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Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority Board Approves Purchase Of Tesla Electric Vehicles

May 26, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 26, 2022

The Governing Board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority approved a purchase contract for electric vehicles at a May 26 Board of Directors meeting.

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority will soon receive a fleet-upgrade of eight electric Tesla SUVs worth approximately $500,000, procured entirely through an Energizing Insular Communities grant of approximately $1 million from the Department of Interior.

Kyle Fleming, chairperson of the Authority’s Board, noted that other government agencies will be purchasing additional Teslas in the coming months with the Virgin Islands’ Energy Office being awarded a similar $1.2 million grant. 

According to Fleming, who is also the director of the Virgin Islands Energy Office, having electric vehicles is part of an overall strategy to transform the Authority away from fossil fuels. Both solar and wind power generation are already a part of the Authority’s current and future generation plans with the goal of eliminating, to the fullest extent possible, reliance on fossil fuel. 

He said the Virgin Islands has a natural advantage over many stateside utilities regarding its immediate ability to utilize electric vehicles.  Due to the relatively small size of the islands and the short distances driven, range anxiety, or the concern about running out of battery charge before being able to recharge, will not be a problem, according to the Authority.

Andrew Smith, the Authority’s CEO, noted that the approximately $500,000 remaining under the grant is earmarked for acquiring hybrid bucket trucks, and that the purchase process is well underway.

The American Public Power Association’s Public Power EV Activities Tracker summarizes key efforts undertaken by members — including incentives, electric vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure investments, rate design, pilot programs, and more. Click here for additional details.

DOE, National Labs Request NAESB To Set Standards For Distributed Resources

May 25, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 25, 2022

The Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have submitted a joint request for standards development to the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) seeking to harmonize grid service terminology and definitions supporting distributed energy resources offered by the organized markets and distribution systems.

The aim of the request is to create standardized, technology-neutral grid service definitions that can benefit both wholesale and retail electric market interactions.

The development of NAESB standards will promote more efficient wholesale and retail electric market operations while advancing market utilization of distributed energy resources, according to the request.

The parties submitted the request in support of the DOE’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium’s efforts to modernize the nation’s electric grid.

“A lack of common industry terminology regarding grid services can be a roadblock to the interoperability of distributed energy resources and the development of other standardized practices,” Richard Brown, principal investigator for the Grid Modernization Laboratory at LBNL, and Steve Widergren, co-principal investigator at PNNL, said in a statement.

“NAESB standardization of grid service definitions could provide a foundation for a common framework that would simplify distributed energy resource integration and enable the comparison of grid service usage across the markets, leading to improved accuracy and consistency of information concerning grid service performance and metrics,” Brown and Widergren said.

According to the request, it proposes to build upon existing wholesale market structures by standardizing common grid service names, definitions, and performance characteristics that align with the market product taxonomies and definitions identified in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Electric Quarterly Reports.

Having NAESB standards for distributed energy resources would enable wholesale market operators to associate or classify existing market products with common grid services and support more efficient communications between market operators and market participants, such as generators, distribution system operators, and distributed energy resource aggregators, the request said.

Once developed, the standards applicable to the wholesale market would provide a foundation for the development of similar retail electric standards that would serve to assist emerging retail markets to integrate, with greater consistency, the flexibilities that can be realized from distributed energy resources.

Development of wholesale market standards is expected to begin on June 14, and development of retail market standards is expected to begin later this year.

Palo Alto, Calif., Seeks Renewable Energy Supply Proposals That Can Include Energy Storage

May 25, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 25, 2022

The City of Palo Alto, Calif., is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide electric power generated by renewable resources — with or without energy storage capacity — to meet the city’s long-term electric supply portfolio needs.

The utility will consider all California renewable portfolio standard (RPS)-eligible renewable resources.

 These resources include, with some limitations:

In addition, the city will accept proposals from zero-carbon resources that are not RPS-eligible (e.g., large hydroelectric).

