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MIT Report Explores Leveraging Storage As Part Of Emissions Reduction Efforts

May 19, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 19, 2022

A new report from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) explores pathways for using variable energy resources (VREs), such as wind and solar power, and energy storage to remove carbon dioxide emissions from electricity systems efficiently by 2050.

“Our study finds that energy storage can help VRE-dominated electricity systems balance electricity supply and demand while maintaining reliability in a cost-effective manner — that in turn can support the electrification of many end-use activities beyond the electricity sector,” Robert Armstrong, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) director, Chevron professor of chemical engineering and chair of the Future of Energy Storage study, said in a statement.

Because storage technologies will have the ability to substitute for or complement all aspects of a power system, including generation, transmission, and demand response, they will be critical to electricity system designers, operators, and regulators in the future, the report’s authors said, adding that the report is designed to help government, industry, and academia chart a path to developing and deploying electrical energy storage technologies as a way of encouraging electrification and decarbonization throughout the economy, while avoiding excessive or inequitable burdens.

The report focused on three regions of the United States – the Northeast, the Southeast, and Texas – using models to look out to 2050. The results indicated that the deployment of long-duration energy storage technologies would have the greatest impact on electricity system decarbonization when natural gas generation without carbon capture and storage technology is not an option. Generally, the authors said, long-duration energy storage when optimally deployed substitutes for natural gas capacity, increases the value of variable renewable generation, and produces moderate reductions in system average electricity cost.

The report identified four categories of long-duration energy storage, redox flow batteries, metal-air batteries, hydrogen storage, and thermal storage, and said the long-duration technologies win out in the long term over lithium-ion batteries because they have lower energy capacity costs and lower round-trip efficiencies.

The authors did, however, say that using hydrogen for energy storage would likely depend on the extent to which hydrogen is used in the overall economy and its broad use “will be driven by future costs of hydrogen production, transportation, and storage — and by the pace of innovation in hydrogen end-use applications.”

The study also predicted that the distribution of hourly wholesale prices or the hourly marginal value of energy will change in deeply decarbonized power systems with many more hours of very low prices and more hours of high prices compared with current wholesale market prices, which could increase challenges for financing future investments in grid assets, including storage. “This issue impacts all resources and underscores the need for thoughtful electricity market reforms and retail rate design to encourage efficient economy-wide decarbonization,” the authors said.

The authors recommended the adoption of retail pricing and retail load management options that reward all consumers for shifting electricity use away from times when high wholesale prices indicate scarcity, to times when low wholesale prices signal abundance.

The MITEI report also said that many existing power plants that are being shut down and otherwise might be abandoned could be converted to energy storage facilities by replacing fossil fuel boilers with thermal storage and new steam generators using commercially available technologies.

Department of Energy Seeks Feedback On Long Duration Energy Storage

May 16, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News  Director
May 16, 2022

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on May 12 issued a request for information (RFI) seeking input on the structure of a $505 million long duration energy storage initiative.

“The new Long Duration Energy Storage for Everyone, Everywhere Initiative, created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will advance energy storage systems toward widespread commercial deployment by lowering the costs and increasing the duration of energy storage resources,” DOE said.

The initiative, administered through DOE’s new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, will invest approximately $505 million over four years to validate grid-scale long duration energy storage technologies and enhance the capabilities of customers and communities to integrate grid storage more effectively.

DOE will implement three programs:

Under the overall Long Duration Energy Storage Initiative, DOE is also collaborating with the U.S. Department of Defense for long duration storage demonstrations at government facilities.

DOE’s Long Duration Storage Shot, launched in July 2021, sets a target of achieving a levelized cost of energy storage of $0.05/kWh, a 90% reduction from a 2020 baseline costs by 2030.

To meet this target, a wide range of energy storage technologies, including electrochemical, mechanical, thermal, flexible generation, flexible buildings, and power electronics, will need to be considered, well beyond the traditional lithium-ion batteries, DOE said.

