need to be in the mix.

“If they can’t have their own voice in this [process], then we’re not doing it right,” McLean said.

McLean said that the Sierra Club does not support TCI-P because the emissions reductions are too “weak” in addition to issues with equity and environmental justice.

“Sierra Club was true to what they said, and they are not going to be supporting anything that doesn’t have the blessing of environmental justice communities,” she said. “So for us to not have all of those voices at the table makes us a much less effective body.”

April 2, 2021November 2, 2023

Nonprofit Taps Community Land Trusts for Solar

Spark Northwest, a clean energy nonprofit, is working with community land trusts in Washington and Oregon to make solar affordable for low- and moderate-income households.

Unlike a community solar project, which requires a large upfront cost before electricity bill savings can be realized, Spark Northwest covers the entire cost of a small solar array on houses in the land trust while residents benefit from energy savings.

Installing rooftop solar is not an option for people who cannot afford the upfront price. Older houses also might require costly upgrades to their rooftops before they can support new solar projects, another financial burden that dissuades low-income homeowners from installing residential arrays.

“We realized we don’t want to be in the position of encouraging people to take out a loan, even a low interest loan, if they might risk default and thereby damage their credit,” Linda Irvine, program director of clean energy at Spark Northwest, said during a webinar hosted by Emerald Cities Collaborative.

In Oregon, Spark Northwest is taking advantage of the state’s Individual Development Account Initiative, which matches savings three to one for low- or moderate-income homeowners. As the nonprofit works with the land trust to install solar on members’ roofs, it also works to get members enrolled in the state program. Homeowners who need reroofing before they can install solar can save about $12,000 over three years to pay for the retrofit.

“Over the past nine years, we have run dozens of traditional solar campaigns, such as group purchase campaigns for residential solar,” Irvine said. “But a few years ago, we realized that we wanted to design a program or a campaign that would make solar truly affordable and accessible to moderate- or low-income homeowners.”

Under-resourced communities and communities of color disproportionately bear the burden of environmental injustice and climate change, but there are technical and financial challenges to supplying renewable energy to places on the frontlines of pollution impacts.

To address those challenges, Spark Northwest partnered with Homestead Community Land Trust in Seattle, which preserves the affordability of 215 single-family homes across the city.

In a community land trust, a nonprofit owns the land houses are built on to maintain their affordability for people who could not otherwise own a house. The homebuyer owns the building and leases the land at a low cost so they can build equity in their home.

If the homeowner chooses to sell the house, they are required by the community land trust to sell it to another low- or moderate-income buyer.

Irvine said the partnership with Homestead started small, with solar arrays on 11 homes at a low cost or no cost to the homeowners. Spark Northwest also offers participation in the group solar purchasing program to other homeowners in the land trust.

“We also set up low monthly payment financing for any remaining cost,” Irvine said.

Multilingual Outreach

Spark Northwest also partnered with local nonprofit Environmental Coalition of South Seattle to provide multicultural and multilingual outreach and education on solar initiatives.

“The ripple effects are significant,” Irvine said.

A Vietnamese-speaking homeowner in the land trust took advantage of a referral bonus program from the solar developer and translated the materials to share with friends. The installer for the land trust project, Puget Sound Solar, is now getting referrals and jobs from the Vietnamese-speaking community because of the homeowner’s efforts, Irvine said.

April 2, 2021November 2, 2023

EDF: Electrifying Heavy Trucking Could Save Money, Strengthen the Grid

Trucking companies thinking about replacing today’s diesel-powered 18-wheelers with electric rigs could save on fuel costs if their charging stations were augmented with distributed generation, or on-site power storage and sophisticated electronics allowing for “managed” charging at times when grid power prices are at their lowest.

These are the main conclusions of a study commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund a year ago and released this week. Another conclusion is that when the switch from diesel to electric trucks is industry-wide, the conversion could make the grid stronger.

These findings and underlying analysis of granular data collected from two national trucking fleets operating in California — NFI Group and Schneider National — come just as President Biden announced his infrastructure plans. (See related story, Biden Infrastructure Plan Would Boost Clean Energy.)

