Please use links in the agenda to access documents and presentations:
FALL WCEA MEETING AGENDA
September 10 & 11, 2015
Portland, OR
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Thursday, September 10
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Building Western Markets – Part I – Market Design
The Western Interconnection is in the nascent stages of balancing area coordination and consolidation. Advocates have the opportunity to help shape emerging markets to ensure that they enable low carbon resources. Part I of this session will examine market design – what functions and services are necessary to support clean energy? How can markets incent the building of capacity, support ancillary services from renewable resources, and enable demand response and energy efficiency?
Moderator: Brian Parsons, Western Grid Group
Mark Ahlstrom, WindLogics, a NextEra Company
What is working, what is not, in current RTO market design?
Ron Lehr, Western Grid Group: What functions and services do we need to support a low carbon future?
Response: Dave Olsen and Doug Larson
Building Western Markets (PPT)
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Building Western Markets – Part II – Leveraging Market Creation
As the new structure for a Western RTO is created leverage points will be available to advance clean energy. Part II will look at opportunities for advocates to engage in regulatory processes.
Moderator: Kate Maracas, Western Grid Group
Kevin Lynch, Iberdrola Renewables: Influencing EIM governance
Bill Corcoran, Sierra Club: Moving PacifiCorp beyond coal
Megan Decker, Renewable Northwest: Anticipating PacifiCorp merging with CAISO – State approval opportunities
Amanda Ormond, Western Grid Group: Engaging in five CAISO stakeholder processes
Kevin Lynch PPT (PPT)
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Order 1000 & FERC
With regional organizational filings nearly complete it is time to evaluate how regional planning groups have responded to FERC’s Order 1000. Will the processes created move the region into an era of robust transmission planning and result in decision-quality data that will build infrastructure and be used for regulatory decision- making? What happens to NTTG as regional coordination grows and its primary entity, PacifiCorp advances toward integration into the CAISO? Does the fragmented Western Interconnection now have adequate interregional coordination to eliminate seams issues? Has FERC done all it can to enforce Order 1000?
Moderator: Fred Huette, NW Energy Coalition
Doug Larson:Failures in Order 1000
Julia Prochnik, NRDC Cameron Yourkowski, Renewable Northwest : Shape of Regional and Interregional planning.
Allison Clements, FERC Project: How do we make our case at FERC?
Doug Larson (PPT)
Julie Prochnik (PPT)
Allison Clements (PPT)
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Fossil Refinance Project
As the Clean Power Plan forces early coal plant retirements utilities are going to seek compensation. Ron and Uday will describe a modeling effort to quantify impacts of refinancing utilities’ coal generation out of rate base. Refinancing options include analyzing regulatory depreciation, securitization, corporate restructuring, and bankruptcy to determine the scale of financial impacts on shareholders and ratepayers.
Ron Lehr, Western Grid Group
Uday Varadarajan, Climate Policy Initiative
Case Study of Public Service Company of Colorado
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Accepting Change – The Human Dimension
The electric sector is experiencing a period of extraordinary change with technology available to rapidly move us to a clearer electric sector. However, the pace of change is unsettling for many people within the electric sector, a stoic and slow moving industry. In our work to change current practices and operations advocates would do well to understand how we can help individuals accept change.
Who are you dealing with and what do they need to support change?
Amanda Ormond, Western Grid Group Kate Maracas, Western Grid Group
Ormond and Maracas (PPT)
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Around the West
Roundtable for advocates to share issues of importance to the group.
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Friday, September 11
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Clean Power Plan
A utility war cry against the CPP is its possible effect on the reliability of the electric system – leading to a default response of building more natural gas. The final rule directs that state compliance plans address reliability, but also specifies treatment of “leakage” from new natural gas. To enable advocates to address reliability and support the greatest additions of clean energy we will review the opportunities presented in the final rule; break down specific aspects of reliability, and what assessments, methods, processes and mitigation measures should be included in state plans; and focus on the risks associated with increased reliance on natural gas.
Moderator: Amanda Ormond, Western Grid Group
Maria Robinson, Advanced Energy Economy: Opportunities in the final rule and reliability arguments
Brian Parsons, Western Grid Group: Tools and strategies to address reliability
Carl Linvill, Regulatory Assistance Project: Communicating on risks of over reliance on natural gas
Maria Robinson (PDF)
Brian Parsons (PPT) *Updated since meeting. 9/18/15
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New Funding to Improve BLM Transmission Corridors in the Southwest
BLM recently provided $500,000 in funding to advance its first regional review of West-wide Energy Corridors to provide better transmission access to renewable energy while avoiding conflicts in western Arizona, southern Nevada and the California Desert. With increasing coordination amongst utilities and balancing authorities across this region, corridors such as BLM corridor 30-52 along Interstate 10 from Phoenix to California will play a key role in unlocking renewable energy resources.
Arizona Solar Working Group
John Shepard, Sonoran Institute Directing DOE Funding
Alex Daue, The Wilderness Society
West-wide Energy Corridors (PDF)
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Supporting Responsible Clean Energy Development on Public Lands
Solar development on public lands has resulted in some of the lowest priced PPAs in the West, showing that the zone designation brings valuable renewable resources to market. As the Obama Administration nears the end of its term advocates are striving to institutionalize beneficial policies, practices and rules such as the BLM’s Wind and Solar Leasing Rule to create certainty and longevity.
Alex Daue, The Wilderness Society Noon – 12:30
Wind and Solar Leasing Rule (PDF)
Action Items & Wrap Up