In March, DOE’s Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative selected 14 communities to receive technical assistance to leverage energy storage as a means of increasing resilience and long-term affordability.

The goal of the RFI is to solicit feedback from a wide range of stakeholders on DOE’s implementation strategy and eligibility requirements.

Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on June 16, 2022, and can be submitted by emailing EnergyStorage41001RFI@ee.doe.gov.

A public webinar will be held to provide additional information.

Salt River Project Joins Coalition To Explore Zero-CO2 Strategies, Hydrogen Hubs

May 16, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 16, 2022

Salt River Project is a member of a new coalition formed in Arizona to explore strategies for achieving a carbon dioxide neutral economy in the state, including the creation of a regional clean hydrogen hub.

In addition to Salt River Project (SRP), the coalition includes Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power, and Southwest Gas, as well as Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University.

Together, the coalition members aim to develop a statewide strategy for “deep decarbonization – approaching carbon neutrality for the whole economy.” The coalition also aims to find solutions that help address climate change and sustain Arizona’s economy in a carbon-neutral future.

“This challenge is bigger than any one company or industry. SRP appreciates the support and vision of this diverse set of partners willing to roll up their sleeves, work together and find solutions to become a low-net-carbon Arizona,” Mike Hummel, CEO and general manager of SRP, said in a statement.

In a first step toward achieving its goals, the coalition has established the Center for an Arizona Carbon-Neutral Economy in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus where the coalition members aim to begin planning for a regional clean hydrogen hub. While not yet fully defined, the clean hydrogen hub would include hydrogen producers, consumers, and a connected infrastructure.

Used as a fuel, hydrogen releases water, not carbon dioxide as fossil fuels do, so if renewable resources can be used to create clean hydrogen, which can then be stored for use at a later time.

The coalition said it would seek funding for the project under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was passed into law in November 20221 and established program guidance and funding for regional clean hydrogen hubs.

In February, the Department of Energy announced two requests for information to collect feedback from stakeholders to inform the implementation and design of the infrastructure law’s Regional Hydrogen Hub and the Electrolysis and Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Programs.

“Hydrogen is a sustainable energy option we are excited to further explore with our industry and research-focused peers in this collaborative coalition,” Kelly Barr, chief strategy, corporate services and sustainability executive at SRP, said in a statement. “It could likely play a significant role in transitioning coal communities to a new economic way of life, while also supporting the grid with clean energy, which are vital initiatives for SRP, Arizona and the entire U.S.”

In March, the governors of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of regional clean hydrogen hubs and to compete jointly for a portion of the $8 billion allocated for hydrogen hubs under the infrastructure law.

Also in March, New York State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey formed a coalition to develop a proposal to become one of at least four regional clean energy hydrogen hubs as designated by the infrastructure act.

APPA’s Ursula Schryver Highlights Local Control As Key Benefit Of Public Power

May 15, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 15, 2022

Local control over decision making in areas such as renewable energy or reliability offers a key advantage for public power communities, Ursula Schryver, Vice-President of Strategic Member Engagement & Education at the American Public Power Association (APPA), said during a recent event related to public power.

Schryver was joined in the discussion by Maine State Rep. Seth Berry and Darren Springer, General Manager for Vermont’s Burlington Electric Department.

The three participated in a virtual event on public power around the country and lessons learned for Ann Arbor, Mich., whose City Council earlier this year unanimously adopted a resolution initiating a feasibility study for a public power utility.

Schryver said that local decision making “is the overarching tenet of public power.” She noted that communities with public power have local control over “the decisions that they make, how the utility is run, the utility’s priorities, and so that allows the city and the community to set its own priorities,” whether that’s keeping rates low, investing in system upgrades or adding renewable energy to their portfolio.

“More and more, we’re seeing communities that are pursuing the public power option” because of an interest in renewable energy, she said.

At other times, communities have pursued the public power option for other reasons, such as reliability or rates, Schryver noted.

While renewable energy may be the driving force now for communities to pursue public power, “twenty years down the road it may be some other issue that your community is interested in but having the local utility with local governance allows you to” make changes and address the issues that are important to the community, she said.