EDF commissioned California-based Gladstein Neandross & Associates (GNA) to do a comprehensive analysis of the data involving more than 90 Class 8 diesel trucks, traveling a total of nearly 5 million miles over assigned routes during the course of a year. The organization describes the resulting findings as looking “beyond the cost of replacing [diesel] vehicles and toward the upfront infrastructure costs and other considerations of electrifying heavy-duty truck fleets.”

It concludes that electric trucks now emerging, as well as current commercially available charging systems, would be capable of handling the loads and offering fuel savings.

In crunching the numbers, GNA “found that electrification has the potential to save these companies $550,000 (Schneider) and $750,000 (NFI) in annual fuel costs,” based on diesel and electric prices over the year in which data were collected.

But the cost of charging stations as well as the extra load that electrified trucking would add to utility distribution lines are major obstacles that must be addressed immediately, EDF argues.

The environmental group reasons that federal and state subsidies or other incentives to build dedicated distributed solar generation as well as more research into heavy-duty battery storage to support managed or “smart” charging stations “will be critical to this transition.”

Managed charging — buying the power at its lowest price points, for example — would not only save trucking fleets significant amounts of money; it would also lessen the burden on the grid, the report argues.

“Managed charging allows fleets to use real-time data like grid load and electricity cost to determine optimum charging schedules and provides benefits to the fleet owner, the utility and the environment,” the report summarizes. “With the proper rate design, utilities can encourage off-peak charging or charging when renewable energy resources are plentiful. This would reduce stress on the grid, save fleet owners money and reduce emissions from fossil fuel power plants.”

In a blog post announcing the landmark study, Pamela MacDougall, senior manager of grid modernization engineering and strategy for EDF’s Energy Program, wrote, “Managed charging can make or break the affordability of charging for fleets and reduce grid needs.”

MacDougall characterized distributed renewable generation as a kind of behind-the-meter buttress for the charging station, calling it “a perfect solution to reducing charging costs for heavy-duty fleets, which are often burdened with short but high-energy demand events that significantly increase their impact on the grid and energy bills.”

In some of the scenarios analyzed, “managed charging resulted in annual savings of upwards of $130,000,” she wrote, savings that a trucking company could then use to help pay for the technology supporting managed charging.

Electrification of heavy trucks would also have a major environmental impact.

“Electrifying them would eliminate on-road emissions like carbon dioxide, combustion-related particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. If charged with clean renewable electricity, such a transition could be even more powerful by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel electricity,” MacDougall wrote.

In an interview, MacDougall argued that government involvement at this point is critical, explaining that “having [government] programs that incentivize [distributed generation] is going to help fleets transition quickly and lower their grid impact as well for other ratepayers.”

She argued that a buildout of smart charging stations supporting the trucking industry would strengthen the grid and increase its resilience.

EDF also reasons that while the study envisioned in-house charging for the routes served by the two trucking companies participating in the study, a broader conclusion is that as numerous trucking fleets are electrified, it will make sense to build common charging stations accessible to many fleets as their trucks pick up or deliver goods, for example, at the Port of Los Angeles.

And that is why the trucking industry will need assistance.

“A final finding may be that even with distributed energy resources and managed charging … the cost of infrastructure is heavily burdensome for fleets and there is a need for some sort of either state, federal or utility program to help bring down the cost of that infrastructure for them,” MacDougall concluded in the interview.

April 2, 2021February 2, 2024

Reports Map out Many Routes to Net Zero

Experts from industry, government and academia agree that sound policy is critical in reaching net-zero emissions in the U.S. Opinions on what those policies would look like, however, vary widely.

A group of those experts convened Wednesday to present their ideas on policies for a carbon-free future in a webinar covering four recent reports, hosted by High-Impact Events.

The reports have some common elements, including decarbonizing electricity generation by 2035 and the need to accurately price carbon. They also differ on some issues, such as the amount of capital investment that is needed in the net-zero transition.

Accelerating US Clean Energy

A team of researchers from the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at University of Colorado Boulder released a report in December that looks at solutions for rapid decarbonization by sector.

In their approach, the authors focused on the status of current technologies and their ability to help the U.S. stop burning fossil fuels, said Charles Kutscher, co-author and director of the Buildings and Thermal Systems Center at RASEI.

