The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Since at least the 1930s, the American power sector long has operated based on a paradigm of centralized generation.1 The advent of the alternating current grid enabled the bulk transmission of electricity over long distances. This allowed large scale centralized generating facilities to produce power for many widely distributed customers. For much of its existence, this centralized generation paradigm has created economies of scale, ensured reliability and addressed immediate environmental and health concerns by moving generation outside of highly populated areas. The model favored highly regulated monopoly utilities, who would be responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.…
View Full ResourceNo matter one’s personal opinions on the climate effects of man-made greenhouse emissions, the Obama Administration’s proposed climate change regulations will exact a high price on Americans and have a negligible impact—if any—on global temperatures. The EPA has already put into place several greenhouse-gas regulations; however, the most far-reaching regulations are set to be finalized this summer. Known as the Clean Power Plan, these regulations have garnered bipartisan concern at all levels of government due to the threats the Clean Power Plan poses to the economy, quality of life, reliability of the national power grid, and constitutional separation of powers. …
View Full ResourceFrom 2002 through June 2015 New England ratepayers spent approximately $7.5 billion on transmission additions and expansions. The most recent Regional System Plan Project List identifies planned additions of 210 projects with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion over the next 10 years in order to maintain continued reliable and economic operation of the system.1 The Regional System Planning Process at ISO New England (ISO‐NE) evaluates reliability needs for the region based upon a needs assessment planning process. The needs assessment is based upon various planning assumptions including load levels, generation dispatch scenarios, inter‐region transfer limits, and the retirement or …
View Full ResourceThis report explores the true cost of producing electricity from wind power. Rather than creating a new cost estimate, we analyze the findings of prominent cost studies by experts in the energy field. Each study includes different factors in its estimate of the cost of wind power. We break down each of these factors and explain the significance of each. These factors include: capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, capacity factor, transmission costs, baseload cycling, social and environmental costs, and the cost of government subsidies. Other factors are more difficult to quantify, but nevertheless add to the true cost of …
View Full ResourceAs battery prices for stationary storage continue to decrease, more scrutiny is being applied to other areas in the value chain. One area of critical importance for the energy storage market is energy storage systems integration (ESSI). This is particularly important in the utility and commercial storage segments, which are growing quickly but often require customization and lengthy interaction with the end user. Certain vendors are now differentiating themselves on technical capabilities, business models, or financing offers. Whereas ESSI players were rare 3 years ago, today new entrants are populating the market. In fact, several of the players assessed in …
View Full ResourceMarket penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), which could significantly decrease the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and emissions of greenhouse gases, is presently restricted by the high cost of batteries. Deployment of grid-connected energy storage systems, which could increase the reliability, efficiency, and cleanliness of the grid, is similarly inhibited by the cost of batteries. Battery second use (B2U) strategies—in which a single battery first serves an automotive application, then once deemed appropriate is redeployed into a secondary market— could help address both issues. By extracting additional services and revenue from the battery in a post-vehicle application, the total …
View Full ResourceThe Bottom Line:
1. The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is likely to drive significant retirements and changes in generating resource mix and dispatch patterns that will alter transmission flows and could impact overall system reliability.
2. Focusing only on transmission security, we estimate that the United States will require at least $1.5 to $2.5 billion in transmission grid investments to maintain grid reliability. This amount is well within historical levels, but the timeline for planning and constructing new infrastructure is a relatively greater challenge.
3. Transmission infrastructure will be important for CPP’s successful implementation and presents an investment opportunity. To …
View Full ResourceThis report outlines a new clean energy finance model for many resilient power systems to protect vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure from severe weather events.…
View Full ResourceFocusing on transatlantic experiences, this 2014 Industry Review discusses how best to integrate increasing amounts of renewables into power systems while ensuring system performance, reliability, and resiliency. The review examines the costs and benefits of renewable energy at scale, the efficacy of state and local policies in Europe and the U.S., and challenges and solutions to grid integration. The review also identifies best practices in key renewable energy markets to inform discussion in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere on the future of renewable energy policy and the role of renewables in the evolving power market system. The review examines these …
View Full ResourceA comprehensive small-signal stability analysis was performed for the Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT) interconnected system. The study was focused on the following three aspects: To perform a comprehensive examination of the small-signal stability situation of the ERCOT system, particularly the sensitivities of the critical system modes with respect to different system conditions, transfer patterns, and various contingencies; to provide recommendations for tuning the existing Power System Stabilizers (PSS) and adding new PSS in the ERCOT system to accomplish optimal performance for identified critical modes without adverse effects; to identify the best Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) locations for oscillation …
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