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Grid Distribution Systems: access to usage data is uncovering the optimal design for future electrification

July 18, 2022 by Meredith Fowlie

The more efficient a distribution grid is, the less likely other potential supply bottlenecks (from lithium for batteries to trained electricians) will slow the transition to greater and greater electrification. State-of-the-art modelling of future grids is already happening, but the robust modelling of the distribution system is conspicuously missing because good data are notoriously hard to find, says Meredith Fowlie at UC Berkeley’s Energy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: buildings, charging, costs, data, Distribution, electrification, EVs, grids, HVAC, rooftop, SmartCharging, solar

Replacing centralised power with Distributed Energy Systems needs new policies and coordination

January 24, 2022 by Sara Stefanini

We need integrated resilient smart grids that can accommodate the rapid growth of intermittent renewables as well as the rise of “prosumers” who both buy and sell electricity into the grid. This is the focus of three online discussion sessions on February 8th, 9th and 10th organised and hosted by power management company Eaton. The proliferation of multiple generation sources (solar, wind, batteries and other clean, flexible technologies) means … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: batteries, bigtech, DER, Distribution, electricity, EU, grids, innovation, investment, jobs, power, prosumers, renewables, solar, utilities, wind

Can full-scale Distributed Solar really save $473bn in grid investments?

September 20, 2021 by Meredith Fowlie

A giant model of the entire US electricity sector which captures distributed energy resource (DER) potential has been getting a lot of attention. It estimates that distributed solar and storage can save $473bn in system-wide costs when deployed at scale (enough to power more than 25% of US homes). Rooftop solar is definitely much more expensive than grid generation, but its location (on your own roof) avoids a range of costly transmission and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: DER, Distribution, electricity, grids, investment, rooftopsolar, storage, Transmission, US

Solar is displacing Coal in India’s electricity market

November 19, 2020 by Kashish Shah

India is the world’s third largest electricity market and as a fast-growing economy can, according to the IEA, lead the recovery of global energy demand out of the pandemic for the coming decade. Kashish Shah at IEEFA runs through solar’s prospects in India, which hopes to build 450GW of renewable energy by 2030. Solar is getting cheaper. A 2GW auction in June delivered India’s lowest-yet renewable energy tariff at US$31/MWh. That figure could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal, Renewables Tagged With: batteries, coal, CoalExit, costs, Distribution, electricity, India, pandemic, renewables, solar, storage

Rooftop Solar: economies of scale can challenge the centralised grid

November 12, 2020 by Javier LĂłpez Prol

One of our recent articles explained how rooftop solar PV is more expensive that a centralised supply, and that the transmission and distribution cost savings of the rooftop system, on their own, do not make up for this cost difference. Here, Javier LĂłpez Prol at the Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, responds to those challenges. First, the economies of scale of distributed rooftop solar are yet to be realised. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: BehaviourChange, costs, Distribution, grids, investment, prosumers, rooftopsolar, solar, Transmission

Why promote Rooftop Solar when the Grid is so much cheaper?

October 13, 2020 by Severin Borenstein

Is rooftop solar in the U.S. getting more support than it deserves? One main argument from its advocates is that it will cut grid transmission and distribution costs that total hundreds of millions. Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas crunches some numbers to try to uncover the true “avoided costs”. He shows that any savings won’t come even close to making up for the higher cost of rooftop electricity. It’s no match for the grid’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: DistributedGeneration, Distribution, electricity, grids, resilience, rooftopsolar, solar, storage, Transmission, US

The new era of electricity needs modern ways to charge customers

July 15, 2020 by Jim Lazar and Mark LeBel

Today’s technologies – wind, solar, storage - have widely differing cost and operating characteristics to fossil fuels. So the way customers are made to cover those costs – assigning different rates to different customer classes – should change. Jim Lazar and Mark LeBel at RAP explain why and how, referencing their comprehensive manual “Electric Cost Allocation for a New Era”. They describe how the full range of technologies now establishing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: Distribution, electricity, grids, markets, networks, pricing, SmartMeters, solar, storage, Transmission, wind

Ukraine’s integration into the EU gas market is a positive lesson for the region

June 23, 2020 by Aura Sabadus

Ukraine is shaping its gas infrastructure and regulations to integrate into the EU market. On the infrastructure front, its interconnectors with neighbours, extensive pipeline network and storage facilities are making it an increasingly important European player, explains Aura Sabadus writing for the Atlantic Council. The gradual opening up to EU free market rules are evidenced by its gas prices following those of the EU. Ukraine's attractive … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal, Policies Tagged With: competition, Distribution, ENTSOG, EU, gas, Gazprom, interconnectors, markets, prices, Russia, Transmission, Ukraine

California fires and blackouts: would non-profit utilities be more reliable, safer, cheaper?