Schryver also said that public power utilities are in a solid position to address the needs and challenges of the 21st Century.

She said that there a number of public power utilities across the U.S. that are “great examples of utilities that are doing innovative things.”

Public power utilities address the issues that are of importance to their communities and “they have the ability to adapt and change,” she said.

Berry, who has been a key advocate for bringing public power to Maine, said that public power is “a superior business model” if a community wants to achieve 100 percent renewable energy supplies.

He pointed out that two California public power utilities – SMUD and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power – are “leading in the race to one hundred percent renewables.”

In Maine, a group called Our Power is working to create a statewide, consumer-owned utility.

Meanwhile, Springer provided an overview of Burlington Electric Department and detailed the utility’s key initiatives that it is pursuing.

Among other things, Springer discussed the City of Burlington’s net zero energy by 2030 goal and provided details on a $20 million net zero energy revenue bond. The bond will allow Burlington Electric Department to continue and expand green stimulus incentives that have helped Burlington residents switch to electric vehicles (EVs) and cold-climate heat pumps.

Online Tool Allows Users To Estimate Economic Impact Of EV Charging Stations

May 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 14, 2022

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory recently launched an online tool that allows users to quickly estimate the economic impacts associated with the development, construction, and operation of electric vehicle charging stations, also called electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).

The impacts range from job creation to ripple-effect economic activity, such as local spending.

The tool, referred to as JOBS EVSE 1.0, permits users to estimate economic impacts for individual states, regions, or the United States as a whole.

The tool contains default input values, but users can override default data with their own data for more project-specific results.

Although it focuses on charging stations and the infrastructure immediately upstream from them, it also considers the entire energy supply chain in calculating impacts.

Impacts also include recurring expenditures for electricity, network and data fees, revenues, operating and maintenance and administration, as well as potential revenues and access fees.

JOBS EVSE 1.0 was developed with funding from DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office.

To view a webinar about the tool, go to https://​cleanci​ties​.ener​gy​.gov/​w​e​b​i​n​a​r​s​/​#​28469.

Public Power Utilities Make Progress In Connecting Navajo Nation Families To Grid

May 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 14, 2022

Public power utility crews are making significant progress in their efforts to extend electricity to Navajo homes through Light Up Navajo III (LUN III), a joint effort between the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA).

The LUN III initiative began on April 3, 2022 and will last for 11 weeks.

NTUA will be welcoming workers from public power utilities and organizations from 11 states, including Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, California, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Washington, Texas, and Utah.

One of the public power utilities participating in LUN III is Arizona public power utility Salt River Project (SRP).

SRP on May 11 reported that its linemen have successfully connected more than 50 Navajo families to electric service despite rough terrain, high winds, snow and mud in unfamiliar land. In all, 56 families on Arizona’s Navajo Nation now have electricity powering their homes for the very first time, SRP reported.

The SRP linemen took four weeks of up to 16-hour workdays during their phase of the project.

“The first home we connected was the most touching for me. It was a mom who was living in a trailer with her children, and they had no power or running water. They had gotten sick with COVID-19 and had to quarantine at home. They were excited (to get power) and telling us how tough it had been the last few months,” said Art Peralta, SRP construction crew foreman, who resides in Mesa. “It’s very rewarding. I’ve never done anything like this, and it means a lot. It’s life changing and brings more meaning to our job.”

The SRP line crews returned home on May 8 after working on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona since April 2.

During SRP’s participation in the month-long humanitarian effort, line crews constructed about 12 miles of distribution lines. SRP crews also set 193 poles, strung 13 miles of overhead wire and worked 4,500 hours of donated man-hours. It marks the second time SRP line workers, based out of the Tempe Service Center, volunteered to participate in Light Up Navajo.

A total of 17 SRP employees participated in the project and SRP donated employee time, line trucks, digging equipment and a mechanic service truck.

