Advanced Energy Perspectives

The numbers don’t lie. Peak demand in Michigan is expected to increase by 2,000 MW in the Lower Peninsula over the next decade. Normally, this type of load growth is met by building new power plants. But these “peaker” plants sit idle most of year, pressed into service only when demand is highest – a few hours per year. A new study commissioned by Advanced Energy Economy Institute finds that Michigan would benefit significantly from using a variety of demand reduction strategies, all of which can relieve stress on the power grid, delay or avoid construction of expensive new power plants, and save money for Michigan electricity customers. Demand reduction strategies include a combination of targeted demand response (DR) programs, time-varying rates, and smart thermostats – options that can save Michigan upwards of $1 billion over the next decade.

In Nevada, disputes over net metering controlled much of the energy conversation in 2016. Now, lawmakers and Gov. Brian Sandoval are looking to go big on advanced energy. First, at the end of last year, the Public Utilities Committee of Nevada (PUCN) issued an order requiring a utility to consider “all attributes,” not just cost, in evaluating energy options – a boon for advanced energy technologies, which provide a range of benefits. Now, lawmakers are pressing forward on legislation that would boost the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), establish annual energy efficiency goals, and consider requiring utilities to deploy energy storage by 2018. If they keep working together like this to enact policies that reduce costs for ratepayers and diversify the state’s energy portfolio, Nevada Republicans and Democrats could catapult the Silver State into the driver’s seat on advanced energy in 2017.

A version of this post was published by Crain’s New York Business as “A revolution in getting power to the people.”

Audrey Zibelman, who chairs the New York Public Service Commission, is moving on next month to run Australia's electricity grid system. But she will leave an important legacy here: a foundation for the most significant transformation in the state’s electric power system in two decades. When her successors complete the job, New Yorkers will enjoy unprecedented new choices for how they meet their electricity needs—and set an example for the nation on how to build a clean, resilient, and more affordable energy system.

Over the course of 2016, most of the advanced energy policy conversations in Nevada have been around net metering, with much score-keeping of progress and setback. Between rollback in June and partial reinstatement in December, net metering has taken center stage, with more to come this year. But another official decision has set the stage for Nevada to once again be an expanding market for advanced energy. It was a little-noticed ruling by the state’s public utility commission (PUC) to incorporate costs and benefits across all attributes in weighing various options for meeting the needs of electricity customers. AEE’s nonprofit educational affiliate, the AEE Institute, was right in the middle of it.

While the nation’s eyes may be turned to Washington, D.C., this week for the inauguration, there is action just 109 miles south on I-95 in Richmond. The Virginia General Assembly gaveled into session last Wednesday, and there is a full slate of the bills that could impact the advanced energy industry. Last year, we noted that the sign on the door of a state that prides itself on being “open for business” could have read “gone fishing” when it comes to the advanced energy industry. But the slogan this year could be “under construction.” Here are three questions that will determine which message Richmond will be sending to the advanced energy industry in 2017: