Advanced Energy Perspectives

One of the big stories over the last year has been the rapid growth of leading companies executing direct power purchase agreements for renewable energy, as well as energy storage and fuel cells. The American Wind Energy Association’s recently released 2014 U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report adds some detail to the story, noting that over 23% of the wind power contracts signed in 2014 were with corporate buyers and other non-utility groups, including universities, military installations, and units of government. In total, these contracts between wind developers and commercial and industrial, governmental, and educational institutions totaled more than 1700 MW in 2014. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) plan to regulate carbon emissions is just the latest challenge facing the U.S. electric power system. Technological innovation is disrupting old ways of doing business and accelerating grid modernization. Last year, AEE released Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, a report detailing the use, application, and benefits of 40 specific advanced energy technologies and services. This post is one in a series drawn from the technology profiles within that report.

A microgrid is a network of connected electricity generation assets, controls, and loads that can operate separately from a utility grid and/or easily connect to or disconnect from a utility grid. Microgrids come in three basic types: remote, customer-owned, and utility distribution. Remote microgrids provide power to communities far from utility networks. Customer-owned microgrids typically refer to microgrids in use at large facilities owned by a single customer, such as military bases and college campuses. Utility distribution microgrids refer to portions of the grid within the utility system that are configured to act as microgrids.

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. 

Hydropower is a mature technology that has tapped most of the resources available in developed countries, with the exception of Canada, which continues to eye large hydro projects. Despite this, there are still hydro opportunities available in the United States. An estimated $4 billion worth of orders were made over the past four years, mostly to repower and/or upgrade aging hydroelectric plants, develop small projects, and create energy storage (pumped hydro), totaling 618 MW of installed capacity.

Two weeks ago, we reported that “solar-plus-storage” was the hottest new thing in advanced energy. This week, the New York Times agreed, posting a science feature on the growing (and growth!) partnership between batteries and renewable energy.

The times they are a-changin’. There have been a lot of discussions around the country of late about the regulatory changes needed to create a 21st century electricity system. New business models are needed to integrate higher levels of distributed energy resources, take advantage of new technologies, meet environmental goals, and address changing customer needs and expectations. In an industry that has been slow to change historically, there is a lot at stake for utilities, advanced energy companies, and consumers. In order to understand what transformations are needed, it’s first necessary to understand how electric utilities make money today.

It’s not the way most companies do. Electric utilities are monopolies, so they have to be carefully regulated in order to protect the interests of their captive customers.