The Future of the Grid

[nwdiver]

Lets hope these utilities embrace their new role.

Yeah..... that ain't gonna happen... have you met utility executives?

 

[neroden]

Certainly a great and worthy discussion. One thing I think people don't put enough value on is the reliability of the grid. I can count on one hand the number of outages I've had in the last decade.

I tend to have two a week here in upstate NY. Your Grid Reliability May Vary.

- - - Updated - - -

Regarding seasonal variation, the big problem is getting the snow off the solar panels. I expect that companies will arise to do this chore for you....

 

[Robert.Boston]

Here's an interesting report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council that works through the issues of transitioning towards a more distributed grid:
Easing the Transition to a More Distributed Electricity System | Interstate Renewable Energy Council

 

[Robert.Boston]

An important move in New York: recently the Public Service Commission, which oversees the NY utilities, approved the framework of Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) that is intended to retool the state's power sector away from the Big Generator-Long Transmission-Dumb Customer paradigm of the 20th century into nimble distributed generation and adaptive loads. Here's a good article summarizing it: Hello Local Energy, Bye Old Power Industry, Say New York Regulators with Key Vote - Microgrid Knowledge

An interesting quote:

A key worry, however, has been that even as New York makes these changes, utilities will use their market clout to squash the many new competitors expected to emerge.Anticipating this issue, the state set up rules to keep utility dominance in check. REV places limits on utility market plays. To own or develop distributed energy resources, a utility must prove that its investment:

• Meets needs that the competitive market has been unable to fill

• Includes energy storage integrated into the utility distribution system

• Helps low or moderate income residential customers to benefit from distributed energy where markets cannot do so, or

• Serves demonstration purposes

 

[renim]

there is a trajectory for utilities, and its not pleasant.

transmission and distribution costs in my state are closer to 70% of the electricity bill, fuel and power stations are only around 20% combined.
(big state, low power generation costs)

if/when the costs of connection to the grid exceed the benefits, then we cut connection to the grid.

simple, we have the roof space

but for those without the roof space (or have trees etc.)

higher and higher electricity costs

high cost of electricity disproportionally hurts the poor.

as far as summer/winter, over size the PV array, thats what industry does with power stations anyway. (someone must have a power station/supply that runs for 15mins per year)

 

[Jim MacInnes]

This is a great program that New York state regulators are proposing!

 

[ggies07]

What do you guys think of this approach? Seems like it is the same setup as SolarCity, but the customer is paying the utility instead of a company like them.

A Utility Business Model That Embraces Efficiency and Solar Without Sacrificing Revenue?