Advanced Energy Perspectives

Back in January, we published a list of the top 10 utility commission issues to watch in 2015. With 2015 half gone, we check in on the top issues facing utility commissions. Note: some links in this post reference documents in DocketDash, BillBoard or PowerPortal, applications in AEE's software platform, PowerSuite. Click here and sign up for a free 14-day trial of PowerSuite.

1. New York’s ‘Reforming the Energy Vision’

New York, in its comprehensive Reforming the Energy Vision Proceeding (REV), is determined to redefine the role of the utility and overhaul the utility business model, and that process is marching forward. In its Track One Order issued in February, the NY PSC approved a Distributed System Platform (DSP) model, wherein the utilities will be responsible for managing markets for distributed energy resources (DER). The order also significantly limits utility ownership of distributed solar, wind, and battery storage and increases the standard interconnection cap from 2 MW to 5 MW. On July 1, the PSC is expected to release the Track Two Straw Proposal, which will focus on such crucial matters as financial drivers for utilities - in other words, how they make money.

This post is one in a series of feature stories on trends shaping advanced energy markets in the U.S. and around the world, drawn from Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report, which was prepared for AEE by Navigant Research. 

Industrial companies that have high energy consumption rates can benefit immensely from understanding and managing energy consumption within their facilities and throughout the entire enterprise.  The implementation of an industrial energy management system (IEMS) has become critical to this understanding. An IEMS provides the capability to bring information and knowledge of all aspects of energy-related matters into the present, where cost-effective tactics can be employed to reduce inefficiencies and avoid high demand charges. 

When discussing any networked technology these days, talk turns to “the Cloud.” Cloud computing and massive online data storage is the latest and greatest service on offer from many of the nation’s top tech companies, from Dropbox to Amazon to Google. But the cloud is not just for computer jockeys anymore. The concept is now being used for the distributed system of networks that the U.S. electricity system could become in the 21^st Century.  Just ask Navigant Research, which has put out a new white paper on what it calls the “energy cloud.”

The EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), which will set limits on carbon emissions from existing power plants, is set to be finalized this summer. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has released two assessments so far, each of them raising concerns about the potential impact of the CPP on reliability. One of the challenges to reliability identified by NERC has to do with the increased deployment of variable renewable energy - namely wind and solar - in the power system. However, many states are already seeing unprecedented levels of variable renewable generation and successfully integrating them into the power system without impeding reliability. As renewable energy production across the country continues to increase due to the rapidly declining cost of these resources and state policies requiring utilities to use more renewables, integration is likely to be even easier when the CPP takes effect in 2020.

This post is one in a series of feature stories on trends shaping advanced energy markets in the U.S. and around the world, drawn from Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report, which was prepared for AEE by Navigant Research. 

The biofuels industry has made great strides in the past decade, with ethanol and biodiesel becoming established commodities traded on all continents and more than 32 billion gallons produced in 2014. But future growth is less certain, especially in terms of biofuel as an alternative fuel for ground transportation in developed countries. Still, there are significant opportunities in niche fuel markets, as well as new potential in emerging markets where bioenergy could play a greater role.