If a bidder chooses to include an energy storage system in a proposal, the facility should have a duration of four hours, although proposals may include pricing for longer-duration configurations as well.

Proposals must be received by June 28, 2022.

The RFP is available here.

NOAA Forecasters Predict Above-Average Hurricane Activity This Year

May 25, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 25, 2022

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year, which would make it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season.

NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, a 25% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.

For the 2022 hurricane season, NOAA is forecasting a likely range of 14 to 21 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA provides these ranges with a 70% confidence.

The increased activity anticipated this hurricane season is attributed to several climate factors, including the ongoing La Niña that is likely to persist throughout the hurricane season, warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds and an enhanced west African monsoon.

An enhanced west African monsoon supports stronger African Easterly Waves, which seed many of the strongest and longest-lived hurricanes during most seasons, NOAA said.

Texas Generator Brings 260-Megawatt Battery Storage Project Online

May 25, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 25, 2022

Texas-based power generator Vistra on May 23 announced that its DeCordova Energy Storage Facility in Granbury, Texas, is now online. The 260-megawatt/260 megawatt-hour battery energy storage project is the largest of its kind in Texas, according to Vistra.

Jim Burke, Vistra president and chief financial officer, said that the facility “offers a unique value proposition — not only can this battery system provide instantaneous full power to the grid with the flip of a switch, but it is also co-located on the same site as our quick-start DeCordova natural gas-fueled power plant.”

He said that this pairing “means we essentially have a large, one-hour battery system with dispatchable, reliable generation, leading to continuity of operation and resiliency of the grid. In addition, these gas-fueled generation units have seven days of diesel backup in the event of any disruption of natural gas supplies, which is yet another example of the resiliency aspect of the Decordova site.”

First announced in September 2020, DeCordova is the second of seven new zero-carbon projects Vistra is bringing online in Texas over the next few years as part of its growing Vistra Zero portfolio. These new power generation facilities represent a nearly $1 billion capital investment by the company within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market.

DeCordova Energy Storage Facility utilizes lithium-ion technology housed in containers that, in addition to project inverters, were supplied by Sungrow, the project integrator. Mortenson provided engineering and construction expertise.

Project construction began in June 2021 and was finished in less than a year.

Along with DeCordova and Brightside Solar Facility, Vistra is also completing the 108-MW Emerald Grove Solar Facility in Crane County ahead of summer.

The American Public Power Association’s Public Power Energy Tracker is a resource for association members that summarizes public power energy storage projects that are currently online. The tracker is available here.

ISO New England Sees Electrification Driving Demand By 14% Over The Next 10 Years

May 25, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 25, 2022

Electrification is projected to increase annual net electricity use in ISO New England by 14 percent over the next decade, according to a report by the ISO.

The report, 2022-2031 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission (CELT), looks at the long-term forecast for energy consumption and peak demand, including 10-year forecasts accounting for the impacts of energy efficiency and behind-the-meter solar generation, as well as capacity with supply obligations and total generating capability. The report also breaks down the region’s generating plants by fuel type.

The ISO develops a gross long-term forecast for electricity demand using state and regional economic forecasts, years of New England weather history, and forecasts for energy demand to power electric vehicles (EVs) and air-source heat pumps. The results of the ISO’s energy efficiency and behind-the-meter solar power forecasts are deducted from the gross forecast to arrive at a net demand forecast.

The report projects gross electric demand of 164,965 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2031 compared with 140,536 GWh in 2022, and net demand of 140,805 in 2031. Electric vehicles are expected to account for 5,934 GWh of demand in 2031, while air-source heat pumps are expected to account for 3,056 GWh of demand that year. The ISO forecasts energy efficiency will reduce demand by 16,468 GWh in 2031 and behind-the-meter solar installations will reduce demand by 7,692 GWh by 2031.