The report, “Accelerating the U.S. Clean Energy Transformation: Challenges and Solutions,” identifies supporting technologies for achieving the energy transition across electricity generation, buildings, transportation and industry.

An analysis of each sector includes a wide range of policy recommendations, including:

retiring existing coal plants and ending construction of new natural gas-fired generation capacity;
adopting a national building energy/carbon code;
enacting a national moratorium on sales of light- and medium-duty internal combustion vehicles by 2030; and
strengthening federal RD&D efforts for reducing the cost of renewable hydrogen production and hydrogen storage.

The report takes a deep dive into options for removing carbon dioxide from the air to complement net-zero efforts. Kutscher said carbon capture will be as important as emissions reductions in limiting average global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius.

Direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS) is among the technologies identified in the report as gaining attention in the sector. Biden’s recently announced infrastructure plan includes an expansion of tax credits that would make it easier to use the credits for DACCS technology. (See Biden Infrastructure Plan Would Boost Clean Energy.)

Pulling carbon out of the air with direct air capture requires passing air through exchange devices and geologically sequestering the carbon dioxide.

At a cost of $100 to $300/metric tonne of CO2, DACCS is the most expensive carbon capture technology reviewed in the report, Kutscher said. The process, he added, should not be deployed where it would compete for power with renewables that are being used to displace fossil fuels.

The report recommended using carbon pricing to help support development of pilot DACCS plants in the U.S.

The Zero-carbon Plan

Put together by the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, America’s Zero Carbon Action Plan (ZCAP) is based on a simple idea: set your goal — a zero-carbon economy by 2050 — and then “backcast” to determine the best options for getting there using a lot of number crunching and computer modeling.

“What’s been missing is a real strategy for transition, particularly for a just transition, and in that regard, we need to focus on job creation,” said Dan Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and one of the nearly 100 academics and experts who worked on the plan. “Our proposal looks in particular at rejuvenation of the heartland of America, of the Appalachian region [and] in the Midwest. This is absolutely essential to not just the reality of delivering deep decarbonization, but to the politics of making this possible.”

Echoing other reports, the ZCAP says getting to zero carbon by 2050 means a massively accelerated ramp-up of both clean power and the electrification of transportation and buildings by 2030. About three and a half times more solar and wind will be needed, while coal-fired generation must drop to less than 1%, said Jamil Farbes, a principal with industry consultants Evolved Energy Research. An additional 20 GW of storage will be needed, but gas generation must stay flat, he said.

Farbes estimated the incremental costs for reaching zero carbon by 2050 at 0.2 to 1.2% of gross domestic product, which is considerably less than historical energy spending as a share of GDP.

The transition to zero carbon will also create about 4 million jobs over the next decade, versus a loss of 304,000 jobs — about 30,000 a year — across all fossil fuels, said Robert Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The just transition that will be needed for these workers “includes job guarantees, pension guarantees, income support, retraining support [and] relocations, and this is for each and every person that is going to experience dislocation,” Pollin said.

The cost, he said, will be about $1.5 billion a year up to 2030 and $3.8 billion per year between 2031 and 2050 because of increasing layoffs in the oil and gas industry, “This is less than one-hundredth of 1% of average GDP over this period,” Pollin said.

Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, was optimistic about the next steps, saying that President Biden’s American Jobs Plan and the Democrats’ CLEAN Future Act now before Congress are well aligned with the ZCAP’s goals and strategy. (See Biden Infrastructure Plan Would Boost Clean Energy.)

“Getting to zero by 2050 requires that all new investment has to be clean as soon as you roll off the old, fossil fuel-based capital stock,” Sachs said. “We’re in a changeover where we are going to be retiring old capital and replacing it with new capital, and we just need to set the timelines so that all new capital coming in is consistent with the 2050 timeline.”

Grassroots Policy

The grassroots volunteer organization Clean Energy for Biden last year compiled 48 policy papers to help legislators identify potential federal decarbonization policies.

Together, the papers present a diverse set of recommendations on everything from infrastructure to finance, to job creation in communities to rebuilding schools, said Zoe Elizabeth, energy service lead at Silicon Valley Clean Energy.

One of the papers, called Energy Efficiency and Demand Flexibility in the Built Environment, identified the important role energy efficiency should continue to have in decarbonizing the economy.

