Below is the agenda and links to resources and presentations used during the meeting:
Thursday, January 8
9:15 – 10:45 am
Pressure Points to Build the Regional Energy Market
Now that a western EIM platform is launched how to we build it into a market that can provide more services than imbalance energy? We will discuss the emerging structure for the market and the political implications in California and other states. We will also review WGG’s progress to pressure Southwest utilities to join, development in the Pacific Northwest and any individual utility movement. This discussion will be followed by how to determine a strategy to move market development further and faster.
Moderator: Roger Hamilton, Western Grid Group
Xcel Energy and Progress in Colorado – Ron Lehr, Western Grid Group (PPT presentation: Lehr-PSCO-PRPA-BHCE-Joint-Dispatch-Agreement)
WGG’s EIM Disallowance Case and progress in Southwest – Amanda Ormond, Western Grid Group (PPT presentation: Ormond-EIM Disallowance Case)
Pacific NW Progress and recent bid for a market service provider – Cameron Yourkowski, Renewable Northwest
Formation of the EIM Governance Structure and political consideration for California – Carl Zichella, Natural Resources Defense Council (PPT presentation: Zichella-150112_Issue Paper Presentation)
Additional LINKS:
1) The EIM Transitional Committee Issue Paper has posted to the ISO website. It’s on the EIM stakeholder initiative page – and a market notice will go out shortly. http://www.caiso.com/informed/Pages/StakeholderProcesses/EnergyImbalanceMarket.aspx
2) Synapse Report: Balancing Market Opportunities in the West – http://www.westerngrid.net/2014/10/23/wggs-synapse-eim-report/
10:45 – 11: 45 am
Refuting Integration Arguments
As penetrations of renewable energy increase, utilities and regulators are increasingly raising concerns about integrating renewables and possible impacts on reliability. In this session we review how the company with the largest renewable energy portfolio in the country – NextEra – is tackling integration and reliability concerns through the development of an internal working group and their participation at NERC to influence important task forces, reports, and standards that could support or negatively impact renewable integration. In addition, we will highlight the work of the Western Interstate Energy Board to identified utility concerns on grid integration of large amounts of wind and solar and develop technical responses to those concerns. The work is aimed at dissecting common utility justifications for actions such as needing a new gas plant or limiting renewables due to “reliability concerns.” Advocates as well as decision makers and regulators can use the information and logic from this session to influence lines of inquiry and respond to arguments that attempt to limit renewable energy deployment based on reliability or integration concerns.
Mark Ahlstrom, WindLogics, a NextEra Energy company (PPT presentation: Ahlstrom-Mark-Philosophy of VER Integration 08jan2015)
Brian Parson, Western Grid Group (PPT presentation: Parsons-WIEB-integration-for-WCEA-Jan-2015
Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body – Five informal technical information sessions on the reliability challenges associated with adding variable energy resources to electric systems http://westernenergyboard.org/wirab/webinars/
1:15 – 3:15 pm
State Actions Addressing Utility Compensation and Rate Design
Under the current structure, utilities often lose out when they deploy energy efficiency and renewable energy. But what if we could transform them from adversaries into powerful champions for low-carbon solutions? Changing utility compensation and rate design could align their incentives with ours, while maintaining a healthy level of competition to provide a reliable, low-carbon system at least cost. In this session, we will examine emerging policy solutions from leading states with an eye on how those solutions might be applied to our Western states.
Moderator: Sonia Aggarwal, Energy Innovation & America’s Power Plan
Developments in Illinois. – David Kolata, Illinois Citizens Utility Board (via telephone)
New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision. – Ryan Katofsky, Advanced Energy Economy
Smart rate design. – Jon Wellinghoff, Stoel Rives LLP
The latest in Hawaii – Ron Binz, Public Policy Consulting (PPT presentation: Binz-WCEA-Jan-2015)
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Smart from the Start Renewable Energy and Transmission Siting
Part of WCEA’s smart from the start approach to renewable energy deployment is planning for transmission and renewables at a landscape scale. Several processes are moving forward. The DRECP in California addresses public and private lands. Others, including the Las Vegas RMP and a possible West-wide Energy Corridor from Arizona to California, focus exclusively on public lands. We will host a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and opportunities for WCEA groups to improve the outcomes for developer while supporting good land stewardship.
