Advanced Energy United Webinars

As the laboratories of democracy, dozens of states have taken notice of the advanced energy opportunity – and taken advantage. Now it's the time for Congress to pick up the torch. In a new policy paper,  Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES Forum) have teamed up to offer, for Congress’s consideration, five ways to improve the electric power system and accelerate growth from energy innovation.

AEE's Arvin Ganesan and Davis Wright Tremaine's Glenn Benson provide an overview of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), a 1970s-era law that drives procurement of certain types of advanced energy generation. Congress along with FERC are considering changes to this law and related regulations that could positively or adversely affect development of such generation projects.

Even as the D.C. Circuit Court weighs the future of EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), states across the country are figuring out how to reduce carbon emissions in the electric power sector. Some states are also beginning to look at how they will administer the compliance plan that gets them to their CPP target. State and federal air regulators face challenges in the form of budgetary and staff constraints, and inexperience with ways advanced energy technologies can be used to reduce carbon emissions. As EPA itself has indicated, one solution to this challenge is to turn to outside organizations for help.

Earlier this year, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) issued an “initial reliability review” in which it identified elements of EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) that could lead to reliability concerns. One of the issues identified by NERC was the challenge of integrating variable renewable resources, such as wind and solar, into the power system at the levels contemplated by the CPP. When one examines the data, it is clear that some geographic areas are already successfully managing the levels of renewable energy discussed in the context of the CPP. 

The North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a report in November that raised questions about the potential impact of EPA's Clean Power Plan (CPP) on the reliability of the electric system.

In this technical review of the NERC report commissioned by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEEI), the Brattle Group explores the technology, operational, and market options that will allow states and power system operators to meet CPP requirements without compromising reliability.