Core recommendations in the paper align with federal jurisdiction and tackle “some of the biggest systemic opportunities for accelerating efficiency given limited time,” said Carmen Best, co-author and director of policy and emerging markets at ReCurve.

Those recommendations include deploying digital tools to make demand flexible and standardizing carbon accounting.

Digital metering infrastructure is key to future energy efficiency measures, but utilities have not leveraged the full value of smart meters yet, according to Best.

“Energy data infrastructure, including tracking and sharing of consumption data, is essential to enable transactions and drive investment in distributed energy resources so we can maximize their value as a grid resource,” she said.

The paper also recommends developing a carbon accounting hub to increase transparency of the carbon intensity of the grid nationwide.

The hub, Best said, would enable buildings and customers to be more responsive to grid conditions.

Another paper, “Policies to Support Cities’ Climate Goals,” targeted opportunities to build out existing federal programs to support decarbonization at the local level, said Nicole Pavia, co-author and senior contributing analyst at Energy Futures Initiative.

The paper focused on sustainable buildings, clean transportation, industrial investments and climate adaptation.

With many U.S. cities requiring commercial buildings to benchmark their energy consumption, the paper suggested the federal government could do more to support and encourage benchmarking efforts nationwide, Pavia said.

The paper further recommended that the federal government develop a voluntary building performance standard that could be adopted easily at the city and town levels.

“The federal government can play an important role here, providing incentives for cities and states to strengthen their building codes, support the move to all electric buildings and assist in the development of stretch codes that exceed state and local mandated codes,” she said.

[Editor’s Note: The webinar also included information about the report “Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System.” See Report: ‘Social Contract’ Needed for Decarbonization.]

April 2, 2021

NY Residents Largely Oppose Danskammer Plant Repowering

New York residents calling into virtual public hearings Wednesday overwhelmingly opposed rebuilding the 532-MW gas-fired Danskammer peaker plant as a 600-MW combined cycle unit (18-F-0325).

State Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D) said the state has just 19 years to transition to an emissions-free grid, and that the Danskammer power plant is a significant obstacle to doing so.

“With New York having some of the boldest climate leadership legislation in the nation, it would be a shame for you to approve the Danskammer power plant [to emit] 25 times more health-damaging particulate matter and volatile compounds into the atmosphere, increasing air pollution and threatening public health,” Carroll told the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, which held the hearings.

The facility on the west bank of the Hudson River in Newburgh also applied for limited provisions to burn ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel as a backup fuel, with five days of on-site fuel oil storage, the Siting Board said. Danskammer Energy filed the original application in December 2019 and made four supplemental filings in 2020.

New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandates that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 40% from 1990 levels by 2030 and 85% by 2050. (See NY Preps Statewide GHG Emissions Report.)

New York Danskammer Plant — Danskammer Energy is applying to repower the 532-MW Danskammer power plant in the town of Newburgh, Orange County. | *Riverkeeper*

Health, Reliability

Christine Arroyo, a resident of Putnam County, across the Hudson River and south of Newburgh, said she and her husband moved from Brooklyn to start a family and chose not to live in Newburgh because of the pollution from the power plant.

“Besides all the health problems [Danskammer] brings to us who are already here, it also greatly contributes to miscarriages,” Arroyo said. “We have the privilege of being able to choose where to live, but think of all the people who don’t and whose lives and health conditions are worse because of it.”

The state Department of Health submitted a supplementary environmental justice analysis, concluding that “the project will meet and exceed the recommendations” from the department to mitigate any potential environmental burden to the nearby impact study area and, more specifically, environmental justice areas.

“This is because the project proposes to use the cleanest fuels presently available, which include natural gas as the primary fuel, with ULSD as the backup fuel; [and] the project will also be one of the most efficient electric-generating facilities in New York, which further reduces the NYISO systemwide average emission rate per megawatt-hour generated,” the department said.

Under its air permits, the project would incorporate technology to minimize emissions and offset emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds through emission-reduction credits based on the shutdown of the existing Danskammer generating station. The mitigation measures will ensure that the project “has negligible to no air quality impacts” from its operation, the DOH said.

Chloe Holden, an energy storage researcher for Wood McKenzie, shared a quote by Bill Reid, CEO of Agate Power, which owns Danskammer.

