The US Transmission Grid and ERCOT

It’s widely known that the US transmission system is lagging behind where renewable energy projects continue to accelerate.?Texas continues to be one of the leading states for planned solar projects, yet there are concerns about the reliability of the grid during peak demand surges. As summer heatwaves approach and mid-day consumption increases, ERCOT assured customers that power will remain on, noting that?reserves are up about 7%from last year. Despite increased reserves, 6 power generation facilities went offline in May, resulting in about?2,900 MW of lost electricity. For the time being, ERCOT will continue to work closely with the power industry and rely on customers to conserve power during peak time. ERCOT, and others invested in the Texas renewable industry are committed to expanding and updating infrastructure. Below we will explore what steps are needed to have a?more interconnected- and less congested grid.??

Standardizing the distribution system?interconnections within the current process can enhance reliability and bring more energy onto the grid. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) originally developed the interconnection procedures in the mid-1990s. More transparency is needed to understand where the bottleneck is happening within the interconnection queues. Over the coming months, PUCT would like distributed resources to be incorporated into ERCOTS’s resource adequacy metrics, so grid operators have control and visibility of the resources. On a national level, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)?proposed changes?to Regional Transmission Planning in order to increase regional transmission facilities and de-congest the current grid. The proposed rules also require planning for long term interconnectivity and grid expansion.

It’s important that existing infrastructure remains in working quality. Additional funds and resources may be needed through legislation and tax credits to repair and renovate power generation facilities, since outages can be caused by planned maintenance and aging infrastructure. Part of President Biden’s?$1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law?designates billions of dollars?for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to strengthen- and build out the US power grid.

Another barrier to current solar deployment is curtailment.?This paper?by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory describes curtailment as the reduction of renewable energy delivered due to oversupply, lack of system flexibility, or contractual agreements. In the longer timeline, storage will need to play a larger role into the ERCOT grid in order to increase reserves. Thermal storage is especially important to fight curtailment. The NREL report notes thermal storage can be used to store additional reserves during overgeneration and overall reduce the hours of curtailment.?

Solar and storage have a?symbiotic relationship?- they create business opportunities for each other. To achieve grid reliability and reduce energy costs, the solar industry will depend on the integration of energy storage.

Renewables are expanding and will continue to be an important part of our energy future. Understanding long term connectivity goals around utility-scale development will be important to ensuring that we continue to develop impactful projects that can deliver power efficiently and effectively.?Even with interconnection delays,?ERCOT topped the list?of grid operators last year by processing 14GW of utility scale solar interconnection requests and 6GW of battery storage.?The potential for renewable energy is being recognized and many are working to increase efficiency in the region. Many active developers set aside additional funds for grid upgrades to help support their planned solar and storage projects planned in years ahead.?

Ideematec is committed to expanding clean solar energy with over 3.5 GW high performance solar tracking systems installed in over 26 countries to date.?