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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This report updates the 2009 meta-analysis that provides estimates of the value of service reliability for electricity customers in the United States (U.S.). The meta-dataset now includes 34 different datasets from surveys fielded by 10 different utility companies between 1989 and 2012. Because these studies used nearly identical interruption cost estimation or willingness-topay/accept methods, it was possible to integrate their results into a single meta-dataset describing the value of electric service reliability observed in all of them. Once the datasets from the various studies were combined, a two-part regression model was used to estimate customer damage functions that can be …
View Full ResourceRecognizing the value that microgrids can offer to energy surety and resiliency, on February 25, 2014, Governor Martin O’Malley directed his Energy Advisor to lead a Resiliency Through Microgrids Task Force (“Task Force”) to study the statutory, regulatory, financial, and technical barriers to the deployment of microgrids in Maryland. The Governor’s charge required the Task Force to develop a “roadmap for action” to pave the way for private sector deployment of microgrids across the State.
As defined by the Task Force, a “microgrid” is a collection of interconnected loads, generation assets, and advanced control equipment installed across a defined geographic …
View Full ResourceThe North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has prepared the following assessment in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in which the United States Congress directed NERC to conduct periodic assessments of the reliability and adequacy of the bulk power system (BPS) in North America. NERC operates under similar obligations in many Canadian provinces, as well as a portion of Baja California Norte, Mexico.…
View Full ResourceThis assessment – Potential Reliability Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan – examines the potential reliability aspects resulting from its anticipated implementation. In order to continue operating the bulk power system safely and reliably, more detailed and thorough analysis is needed to determine whether the assumptions are feasible and consistent with the requirements of bulk power system reliability.…
View Full ResourceDue to recent development, electricity storage appears to be on the verge of becoming quite economically attractive. In this context of declining battery costs, Oncor Electric Delivery Company, a Transmission and Distribution Service Provider (TDSP) in Texas, has engaged us to explore the economics of grid-integrated storage deployment in Texas. We evaluate this question first by estimating whether storage could be cost-effectively deployed on the distribution systems in the state from the perspectives of retail customers, wholesale electricity market participants, and the combined system or “society as a whole.” We then evaluate whether new public policies supporting electricity storage in …
View Full ResourceThe primary objective of this assessment is to identify the reliability concerns of the North American bulk power system (BPS) and make recommendations for action as needed. The assessment process enables BPS users, owners, and operators to systematically document and communicate their operational preparations for the coming season and exchange vital system reliability information.…
View Full ResourceThe 2014 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (2014LTRA) is a report that provides a wide-area perspective on the adequacy of the generation, demand-side resources, and transmission systems necessary to meet system reliability needs over the next decade. This assessment includes NERC’s independent identification of issues that may impact the reliability of the North American Bulk-Power System (BPS) to provide industry, regulators, and policy makers with adequate time to address or otherwise develop plans to mitigate potential reliability impacts caused by these issues. This assessment also documents current industry plans to maintain reliability during the next decade, advising regulators, policy makers, and the …
View Full ResourceFirst published in 2012, this revised and expanded technical report incorporates the latest research on the economic and reliability benefits of CSP with thermal energy storage and serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the design and operational attributes of CSP plants with thermal energy storage. The report is intended for utilities, regulators, grid operators and policy makers, and presents a framework for more informed decision-making in the evaluation of competing resources to achieve better outcomes for energy consumers.…
View Full ResourceThe centralized system operated by utilities was not designed for the flexible load tracking required by renewables or the control of large numbers of distributed electrical energy resources. An alternative approach that holds promise is a dynamic distribution system that would take over responsibility for tracking loads and smoothing intermittent renewable energy generation from the utilities. While significant new control technologies are needed to manage these energy flows, much of the requisite research, discussed herein, expands on the basic features of current microgrid technology developed through the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) which enables the autonomous control of …
View Full ResourcePumped storage hydro (PSH) plants have significant potential in providing reliability and efficiency benefits in future electric power systems. New PSH technologies, like adjustable speed PSH, have also been introduced and can present further benefits. An understanding of these benefits on systems with high penetrations of variable generation (VG) is a primary focus. This paper will demonstrate and quantify some of the reliability and efficiency benefits afforded by pumped storage hydro plants utilizing the Flexible Energy Scheduling Tool for Integrating Variable generation (FESTIV), an integrated power system operations tool which evaluates both reliability and production costs. A description about the …
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