“This quote really shocked me because it contradicts all recent market analysis on the topic of gas-fired power plants. In November 2019, Reid stated, ‘We need gas-powered generation until renewables can step in, and I can’t tell you whether that’s in 10 years or 30 years,’” Holden said.

Holden said Reid’s statement is “extremely misleading” and that “several natural gas-fired power plants are being moved forward based on this kind of outdated information. I am qualified to say that the argument for this plant is highly disingenuous. Danskammer’s message to the public and to regulators is that their plant is one of the last fossil fuel plants that will ever be built in the U.S., but the reality is that this plant is not needed for reliability.”

For several years the data have shown that solar energy, paired with lithium-ion battery storage power generation, can be used cost-effectively instead of gas-fired power plants, Holden said. Solar paired with storage is already being installed instead of gas-fired plants all across the U.S., she said.

April 2, 2021

Abbott Taps ABC Texas President McAdams for PUC Seat

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday nominated Will McAdams, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas lobbying firm, as the Public Utility Commission’s newest commissioner.

Will McAdams PUC — Will McAdams | *Will McAdams via LinkedIn*

Abbott said McAdams will “will bring a fresh perspective and outstanding leadership” to the commission, and he urged the Senate to confirm the appointment.

“Will’s wealth of experience in public service and state government make him the ideal leader to carry out the PUC’s mission to protect customers, foster competition and promote high quality infrastructure across Texas,” Abbott said in a statement. “Will is committed to charting a new course for the commission and restoring trust with Texans.”

McAdams’ term would expire Sept. 1, 2025.

The PUC has come under heavy political fire in the aftermath of the February winter weather that nearly brought down the D’Andrea Resigns from Texas Commission.)

Unlike his predecessors, McAdams does not have a legal background, or regulatory or utility experience. However, he forged strong relationships with many in the industry during his 10 years at the capitol as a staffer. While there, he advised multiple legislators, including former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on business and regulated industries. He also served as legislative director for Sen. Charles Schwertner and as legislative and media relations director for former Sen. Troy Fraser. He left the legislature for ABC Texas in 2019.

“Will McAdams is respected around Texas government for his competence and for his ability to analyze and solve complex policy challenges,” Advanced Power Alliance President Jeff Clark told RTO Insider. “Gov. Abbott’s confidence in Will is well placed, and I look forward to working with him in the important work ahead.”

Caitlin Smith, a vice president with the AB Power Advisors consulting firm, said in a tweet that she has “always been impressed in my interactions with him.”

Noting that the PUC deals in issues with “complex legal, business and equity dimensions under ordinary circumstances,” energy consultant Alison Silverstein wondered whether McAdams’ “fresh perspective and outstanding leadership” would be enough.

“The February electricity disaster has created or revealed many extraordinary problems for the Texas PUC to resolve,” she said in an email. “I hope McAdams can handle a very steep learning curve, because the PUC is going to be a wild ride for the next few years.”

McAdams will need Senate approval before he can take his seat because the legislature is in session. Were it not, he would have been able to step into his new role immediately. McAdams’ time at the capitol is expected to result in a quick confirmation.

The PUC said it is “awaiting further details” on when McAdams will begin serving.

The commission is next scheduled to hold an open meeting Wednesday.

April 1, 2021

Blowin’ in the Wind: SPP Sets New Renewable Marks

Having recovered from February’s severe weather, SPP’s market operations are back to normal, with wind and other renewable resources again setting records.

SPP Renewables — SPP continues to set records for wind and renewable energy. | *SPP*

The RTO, which last year became the first grid operator with wind as its No. 1 fuel source (31.3%), recorded its latest high marks at 4:33 a.m. March 29, with historic peaks for wind penetration (81.9% of the fuel mix) and renewable penetration (84.2%).

It was the first time wind penetration has exceeded 80%. Renewables broke the mark set March 14 (81.4%), which had stood only since March 9 (80.3%).

At 7:35 a.m. SPP also set new records for wind (21.1 GW) and renewable (22.7 GW) output. SPP’s previous wind peak had stood since Feb. 4, when it reached 20.1 GW.

