The state of California is faced with the challenge of reaching its carbon emissions reduction and renewable portfolio standard goals while maintaining the safety and reliability of the electric supply and protecting the economic interests of the ratepayers. In addition to AB 32, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, the state also has a Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of 33% renewables by 2020. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and many stakeholders have been working on policies, technologies and market mechanisms to reach these goals.
Managing the effect of intermittent renewables on the grid is one of the critical challenges we address in making the transition to renewables. One of the primary goals of grid modernization (aka “Smart Grid”) is to adapt grid management to account for the effects of intermittency in real time. Smart grid technologies can aid in solving both the technical problems and the market integration problems of decentralized generation. This is critical, as the grid-scale picture is getting increasingly complicated and expensive to monitor and control, due to the rapid growth of distributed generation of all types and scales.
Microgrids are one possible solution to these challenges. Microgrids, part of the Smart Grid toolbox, are autonomously managed and powered sections of the distribution grid that can be as small as a single building, or as large as a downtown area or neighborhood. Automation and digital communications are used to manage rooftop solar, small scale combined heat and power systems and storage systems, along with matching supply to demand. Heating or cooling may also be a part of a microgrid. Microgrids can efficiently manage smaller sections of the grid, according to the local demand patterns and availability of renewable resources. They can also disconnect, or “island” from the larger grid to provide higher reliability.
Can microgrids reduce complexity and increase options for electricity market participants? What are the major barriers to microgrid implementation, and how might they be overcome? Are there other approaches, besides the microgrid, that might be employed as well?
*Views and opinions in this discussion are my own, do not reflect any position or policy of the CPUC and are not related to any ongoing proceedings.
Microgrids are one tool in an arsenal of arbitraging conventional energy (which has variability), renewables (of which only two of the five have variability), energy storage, and energy efficiency (electric… Read more »
Scott, thanks for your comment. I wonder if you have a specific idea about how rate structures can or should be organized around these changes to the grid. As you… Read more »
Mr. Erickson, very good questions and comments. I will try to disaggregate the issues so we can focus on some of the key issues. You are correct, that in deregulated… Read more »
Dave, you hit on a key issue here. Microgrids would have to be sized and produce power at a cost low enough to be “competitive” to be considered a Qualifying… Read more »
Dawn, you’re absolutely right, and the distinction has to be made between the types of generation interconnection that are allowed under the current regulatory regime (in CA). Let me preface… Read more »
[…] See on https://www.ourenergypolicy.org […]
For some outstanding technical work on this topic and larger scale IT Enabled Sustainable Electricity Systems, see Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Professor Marija Ilic’s presentation on Dynamic… Read more »
Hello Jim, Thank you for bringing to the discussion the works of Professor Ilic; Public utility structure need to adapt to the new technologies coming to the market at quite… Read more »
Alejandro – Yes, good comments. Adding to this dialog is “Americas power plan” which was just released yesterday and covers these ideas in more detail. http://americaspowerplan.com/ Prof Ilic was one of… Read more »
Jim and Alejandro, Thanks very much for your comments, and Jim, for sharing the work of Prof. Ilic. I reviewed the slide deck from Prof. Ilic, and am working through… Read more »
Mr. Erickson – Your raise a good question and I don’t think it needs to be an either/or question. There’s room for both depending on the situation. One of… Read more »
Dear Dave, You said that “The basic problem that microgrid implementation has today is that, under today’s regulatory structure, microgrids are impossible“. The way that the US power regulatory structure… Read more »
Jim (please call me Dave), Thanks for sharing the principles you abstracted from Prof. Ilic’s work. I think they’re all good ideas. However, from what I’ve observed with the CA… Read more »
Dave – I agree with your comments. Prof Ilic has included a discussion of multilevel hierarchical control in her book for the reasons you outlined. She was also… Read more »
Hello Dave and All, Here it is a new piece of information called “MicroGrids Would Enhance Smart Grids” describing the energy performance of a pilot project 42-MW- micro-grid operating… Read more »
Hi Alejandro, Thanks for your comments. We’re fortunate in CA because we have several great examples of operating microgrids. Unfortunately however, these examples have not broken any new ground from… Read more »
Hello Dave, I believe that California needs to get the leadership in developing a Policy creating policy tools to approach the issue between Main Grid or Large Utility Concessionary and… Read more »
I agree that Microgrids make a great deal of sense for a number of reasons that become clearer with each passing climate related event… i.e. the “Rim Fire” and it’s… Read more »
It appears the link I placed to the article in the IEEE Xplore magazine was broken, I will try again
http://www.anbaricmicrogrid.com/wp_content/uploads/2013/01/March-of-the-Microgrids.pdf
and as reference, also;
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6544733
Great discussion Dave, I’m going to answer your questions from a non-utility owned microgrid point of view where I see huge opportunities. Firstly, I think the microgrid as a proof… Read more »
Russell, Thanks very much for your comment. You point out some of the basic regulatory incompatibilities between existing tariffs and Public Utility Codes, and microgrids. Here are some additional thoughts… Read more »
Dave, The two alternatives you propose would both likely have the net effect of moving microgrid development forward, depending of course on the rates of FiT’s, and the TE rates… Read more »
John, I would think that in CA, the IOUs should be able to compete for serving the customers in the microgrid. I would think that the objective would be to… Read more »
This is great to hear. Yes I agree that any microgrid development should be an “open market”, encouraging the IOU’s to participate and compete equally. Use of their existing grid… Read more »
Dear Dave, Mini-grids and distributed generation are emerging strongly and this is the right moment to review regulatory frameworks. Please take a look at the recent news from Australia Electricity… Read more »
[…] Are Microgrids the Answer to the Increasing Complexity of … – Microgrids are one tool in an arsenal of arbitraging conventional energy (which has variability), renewables (of which only… Read more »