GridLab

This week, GridLab and Gridworks released Connected West, a detailed, long-range transmission plan to address the growing energy needs of the West over the next 20 years. Bottom line: The West can achieve its goal of a reliable grid to support a strong economy at a manageable cost if we work together to plan and build the transmission we need. If we do not, we will have a more expensive grid. Connected West website: https://connectedwest.org/ Full report: https://lnkd.in/dM5Cdcke Gridworks will also be hosting a webinar on Oct. 8, 9-10:30am PT to discuss the study purpose, key findings, methodology and assumptions. Panelists include: Sen. Greg Brophy (The Western Way), Chair Megan Decker (Oregon Public Utilities Commission), Sarah Edmonds (Executive Director, Western Power Pool), and Rich Glick (Senior Fellow, Gridworks). Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gHuaw7q9

We're proud of this one. A big thank you to Gridworks and GridLab for the opportunity to contribute to Connected West - ?a study we hope will drive forward and support the exciting progress the West is making on transmission. Some key takeaways from the report: ?? $30B in planned transmission investment won't be enough to support a decarbonized and electrified grid in the West. More will be needed. ?? Expanding or repurposing existing transmission corridors will be vital to meet future energy demands efficiently. ?? Transmission investment can lead to massive savings - $80-90B in net benefits - forecasted using an approach that largely aligns with the benefit categories from Order 1920. A special shout out to our incredible team - John W. Muhs, P.E., Kavita Shenoi and Tyler Butikofer, P.E. - for their hard work and dedication on this project. Also, Emily Leslie from Montara Mountain Energy made fantastic contributions. We’d love to hear your thoughts during the upcoming webinar.

This week, GridLab and Gridworks released Connected West, a detailed, long-range transmission plan to address the growing energy needs of the West over the next 20 years. Bottom line: The West can achieve its goal of a reliable grid to support a strong economy at a manageable cost if we work together to plan and build the transmission we need. If we do not, we will have a more expensive grid. Connected West website: https://connectedwest.org/ Full report: https://lnkd.in/dM5Cdcke Gridworks will also be hosting a webinar on Oct. 8, 9-10:30am PT to discuss the study purpose, key findings, methodology and assumptions. Panelists include: Sen. Greg Brophy (The Western Way), Chair Megan Decker (Oregon Public Utilities Commission), Sarah Edmonds (Executive Director, Western Power Pool), and Rich Glick (Senior Fellow, Gridworks). Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gHuaw7q9

Xcel’s latest IRP includes six new natural gas peaker plants. Clean energy advocates say a more economical approach exists, cautioning that these investments run the risk of becoming obsolete stranded assets. “Xcel could save ratepayers as much as $3.5 billion by opting for a single new gas plant, and relying more on existing plants, energy storage, efficiency and demand response, and buying surplus power on the regional power grid.”

Super excited to see the launch of the #ConnectedWest website - https://connectedwest.org/. Connected West is a fantastic new look at the transmission we need in the West to create the resilient, abundant, and clean electricity system of the future. It shows that even with all the massive investment in projects "in flight" - we will need many more to get us to a clean, reliably and affordable grid in 2045. This has been a strong partnership between GridLab, Gridworks and Energy Strategies. Join us for a webinar on October 8th to dig deeper into what a new grid for the West will look like: details on the site.

The success of Texas renewables and storage may be difficult to replicate elsewhere, but I still find the story worth contemplating as we think about #interconnection options and #storage solutions https://lnkd.in/gcnjUgZZ

This summer broke records in temperature. Two of the hottest states - California and Texas - avoided blackouts, thanks in large part to renewable energy projects new to the roster, particularly battery storage. "Across the U.S., a combination of?new power sources?and luck has helped grid operators avoid calling for rolling blackouts. States such as California and Texas that in recent years have bet big?on renewable energy?and battery storage easily met electricity demand, even as residents cranked their air conditioning to stay cool during punishing heat waves."

“Batteries were the biggest reason California didn’t see the power go out”.? Like Texas, California’s battery boom helped keep the lights on amidst soaring temperatures and other summer reliability challenges. The last two years alone saw California add 5.8 GW of battery capacity, bringing the state’s total battery fleet up to 9.1 GW. The additional storage is useful during evening hours when temperatures remain high, demand peaks, and solar production declines. Analysts point to California’s increased battery capacity, along with good forecasting and better coordination between grid operators, as key components of CAISO’s improved ability to stabilize the power grid even under the most challenging conditions.?

I was honored to speak at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's interconnection workshop yesterday and share the results of a new electricity simulation study conducted by Duke University's GRACE Lab with Ryan Watts, and to join Heatmap News Shift Key podcast to discuss solutions with Jesse Jenkins and Robinson Meyer. Our study, "Modeling the Effects of Flexible Interconnection on Solar Integration: A Case Study," is covered by Utility Dive and pv magazine USA (links below) and found the following benefits to energy-only interconnection for a recent cluster study: ? 75% reduction in identified transmission overloads, including 27 separate transmission elements ? 72% reduction in network upgrade costs related to thermal power flow overloads ? $112 per kW reduction of capacity-weighted costs of studied solar generation capacity This analysis accounted for single contingency events and did not consider the use of alternative transmission technologies, and it did not assess stability or short circuit impacts. I discuss the study and related topics in more detail in my comments filed in advance of FERC's workshop. UtilityDive: https://lnkd.in/e_78CDHb Heatmap interview: https://lnkd.in/euKYB_ck PV Mag: https://lnkd.in/ecyGDQ8Z FERC comments and study: https://lnkd.in/eENCaA9C

Last week, ERCOT’s power grid overcame record-breaking heat waves that drove electricity demand to new heights. It is no coincidence that solar power generation broke multiple records that same week. Texas is demonstrating why solar and batteries are so important for grid reliability in the face of extreme weather events. Last Tuesday, solar generation hit 20,799 MW, surpassing previous benchmarks and keeping up with record demand during the day. As the sun set, batteries stepped in, discharging their own record 3,927 MW to help keep homes cool and the lights on.