Written by Jan Aengenvoort, Next Kraftwerke Welcome back to the second part of Zondits’ exploration of virtual power plants! Part 1 of the series provided a brief introduction to VPPs. In part 2, we answer the following question: What is the Business Model of a VPP? For a couple of years now, the role of the virtual … Read more
Written by Ryan Pollin, ERS for Zondits, June 11, 2018 A new Rocky Mountain Institute report, “The Economics of Clean Energy Portfolios,” considers four proposed gas plants in different areas of the United States, comparing the cost of their construction and operation to a locale-appropriate mix of clean energy resources – solar, wind, storage, and … Read more
Grid Modernization, Energy Efficiency, and Distributed Energy Resources Written by Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits, March 14, 2018 It is becoming increasingly vital that utilities take into account energy efficiency and distributed energy resources in system planning. States differ widely on regulations surrounding utility infrastructure, and ACEEE recently released a report surveying utilities across the … Read more
Distributed energy resources pose biggest disruption to utility business model Electrical Light & Power, July 5,2017 Although low natural gas prices and renewables are impacting the utility industry, the biggest disruption is coming from increased penetration of distributed energy resources, as well as the broader digitization of the utility value chain. This is according to … Read more
Mark D’Antonio, ERS, for Zondits As the demands on the electric grid continually evolve and as there is greater consideration of temporal and locational capacity needs, distributed energy resources (DER) and energy storage (ES) systems are increasingly being considered for a multitude of applications on either side of the meter. Capacity deferral, generation mix, demand … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits A recent episode on the 99% Invisible podcast investigates how electric meters work and the origins of net metering, as well as the future of electricity markets. The 99% Invisible podcast is all about the things that largely go unnoticed but are essential to the modern world we live in. … Read more
New York Public Service Commission scraps net metering and approves new rates structure to value DER PV Tech, March 10, 2017 The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a new rate structure for distributed energy resources (DER) that is set to more accurately value and compensate for solar, while also boosting energy storage … Read more
Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits There are strong signs that commercial, or behind-the-meter, energy storage has turned a corner in regards technical maturity, commercial value, and ultimately, financial credibility. A report issued by Sandia National Laboratories in August says that many sources believe that the commercial energy storage market is currently at the “tipping point,” … Read more
Kelly O’Connell, ERS, for Zondits Zondits recently had the opportunity to speak with Matt Kromer, the Director of the Grid Integration Group and Co-Principal Investigator of the SHINES and SunDial project at Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems CSE. Fraunhofer CSE is an applied research and development laboratory dedicated to building tomorrow’s energy future today. … Read more
Jeffrey Perkins and Allison Donnelly, ERS The DOE’s definition of a microgrid is “A group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources (DER) with clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid [and can] connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both … Read more