“Light Up Navajo III is an initiative to bring power to all the residents on Navajo Nation. There are about 14,000 homes on the Navajo Nation that currently do not have electric service. The vision back in 2019 was to solicit neighboring utility support primarily from public power utilities like SRP to help build the infrastructure to serve the community,” said Wayne Wisdom, the senior director of Distribution Grid Services at SRP. “For generations, these families have been living on their own with the use of generators, kerosene lamps, or whatever they have.”

“There was a mother, daughter and her two kids in Tuba City and they were really excited to have power. The kids were excited to be able to entertain themselves without having to turn on a generator and to watch TV. It was nice to get to see that and use our skills to help out,” said Austin D’addabo, SRP trades helper.

“It’s given me a different outlook on the work we do,” added Peralta. “Sometimes we take it for granted because we do it every single day. But (on the Navajo Nation) it’s not normal for them. They get really excited and are very grateful to get power.”

Along with SRP, the following public power utilities participating in LUN III are:

Two investor-owned utilities are also participating in LUN III: Arizona Public Service and New Mexico’s PNM Resources.

DOE Study Sees 1,400 GW Of Economic Wind Power Potential

May 14, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 14, 2022

There are nearly 1,400 gigawatts (GW) of economic wind power capacity in the United States, an amount equal to more than half of the nation’s current annual electricity consumption, according to a Department of Energy’s (DOE) study.

The results of the Distributed Wind Energy Futures Study, which was conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), were detailed in two snapshots in time, 2022 and 2035, and done within the context of the Biden administration’s established targets of 100 percent carbon dioxide free electricity supply by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economywide by 2050.

In the 2022 scenario, the economic potential for behind-the-meter wind installations is 919 GW, compared with 474 GW for front-of-the-meter installations.

However, “the economics of distributed wind are highly sensitive to policies, especially those that impact project-level costs,” the study said. As an example, the authors said,

“If current tax credits and net-metering policies expire as scheduled, economic potential is estimated to drop between 2022 and 2035. However, if current tax credits and policies are extended and strategically expanded, economic potential increases by more than 80% for behind-the-meter applications and by a factor of nearly nine for front-of-the-meter application.”

With future policy support and “more relaxed siting conditions,” the economic potential of front-of-the-meter installations could increase to more than 4,000 GW and 1,700 GW for behind-the-meter installations in an “optimistic 2035 scenario,” NREL said.

There are currently about 1.1 GW of distributed wind capacity in the United States.

The study identified the Midwest and the Heartland regions as having the largest potential for behind-the-meter wind power because of a combination of high wind speeds and sufficiently high retail electricity rates. Six states in those regions – Texas, Minnesota, Montana, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Indiana – have a combined wind power potential of 500 GW, the study said.

The Midwest and Heartland regions also have strong potential for front-of-the-meter wind power, estimated at over 300 GW in the top six states: Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Agricultural lands make up 70 percent of the total 2022 economic potential for behind-the-meter wind power and 97 percent of the total 2022 economic potential for front-of-the-meter wind power potential.

In addition, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota, New Mexico, and Kentucky each have more than 900 megawatts (MW) of behind-the-meter economic wind power potential in 2022 on commercial and industrial lands, the study said.

Behind-the-meter economic wind power potential in 2022 on residential lands is greatest in New York, Minnesota, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, the study found.

In general, California and states in the Northeast have less profitable distributed wind power potential, except in certain locations where there are significant wind resources and higher retail electricity rates, NREL said.

Fitch Affirms AA- Rating On Bonds Issued To Finance First Phase Of MMWEC-Operated Wind Farm

May 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 14, 2022

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the AA- rating on bonds issued by the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) to finance the 15-megawatt Phase 1 portion of the Berkshire Wind Power Project. 

The 19.6-megawatt project is located atop Brodie Mountain in the towns of Hancock and Lanesborough, Mass.

The AA- rating applies to $34.4 million in wind project revenue Green Bonds, series 2.  Green bonds are earmarked to be used exclusively for climate and environmental projects. 