“SPP continues to set renewable records because of our diverse fuel mix and dedication to building a robust transmission system,” SPP spokesperson Meghan Sever said. “We expect this trend to continue as we see more and more renewables come online.”

SPP’s installed wind capacity has steadily risen over the last decade. In 2009 it had 3 GW of wind installed. By 2020, that number had grown more than nine-fold to 27 GW. The grid operator expects to install an additional 4 GW of wind and add 473 MW of solar energy to its current 235 MW by the end of the year.

The RTO has more than 79 GW of renewables and storage in its generator interconnection queue, Sever said. Wind accounts for 32.6 GW, solar 35.4 GW and energy storage 11.1 GW. The queue also contains a little more than 5 GW of gas resources.

“With the continued growth of renewable generation in SPP’s footprint and our proven ability to reliably integrate it, we will continue to set subsequent records,” Sever said.

April 1, 2021

Southeast Utilities Defend SEEM Proposal

Sponsors of the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) told FERC on Tuesday that the commission should approve the proposal as is, saying critics’ objections are flawed or irrelevant.

More than a dozen utilities and cooperatives, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Southern Co. and Duke Energy, proposed SEEM to reduce the “friction” in bilateral trading by introducing automation, eliminating transmission rate pancaking and allowing 15-minute energy transactions.

FERC SEEM Proposal — SEEM members said it would be impractical for FERC to mandate an RTO in the Southeast because much of the transmission grid needed for regional integration is controlled by non-jurisdictional entities like TVA. | *Southeast Energy Exchange Market*

In filings earlier in March, numerous intervenors told FERC the proposal doesn’t go far enough to increase competition and asked the commission to require more transparency, broader governance and increased consumer protections. Several also requested a technical conference to consider more ambitious market development. (See Opposition Emerges to Southeast Energy Exchange Market.)

In a joint filing Tuesday, SEEM’s sponsors reiterated their position that FERC could only determine whether their Federal Power Act Section 205 filings were just and reasonable, insisting the commission lacks authority to require substantive changes (ER21-1111, et al.). They have asked FERC to approve the proposal effective May 13.

They said the intervenors had not identified any flaws in the proposal and that 80% of the 67 pleadings submitted supported the proposal in whole or part. None of the six state regulatory commissions that intervened registered opposition, they said.

They said the opponents are improperly trying to broaden the scope of the proceeding to consider alternatives such as an RTO or energy imbalance market.

“The Southeast EEM proposal offers two small but significant enhancements to the existing bilateral market in the Southeast, without changing the fundamental nature of the existing market,” they said, referring to the addition of an algorithm for matching buyers and sellers and use of excess zero-cost transmission.

“Most regional transactions will still be conducted through existing bilateral market mechanisms that will not be impacted by the Southeast EEM proposal,” they wrote.

‘Fully Realized Proposal’

SEEM members said they were taking no position on a technical conference to consider a broad restructuring of the Southeast but said it should not occur in the dockets opened by the sponsors.

“It is worth reiterating here the delicate balance represented by the proposal before the commission, and that previous attempts to develop an RTO in the Southeast have not been successful,” they said. “The benefits of the fully realized proposal actually before the commission in this proceeding should not be delayed to pursue other aspirations.”

They also rejected arguments that approval of SEEM would prevent the eventual development of an RTO.

“Should lawmakers and stakeholders in the Southeast determine that some other structure or market design is appropriate, nothing about the Southeast EEM prevents such changes,” they said. “Indeed, should the commission approve the Southeast EEM and allow it to operate for some time, data from its operations may better inform discussion about future market evolution. However, the Southeast EEM must be allowed to move forward to enable such an evaluation.”

They rejected a call by public interest organizations (PIOs) to impose RTO-like requirements on SEEM members. “The Southeast EEM members have not voluntarily elected to join an RTO, nor have they sought the incentive [return on equity] reward for doing so. So, they have not opted in to RTO rules, and the PIOs have no basis for forcing them to do so.”

Mandating an RTO in the region would be impractical because much of the transmission grid needed for regional integration is controlled by non-jurisdictional entities like TVA, they said. “Half the expected net energy for load in the footprint is either non-jurisdictional, or not able to connect to the rest of the region without using non-jurisdictional transmission,” they said.