November 21, 2019 by Severin Borenstein

The wildfires in California ignited by poorly maintained transmission lines have themselves ignited a debate about whether the guilty - and now bankrupt - energy utility PG&E (the largest in the state) should now become publicly owned. That in turn has led Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas to consider the pros and cons of public v private in this vital activity. The first thing to note is that electricity transmission and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids, Policies Tagged With: California, Distribution, electricity, grids, investment, policies, Transmission, US, utilities

Online condition monitoring: making sense of sensors in the age of the Smart Grid

February 7, 2019 by Smartgrid Forums

Grid operators across Europe are experiencing higher maintenance and reinforcement costs than ever before and, without significant increases in funding, are realising that they must fundamentally change the way that their assets are operated, maintained and replaced. This means running assets closer to their operational limits, performing predictive rather than corrective maintenance and replacing assets as close to the end of their useful life … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Energy efficiency, Events, Networks, Platform, Promoted content, Resources Tagged With: Asset Management, Change Management, Digital Twin, Digitalisation, Distribution, Investment Planning, Predictive Maintenance, Smart Grid, Transmission, Utility

Most read this week

  • Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done? by IEA | posted on January 23, 2023
  • EU ETS and CBAM: what the big update to emissions trading rules means for Europe’s key sectors by Simon Göss | posted on January 16, 2023
  • Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs? by Helena Uhde | posted on September 8, 2021
  • Gravity Batteries: any nation can do it at scale using rocks by Simon Read | posted on July 27, 2022
  • 10 Carbon Capture methods compared: costs, scalability, permanence, cleanness by Ella Adlen | posted on November 11, 2019
  • Micro-nuclear reactors: up to 20MW, portable, safer by Christina Nunez | posted on April 22, 2021
  • EU Energy Outlook to 2060: how will power prices and revenues develop for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more by Alex Schmitt | posted on December 6, 2022
  • Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S. by Esmeralda Colombo | posted on January 20, 2023
  • Concrete: 8% of global emissions and rising. Which innovations can achieve net zero by 2050? by Ben Skinner | posted on January 24, 2023
  • How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe by Helena Uhde | posted on January 19, 2023
  • Hydrogen production in 2050: how much water will 74EJ need? by Herib Blanco | posted on July 22, 2021
  • Twenty-first century energy wars: how oil and gas are fuelling global conflicts by Michael T. Klare | posted on July 15, 2014
  • What’s stopping even bigger Wind Turbines? Blade speed and flexing? More likely manufacturing and installation capacity by Simon Hogg | posted on January 18, 2023
  • What’s best for Hydrogen transport: ammonia, liquid hydrogen, LOHC or pipelines? by Herib Blanco | posted on May 5, 2022
  • Making Hydrogen will consume 2% of total global renewable capacity growth by 2027 by IEA | posted on January 17, 2023
  • EU energy ministers unable to agree on biofuels policy by Karel Beckman | posted on December 15, 2013
  • Why hydrogen fuel cell cars are not competitive — from a hydrogen fuel cell expert by Zachary Shahan | posted on June 17, 2016
  • Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world by Christoph Gatzen | posted on January 25, 2023
  • The 10 big problems with simply replacing fossil cars with electric by Schalk Cloete | posted on December 6, 2021
  • 2023 lookahead for Sustainable Finance: EU Taxonomy, ESG ratings, corporate disclosure laws, Europe’s “IRA” by Luca Bonaccorsi | posted on January 12, 2023

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Recent Posts

Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals

Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world

Concrete: 8% of global emissions and rising. Which innovations can achieve net zero by 2050?

Biofuel is approaching a feedstock crunch. How bad? And what must be done?

Europe needs a Regional Green Bank to fulfil its Green Deal and match the U.S.

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