On January 24, the California Public Utitlies Commission will vote on an important precedent for using renewables to enhance grid reliability.
Grid reliability requires that there be a certain amount of local generation–known in wonkspeak as ‘local capacity requirements’, or LCR.
Here’s an article that points to a controversy about smart grid, i.e., about the concept of two-way communication between the electric generation plant and the customer, and the application of intelligence to flow of information. Apparently, someone is alleging that the money spent in the arena has been misspent, that smart grid won’t improve grid reliability, etc.
For more than a year, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has been engaged in a cutting-edge modeling effort simulating how a 33% renewable future might affect the state’s grid reliability.
This ‘renewable integration’ modeling ought to