SEEM also dismissed market power concerns and disputed the PIOs’ contention that limited competition in the region had saddled consumers with high rates. They said the monthly bill data the groups cited were misleading because of the Southeast’s heavy air conditioning demand.

“When examined instead using the metric of average price in cents per kilowatt-hour — a metric that is not dependent on usage and instead is isolated to cost — the Southeast fares better than the national average, including most states with RTOs.”

One Concession

SEEM members offered one concession to intervenors who requested that meetings of the Membership Board be open to the public.

“The Southeast EEM members do not believe these measures to be necessary for the commission to find the Southeast EEM proposal just and reasonable but are amenable to those specific requests and commit to allow for public observation of board meetings, sometimes limited in attendance for confidentiality purposes, and to make meeting minutes public.”

April 1, 2021January 15, 2025

SERC Board of Directors/Members Briefs: March 31, 2021

SERC Reliability President and CEO Jason Blake praised the regional entity’s new organizational structure at its inaugural Members Meeting on Wednesday, held prior to the quarterly Board of Directors meeting.

“We feel very confident that this structure is going to serve us all very well, and it’s going to serve you all very well,” Blake said. “It’s going to definitely elevate our game, make sure that we are focused on policy and strategy at the board level and [ensure] that we are … very much tied in with your voice. And this meeting, as well as our other meetings, are the critical vehicle to make sure that you are engaged and have that voice.”

SERC CEO Jason Blake | SERC

The Members Meeting is a result of a set of amendments to SERC’s bylaws, approved by FERC Approves SERC’s Bylaw Changes.) Under the new structure, SERC’s members group includes representatives from each member company that meet at least once a year to advise the board on the business plan and budget, elect independent directors and approve bylaw changes as needed.

The amended bylaws took effect Jan. 1, making this the first board meeting under the new structure. However, board Chair Todd Hillman said that “the timing … actually is intentional,” because meeting in spring gives members the best opportunity to weigh in on the upcoming year’s issues.

The meeting was also the first for the organization’s independent directors, Shirley Bloomfield, Lonni Dieck and Deborah Wheeler. All three were appointed by SERC last October in accordance with the new bylaws, which require between three and five independent directors alongside 15 sector representatives. (See SERC Appoints 1st Independent Board Members.)

Appointments and Approvals

Actions taken at the Members Meeting included rounding out the board with the election of directors to fill two vacant seats in the Cooperatives sector. Roger Clark of Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. was chosen for a term ending June 30, 2022, while Greg Ford of Georgia System Operations was re-elected to serve a term ending June 30, 2023.

The group also approved minor amendments to the organization’s bylaws that would modify the terms of board officers, sector directors and independent directors to begin on June 1, along with establishing the chair as an ex officio, non-voting member of the board’s committees. The board has already confirmed the amendments by written consent; the agreement of the members means they will now be submitted to NERC’s Board of Trustees and then FERC for approval.

Todd Hillman, MISO | SERC

Additional appointments by the board include naming Clark to the Human Resources and Compensation Committee; Daniel Case of GridLiance and Glenn Dooley of Duke Energy Florida as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Operating Committee; and John Greaves of Southern Co. and Carter Manucy of Florida Municipal Power Agency as chair and vice chair of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee, respectively.

The board also voted to accept revisions to SERC’s regional delegation agreement (RDA). FERC approved the document conditionally in January, along with RDAs for other REs, but requested that SERC update the agreement to ensure that RE boundaries are consistently described using text instead of maps. (See FERC Provisionally OKs ERO Delegation Agreements.)

Draft Business Plan and Budget OK’d

Finally, the board approved SERC’s draft 2022 business plan and budget. The draft will be submitted to NERC and posted for public comment, with final board approval planned in June and submission to FERC in August.

Reviewing the document at the meeting, SERC CFO and Corporate Treasurer George Krogstie noted that the Finance and Audit Committee is projecting the RE’s spending for 2022 will be $26.7 million, a 3.4% increase from 2021. The RE’s assessment for the year is planned at $24.8 million, up 5.5% from the previous year.

Personnel changes account for the largest share of the budget growth, with four full-time equivalent positions to be added in 2022; the new hires are expected to “drive a stronger and more robust internal [information technology] team.” Increases in pay and employee benefit costs are also expected to drive spending up.