Moderator: Pam Eaton, The Wilderness Society
Developer’s perspective on land planning initiatives – Rick Miller, EDF-RE
Environmental perspective on land planning initiatives – Barb Boyle, Sierra Club & Erin Lieberman, Defenders of Wildlife
Assessing and defining a viable westwide energy corridor – John Shepard, Sonoran Institute (AZ West-Wide Energy Corridors jpg )
Friday, January 9
8:30 – 10:30 am
Capitalizing on the Clean Power Plan
EPA’s 111(d) regulation creates unprecedented opportunities to support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency through the institutionalization of long-term commitments. At the same time, it threatens to cement the role of natural gas as the preferred fuel to replace retiring coal plants. States are working to understand how clean energy can be incorporated into State Implementation Plans as measurable carbon reductions. This session will focus on information advocates need to know to frame arguments and influence state decision-makers.
Moderator: Amanda Ormond, Western Grid Group
Overview of advocacy effort to date, organizing strategies and capacity – Noah Long, Natural Resource Defense Council
Status of Western States’ Dialogue – Patrick Cummins, Center for New Energy Economy
Influencing air and energy regulators: RAP tools available to advocates – Christopher James, Regulatory Assistance Project (via telephone) (PPT presentation: James_RAP-WCEA 111d_SFO_2015-01-09)
Additional links:
http://www.raponline.org/featured-work/tackling-111d-could-regional-approaches-rule (blog post by Ken Colburn)
http://www.raponline.org/search/related/relation/project-document/id/105 (link to several materials RAP published prior to June 2014. The Quantifying Air Quality Impacts of Energy Efficiency Policies document is quite relevant for states considering how to assess Building Block 3 and what contributions could be made from their state)
http://www.raponline.org/event/webinar-tracking-renewable-energy-for-the-u-s-epas-clean-power (September 30, 2014 webinar on REC tracking under 111(d)
RAP also has several additional documents under review or in production now. These include
- a Menu of Options report for states (prepared on behalf of NACAA). This report will contain over two dozen chapters. Each chapter discusses a particular policy option (I.e., energy efficiency, demand response, improved coal quality), state/local experience, costs, GHG benefits, co-benefits (criteria pollutant reductions, improved water quality, reliability etc) and provides a bibliography for states who wish to more fully consider the particular policy.
- A “mobile source analogy for energy efficiency” paper. Here we make the case that energy efficiency deployment is similar to mobile sources. The millions of discrete energy saving devices and appliances are deployed in a decentralized and disbursed fashion. What is important is not the individual performance of a particular widget or device, but the accumulated performance of all such devices in that area. EPA treats mobile sources like this, and we argue that such an analogy for EE would help to “get tons out of the air”. Of course, good EM&V is a pre-requisite.
- We’ve also had discussions with The Climate Registry on developing a registry for EE projects (such as those completed by ESCOs). The TCR comments on EPA’s Clean Power Plan reference this paper. Here is a link to the TCR paper. http://www.theclimateregistry.org/downloads/2014/09/TCR_An-EE-Registry.pdf
- John Shenot and Carl Linvill from RAP have been working with WEIB to convene discussions among air and energy regulators about 111(d) and what options Western states can consider.
Uday Varadaraja, Climate Policy Initiative
10:30 – 11:00 am
Optimizing Natural Gas to Support Clean Energy
Natural gas will play an important part in building the low-carbon power sector, but there is a danger that natural gas generation, transportation, and storage facilities will be built indiscriminately. Natural gas investments should be focused on generation and facilities that complement the micro grid and large-scale renewable energy pathways we want. In other words, we want an optimized gas fleet that complements energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, storage, and large-scale renewable resources.
Carl Linvill, Regulatory Assistance Project
11:00 – 11:30 am
Assessing and managing climate change reliability risks to the Western Interconnection
The Scenario Planning Steering Group (SPSG) will analyze new scenarios that focus on risks from climate change on Western grid and water reliability. The analysis will include thorough evaluations of major risks associated with the least and most severe temperature and water models and early indicators of the risks, and how to potentially prepare for them. Gary and Ron are seeking WCEA input on how best to leverage these scenarios and place them in front of decision makers.
Gary Graham, Western Resource Advocates (his presentation PPT – Graham-WCEA-Climate-Change-Energy-Water Scenario)
Graham Presentation to SPSG kicking off the project – https://www.wecc.biz/Administrative/141014_Energy-Water-Climate%20Change%20Workshop%20Overview%20Graham%20SPSG%20PPT.pdf
Ron Lehr, Western Grid Group