In a letter to the grid operators, the state's governor and head regulator called for quicker interconnection processes to improve regional resource diversity and a reexamination of demand response capabilities.
The U.S. electric grid could face hundreds of millions of distributed resource deployments in the near future. But optimizing these data points may exceed human ability.
Distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar, battery storage and electric vehicles, are experiencing significant growth in the U.S. as the power sector evolves to a cleaner, less centralized future.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has "a fragile system," according to the utility's director of project management, and "it still hasn't been elevated to the codes and standards for a Category 4" storm.
"FERC should continue to enable more opportunities for DERs to contribute to the future of the grid ... we must unlock the potential of this fleet to create a more efficient grid for all," writes Sunrun's Chris Rauscher.
The Public Utilities Commission proposed changes to the state's primary storage incentive that would create a budget for low-income customers in wildfire threat areas.
Lower-wattage electric vehicle charging stations are less likely to lose money in the current market, as some regions struggle to launch large-scale EV deployment.
The company's proposal includes several performance-based metrics, including penalties and rewards for speed of connecting DER systems less than 100 kW.
"With the new lower Tesla pricing, it's like having a money printer on your roof if you live [in] a state with high electricity costs," CEO Elon Musk tweeted.
Further improvements to Xcel's hosting capacity analysis and map are necessary to help Minnesota realize the full potential of DERs, including renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage, writes Yochi Zakai, an attorney for IREC.
The school bus pilot program will test the ability to use electric vehicles as a distributed energy resource to improve the utility's load factor and reduce local air pollution.
High-wattage public charging stations could be used by hackers to destabilize the electric grid and potentially cause blackouts, according to analysis from the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
Innovations are transforming community solar nationwide, but the technology is also booming in Florida where, despite utilities not using discounts to spur development, FPL is planning the world's largest community solar project.
New technologies can expand utilities' options, allowing control of load with customer-sited resources to balance variable generation, but utilities say they need incentives.
A major MISO transmission project could increase reliability and renewables in the Midwest, but opponents say there are better approaches to reducing carbon emissions.
The Public Utilities Commission asked if a "course of correction is necessary" for the utility's plan, particularly regarding the resilience benefits of microgrid solutions on the state's mountainous islands.
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