Because the planned 2022 assessment is insufficient to cover the budget, SERC expects to release $1.7 million of its reserves, comprising $500,000 from the working capital reserve and $1.2 million from the assessment stabilization reserve. Krogstie compared this drawdown positively to the 2021 budget, which saw $2.1 million released from reserves.

He noted that the $1.6 million remaining in the working capital reserve will represent 6% of the budget, matching SERC’s target for the reserve. Nearly $2.2 million will remain in the asset stabilization reserves for future offsets, assuming no future penalties are assessed.

April 1, 2021November 29, 2023

Bill Would Tighten Oversight for Nevada Gas Providers

Nevada’s natural gas utilities would be required to seek approval every three years for their long-term infrastructure plans, under a bill introduced in the Legislature.

Assembly Bill 380 would require Southwest Gas and NV Energy to file an “infrastructure, supply and alternatives plan” with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. The commission would hold a hearing on the plan before deciding whether to approve, modify or reject it.

The plan would contain a cost-benefit analysis of proposed projects and a comparison to alternatives, including doing nothing. The analysis would look at a wide range of factors, including the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from new infrastructure and impacts to indoor air quality.

AB380 was introduced last week by Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen (D). The bill, which was drafted by the Natural Resources Defense Council, was referred to the Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure. A hearing date had not yet been set.

Proponents of AB380 said it would bring greater accountability to the gas utilities.

“This bill would scrutinize gas utility investments to make sure we are not making investments we will soon regret,” the Nevada Collaborative Conservation Network, a coalition of conservation groups, said in an overview of its 2021 legislative priorities. “This bill will protect gas ratepayers and ensure that any investments made are in line with the state’s climate goals.”

Southwest Gas, the state’s largest provider, opposes the bill.

“AB380 effectively bans natural gas, places unnecessary financial burdens on Nevada families and businesses and aims to eliminate thousands of jobs,” the company said in a statement provided to NetZero Insider.

While Southwest Gas said it’s committed to helping the state meet its emissions targets, “we are confident policymakers will agree there is more than one path to achieving these goals,” the company said.

AB380 would create a planning process for the gas utilities that would be similar to that of NV Energy’s electric utility.

NV Energy must file an integrated resource plan every three years with PUCN. The IRP looks at different ways to meet forecasted demand, including conservation and renewable energy resources. The commission decides whether facilities proposed in the plan would be prudent investments.

In contrast, the gas companies currently submit annual informational reports to PUCN that do not go through a hearing process.

Multipronged Bill

The infrastructure, supply and alternatives plan that would be required is just one piece of AB380.

The bill would set targets for the state to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from combustible fuels used in commercial and residential buildings. The targets would start with a 2.5% reduction in 2022 as compared with 2016 levels and increase every other year until reaching 95% in 2050.

The gas utilities would be required to explain in their long-range plans how those decarbonization goals could be met.

A third part of AB380 would require that PUCN open a docket to investigate issues related to natural gas. Those would include the number and types of customers who have limited options for energy supply, as well as ways to limit the impact to low-income residents of switching buildings from natural gas to electric power.

Transition from Gas

The introduction of AB380 last week coincided with the release of a natural gas “fact sheet” by the Nevada Climate Initiative, created last year by Gov. Steve Sisolak.

The fact sheet underscores some of the conclusions reached in the State Climate Strategy that NCI rolled out in December.

“In order to meet Nevada’s long-term goal of zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, transitioning away from natural gas is necessary,” the strategy said. And that includes moving away from natural gas appliances for cooking, water heating and space heating in homes and businesses.

However, equity issues must be considered in making such a switch, the strategy said. For example, people living in rural areas may have limited access to the electric grid, and commercial kitchens might need natural gas.

Some cities in California have banned natural gas in new homes, but Nevada isn’t eyeing a similar move at this time, NRDC senior scientist Dylan Sullivan told NetZero Insider.

Instead, Sullivan said, the focus is on aligning the utility planning process with state climate goals.

“That means gas utilities would need to show that their infrastructure spending plans will keep energy affordable and safe as Nevadans move toward powering their homes and businesses with clean electricity rather than fossil fuels,” he said.