POWER May 2016 - 24

DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES
Evolving Roles for the Grid and
Generation
Courtesy: Gail Reitenbach
In the beginning, all power generation was local, distributed, and small. With technology
improvements and a desire to serve far-flung customers, centralized generating
facilities were added and grids grew larger. Today we're seeing new technologies
and capabilities shift attention back to smaller scales. Will central station generation
remain central?
Gail Reitenbach, PhD
I
t's not being overly dramatic to say that
the power industry is at its biggest inflection
point to date.
Even ignoring the effects of environmental
regulations and (in North America, at least)
cheap natural gas, the speed at which distributed
generation and storage options are entering
the market, and the more widespread
availability of technical tools to deploy
greater energy efficiency and demand response
are all reshaping the electricity sector.
As Robert F. Powelson, first vice president
of the National Association of Regulatory
Utility Commissioners (NARUC), said at the
February 4 public stakeholder meeting on the
second installment of the U.S. Department of
Energy's (DOE's) Quadrennial Energy Review
(QER), " The revolution is upon us, in a
very positive way. "
Others may disagree about the benefits of
the revolution, but it's clear that utilities today
have options beyond building new central station
generation to balance supply and demand.
In fact, given the combination of dropping costs
for distributed renewables and energy storage,
consumer demand for new choices, and the
24
recent stay of the Clean Power Plan, anything
but central station generation may become the
near-term preferred option in many cases. According
to Lisa Davis, member of the Managing
Board for Siemens, speaking at February's
IHS CERAWeek, 50% of new capacity being
installed today is distributed, which presents,
in her view, a " huge opportunity. "
These developments mean that, while the
distribution grid's role is becoming more critical
as it's called upon to serve more masters,
the transmission grid and reliable fast-start
baseload generation continue to serve critical
roles.
POWER has published a number of articles
over the years on the technology developments
and developers that have brought
us to our current, complex state of the industry-including
solar and wind power,
energy storage, and smart grid technologies.
This article takes a different approach-a
30,000-foot view-to offer a snapshot of
how some of the pieces are fitting together
today. Given our space limitations, it cannot
be comprehensive, but we hope it will spark
some conversations.
www.powermag.com
Changes Are Already Affecting the
Balance of Power
The QER (see sidebar " More About the
Quadrennial Energy Review " ) is designed
to develop a vision of the future for the U.S.
energy system by providing " unbiased data
and analysis on energy challenges, needs,
requirements, and barriers " to inform both
policy and industry participants. The first installment,
released in April 2015, focused on
" Energy Transmission, Storage, and Distribution
Infrastructure. " The DOE noted that,
" Given the critical enabling role of electricity
articulated in the first installment, the Administration
has determined that the second
installment of the QER will develop a set of
findings and policy recommendations to help
guide the modernization of the nation's electric
grid and ensure its continued reliability,
safety, security, affordability, and environmental
performance through 2040. "
That focus by the administration is one
of many indications that change is not just
afoot-it's moving faster than a jog.
During the February stakeholder meeting,
Lisa Wood, Institute for Electric Innovation
POWER | May 2016
http://www.powermag.com
POWER May 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER May 2016