Assuming average weather conditions, the report projects peak summer demand at 29,519 megawatts (MW) gross and 25,322 MW net in 2031, compared with 27,743 MW and 24,686 MW gross and net, respectively, in 2022.

If weather is hotter than usual, the report estimates peak summer demand of 31,336 MW gross and 27,139 MW net by 2031, compared with 29,472 MW gross and 26,416 MW net in 2022.

Under average weather condition, the ISO forecasts peak winter demand at 25,880 MW gross and 22,852 net in 2031, compared with 22,031 MW gross and 20,009 MW net in 2022.

Under average weather condition, the ISO forecasts peak winter demand at 25,880 MW gross and 22,852 net in 2031, compared with 22,031 MW gross and 20,009 MW net in 2022.

If weather is colder than average, the ISO estimates gross winter demand of 26,725 MW and net demand of 23,696 MW in 2031, compared with 22,717 MW gross and 20,695 MW net in 2022.

The demand forecast report is the primary source for assumptions used in the ISO’s system planning and reliability studies.

CPS Energy Reaches Agreement For 300-Megawatt Solar Project

May 24, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 24, 2022

Texas public power utility CPS Energy has reached agreement with Consolidated Edison Development Inc. for a 300-megawatt (MW) solar project that will be located in Goliad County, Texas.

The project, dubbed Peregrine Solar, is expected to increase CPS Energy’s total solar capacity to 852 MW once it comes online.

The project is the first part of the San Antonio-based utility’s “FlexPOWER Bundle” initiative. 

Construction is scheduled to begin next year and is expected to add 250–300 temporary jobs with priority hiring from the San Antonio area. As part of the partnership agreement, Con Edison Development will contribute $500,000 over a 10-year period to support one of CPS Energy’s community priorities of supporting customers and education.

Con Edison Development also will hire up to eight positions from Greater San Antonio and maintain $750,000 in annual spending with local suppliers and vendors through the life of the 25-year agreement. This will result in a $19 million local investment for Bexar and Goliad counties.

The FlexPOWER Bundle initiative aims to further diversify CPS Energy’s power generation mix, adding up to 900 MW of solar, up to 50 MW of energy storage and up to 500 MW of firming capacity.

Launched in November 2020, a request for proposals for the FlexPOWER Bundle resulted in over 650 proposals from 100 companies across the U.S. and ten other nations, including Japan, England and South Korea.

CPS Energy expects to finalize and award all FlexPOWER Bundle contracts within the next few months with the next solar selections expected in the coming weeks.

Consolidated Edison Development is a subsidiary of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses, Inc., which will be solely responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance costs of the project.

CPS Energy will acquire the solar energy produced at Peregrine through a 25-year power purchase agreement.

PJM Says $3 Billion Needed To Prepare Its Grid For Renewables Influx

May 24, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 24, 2022

As much as $3 billion will needed to be invested in grid enhancements to accommodate a growing amount in renewable resources expected in the PJM Interconnection region, according to a new report by the regional transmission organization.

The Grid of the Future: PJM’s Regional Planning Perspective report aims to ensure that PJM’s grid maintains the reliability and operational flexibility needed to address key drivers that are changing the face of the industry.

Over the next 15 years, PJM anticipates more than 100,000 megawatts (MW) of onshore wind, offshore wind, solar power and energy storage resources will come online in the PJM region, which already has 15,000 MW of renewable resources in service.

“The grid of the future is happening now, and this paper details the road map that will help us plan the transmission system to enable the shift to renewable generation resources that are smaller, more dispersed, and more variable in output than the existing fleet,” Suzanne Glatz, director of strategic initiatives and interregional planning at PJM, said in a statement.

The PJM region includes all or part of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

In the report, PJM planners identified and examined industry trends driving grid expansion, including generation development, evolving load characteristics, emerging transmission technologies and resilience.

The resulting road map for PJM’s Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP), which identifies transmission system additions and improvements needed to maintain the flow of electricity in the region, encompasses four focus areas.

