Catalyst Podcast with Shayle Kann: Interview with Jigar Shah: Could VPPs Save Rooftop Solar?
Great interview which appears supportive of TRCSS' plan to use the ERCOT ADER/VPP Pilot for Community Solar!
From the episode description on Spotify:
The U.S. rooftop solar market has tanked. Residential applications in California, the largest market in the country, plunged 82% from May through November 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Contractors are going bankrupt. The big culprits are high interest rates and California’s subsidy cuts. But there are some bright spots. Battery attachment rates in California have surged.
Refs:
So what will it take to revive the U.S. rooftop solar market?
In this episode, Shayle talks to , director of the Loans Programs Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Jigar argues that the rooftop solar industry should reinvent itself, relying on batteries and virtual power plants (VPPs). He also argues that regulations should focus on system-level dispatchability.
Shayle and Jigar cover topics like:
The pros and cons of California’s latest regulations, new energy metering or NEM 3.0
Learning from the mistakes of California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (S-GIP)
The role of VPPs and rooftop solar in meeting accelerating load growth
Incentivizing system-level dispatchability
How VPPs complicate the sales pitch for rooftop solar
How VPPs could help utilities increase the utilization of infrastructure
How to make VPPs more reliable
Recommended Resources:
U.S. Dept of Energy: Virtual Power Plants Commercial Liftoff:
Latitude Madia: Defining the rules of DER aggregation:
Latitude Media: Unpacking the software layer of VPP deployment:
CalMatters: What’s happened since California cut home solar payments? Demand has plunged 80%:
The Wall Street Journal: The Home-Solar Boom Gets a ‘Gut Punch’: