Sylvan and GridLab_Renewables Transmission Rights
The practice of requiring long-term firm point-to-point transmission rights for new generators in the Pacific Northwest traditionally supported reliability for utilities that rely on BPA transmission, but has not adapted well to an environment with increasing penetrations of renewable resources....
Grid Reliability in the Clean Energy Transition
MANAGING GRID RELIABILITY IN A CHANGING WORLD Summers and winters are introducing new grid reliability risks in the form of extreme heat and cold, both exacerbated by the climate crisis.12 Heat waves cause people and businesses to crank their air...
Solar Production Fact Sheet
How much solar power capacity is available in the wholesale power market managed by the California Independent System Operator? According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) as of 11/07/2024 there were 19,853 megawatts (MW) of solar generation connected to...
Innovate Modeling Series: Iterative portfolio optimization
Capacity expansion models are the primary method for developing resource portfolios in electricity planning exercises, including integrated resource plans and transmission plans. These models are complex and imperfect, primarily because investments in the electricity
Innovate Modeling Series: Rethinking the role of capacity expansion modeling
Capacity expansion modeling is a crucial part of power system planning. It’s the foundation of the utility’s IRP, setting a roadmap for net investments, retirements, and meeting policy goals of renewable energy production or emissions reductions. It also serves a...
Innovate Modeling Series: Introducing Innovate
Power system planning has grown in both importance and challenges in recent years. In parallel with rapid integration of variable renewable energy sources and storage, the electric industry is facing rising load growth, evolving weather and natural disaster risks, and...
Assessing Resource Adequacy In Montana Fact Sheet
The primary objective of the Montana resource adequacy (RA) assessment is to identify capacity needs for NorthWestern Energy (NWE) in the next 5-7 years given resource plan uncertainties and evolving coordination opportunities through the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP). NWE...
The impact of renewables in ERCOT during the summer of 2023
The deployment of renewable energy in Texas, particularly wind and solar, has grown significantly over the past decade. Texas has almost as much wind capacity as the next four states combined1 and ERCOT recently
The impact of an additional 10 GW of utility-scale solar in ERCOT during winter storm URI
The winter storm that hit Texas and the surrounding regions in February 2021 (often referred to as Winter Storm Uri) triggered one of the worst blackouts in recent history. In Texas, it was the first time that all 254 counties...
The Western Resource Adequacy Program: Considerations for Planners and Policymakers
When policy discussions for the establishment of a west-wide resource adequacy program began in 2019, the leading indicators of western reliability risk were just beginning to emerge: long-planned thermal retirements, growing drought risk, and correlated heat events were increasingly dominant...