PJM said it would conduct transmission build-out scenarios studies this year that will build on its renewable integration and offshore wind studies and include further analysis of the potential impacts of greater transportation and building electrification.

PJM said it would continue to conduct targeted reliability studies to explore generation and transmission attributes such as reactive control, stability, system inertia and frequency control, and short-circuit impacts.

PJM said it would also continue to study and implement improvements to its RTEP process. In April, PJM’s planning committee endorsed a proposal aimed at moving generation and other projects through its planning pipeline more quickly to help clear the current backlog.

And PJM said the road map also focuses on regulatory policy impacts that will inform new reliability criteria for such eventualities as extreme events, state electrification policies and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) action on regional transmission planning.

In April, FERC directed grid operators to provide information regarding their changing system needs and plans for potential reforms.

Department of Energy Launches $3.5 Billion Carbon Capture And Storage Program

May 23, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 23, 2022

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on May 19 released a notice of intent (NOI) to fund the infrastructure law’s $3.5 billion program for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage.

The Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program will support four large-scale, regional direct air capture hubs that each comprise a network of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects.

DOE noted that direct air capture is a process that separates CO2 from ambient air. The separated CO2 is then permanently stored deep underground or converted for use in long-life products like concrete that prevent its release back into the atmosphere.

Each of the projects selected for the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program will demonstrate the delivery and storage or end use of removed atmospheric carbon.

The hubs will have the capacity to capture and then permanently store at least one million metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually, either from a single unit or from multiple interconnected units. 

For more information, read the NOI here.

DOE will host a virtual Carbon Negative Shot Summit on July 20 and 21, 2022.

Fitch Affirms Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, Transmission Entity Ratings

May 23, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 23, 2022

Fitch Ratings has affirmed ratings for Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) and Connecticut Transmission Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative at “AA-.” The rating agency cited, among other things, ample liquidity, very low leverage and a strong operating risk profile.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Fitch affirmed the following ratings at AA- for CMEEC:

It also affirmed the AA- rating for $16.3 million 2021 series A, transmission system revenue bonds for Connecticut Transmission Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.

The Connecticut Transmission Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative was created by CMEEC in 2009. As a separate joint action agency, it acquired local transmission assets in order to provide transmission services required by CMEEC for its members and customers.

Fitch said that the ‘AA-‘ long-term bond ratings and IDR for CMEEC and the Connecticut Transmission Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative “reflect very strong revenue defensibility, a stable consolidated financial profile, with ample liquidity and very low leverage, and a strong operating risk profile.” The rating “also incorporates limited capital spending needs and a declining debt burden, which should allow leverage ratios to remain very low,” Fitch said.

Revenue defensibility is based on the long-term, all-requirements contracts and strong member credit quality that supports CMEEC’s revenue base, Fitch said.

“Operating costs are low, although energy supply is concentrated in near-to-medium term market power purchases, subjecting CMEEC to potential variability in market pricing. A comprehensive hedging policy helps mitigate this risk, although costs are still expected to rise. Capital plans are limited to minor maintenance with no new debt requirements projected through 2026,” it said.

“We are pleased by this rating affirmation,” said CMEEC Chief Executive Officer Dave Meisinger. “We believe Fitch recognized our strong overall financial profile and metrics, combined with appropriate long-term decisions such as the recent divestiture of our largest generation asset and a renewed focus on mapping out a path toward cost-effective reduction of our carbon footprint.”

Meisinger concluded that, “our stable ratings outlook helps ensure that CMEEC and its member municipal electric utilities will have competitive access to financial markets, which further positions the CMEEC members to maintain their reasonable retail electric rates.”

CMEEC’s member municipal electric utilities include Norwich Public Utilities, Jewett City Department of Public Utilities, Groton Utilities, Bozrah Light & Power, Third Taxing District of the City of Norwalk and South Norwalk Electric and Water.