Fitch has also issued a rating outlook of stable.  Fitch originally upgraded the rating and rating outlook to their current levels in 2019. 

The AA- rating largely reflects the credit quality of the utilities participating in Phase 1 of the project.  Phase 1 participating Massachusetts municipal light plants (MLPs) include Ashburnham, Boylston, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield and West Boylston. 

Payments from the project participants are made pursuant to identical take-or-pay power purchase agreements with the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), the state’s designated joint action agency for municipal utilities. 

MMWEC is a member of the BWPCC and operates the wind farm. 

In its rating report, Fitch identified several key drivers, including a strong contractual framework.  The assessment also factors in the terms of the contract that provide for unconditional payments from the 14 project participants. 

The power purchase agreements require MMWEC to sell, and each participant to purchase, the project capacity and energy based on their allocated share of the project. 

Payments are imposed on a take-or-pay basis, whether or not the wind project is operating.  Each of the participants is required to maintain rates sufficient to repay their obligations under the respective agreements. 

Fitch cited very strong rate flexibility in its rating report, as rates charged by each of the project participants are determined by each utility’s governing board.  Autonomous ratemaking authority and retail rates that are highly affordable and well below the state average all led to this positive rating. 

MMWEC is a non-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, created by an Act of the General Assembly in 1975 and authorized to issue debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities. 

MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state’s consumer-owned municipal utilities.

Southwest Power Pool Anticipates Sufficient Energy Resources For This Summer

May 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 14, 2022

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) expects to have enough generating capacity to meet the regional demand for electricity through the summer season, the grid operator said on May 12.

For the season lasting June-September 2022, SPP anticipates that the demand for electricity will peak at 51.1 gigawatts (GW) and also studied scenarios with higher-than-expected demand.

Its fleet of member utilities’ conventional and renewable generating resources will be prepared to serve at least 55.5 GW, taking both planned and a margin of unplanned outages into consideration. SPP’s all-time peak demand for electricity was 51 GW, which occurred July 28, 2021.

SPP’s studies consider factors including:

SPP assesses electricity supply and demand from a high-level, regional perspective and bases its studies on data provided by generator and transmission owners and member utilities who directly serve residential, commercial and industrial customers.

While SPP anticipates sufficient resources to meet the demand across its 14-state balancing authority area, the summer seasonal assessment did identify potential local issues that it will address with the entities responsible for serving load in those areas. SPP will likewise address potential fuel-supply constraints with generator owners and operators on a case-by-case basis.

On May 12, 2022, SPP declared a Resource Advisory effective May 13-14 in response to higher-than-normal temperatures and other factors.

The advisory required no action on behalf of the general public but was meant to raise awareness among generation and transmission operators regarding circumstances that could require action on their part to prevent impacts to regional reliability.

New England Experienced Historically Low Demand For Grid Electricity In Early May

May 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 14, 2022

Mild temperatures, sunny skies, and typically low Sunday demand for electricity combined on May 1, 2022 to result in the lowest demand for grid electricity on record in New England, ISO New England reported on May 5.

Consumer demand for electricity from the bulk power grid dropped to 7,580 megawatts (MW) during the afternoon hours, the lowest mark observed by system operators since ISO New England began operating the system in 1997.

Sundays typically see lower electricity demand than other days of the week, and afternoon temperatures on May 1 were in the 50s and 60s across New England, lowering overall demand for electricity in the region. Production from behind-the-meter solar resources was estimated at more than 4,000 MW of electricity during this period, further tempering demand on the bulk power grid, ISO New England said.

While May 1 represents a record, it was the continuation of a trend seen across New England as rooftop solar installations have become more popular, it said.

The region has already seen nearly as many so-called “duck curve” days, during which demand from the bulk power system is at its lowest in the afternoon hours and not overnight, in 2022 as in all previous years combined.

These trends are expected to accelerate over the coming years as behind-the-meter solar continues to grow in New England, according to the ISO’s recently-released 10-year solar forecast.