Andrew Ponec

For anyone who will be at IEEE Power & Energy Society T&D Conference feel free to stop by our panel session on #EVs and #gridreliability. Will be an interesting cross-sector discussion including technology provider, independent system operator, and utility perspectives among others. E-mobility is driving the blending of Transmission and Distribution system planning, design, and operations. Particularly with the growing prevalence of distributed energy resources, IoT and grid-edge technologies, and virtual power plants (#VPPs).

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Karen Herter, this is an incredibly timely and helpful report. Most telecom and energy engineers are focused on deploying two-way networks and IP connectivity to everything. In contrast, this report provides strategic quantification of the benefits of using multiple existing networks to provide hyperconnectivity to demand response devices. Well done!!!

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Today I want to put the spotlight on Arelys Sosa, Thomas Tingelöf and Kent Moore who are the amazing founders of DREV.🔦 The problem they are tackling is that battery gigafactories, semi-conductor factories, and battery recycling plants face big challenges collecting hazardous metal micro-particles, slowing production, and they are squandering precious materials, and endangering staff. These are all individually big problems and combined this is huge.☣️ Drev has the solution to all to this with The Vault, an innovative technology powered by patent-pending dry brush technology and a revolutionary canister design, eliminates water and chemicals from the cleaning process, improves safety, and enables the adaptive reuse of valuable materials that would otherwise be thrown away with save manufactures millons. 🧹 The Drev team has the unique domain experience for solving a particular problem that we're always looking for when we are backing founders at the Norrsken Accelerator. Arelys is an industrial engineer who was part of the original team at Panasonic Energy at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 so she has seen this problem first hand for years. Thomas has a PhD and he has been the CTO of PowerCell and VP at Volvo Cars and has massively scaled technologies before.🤩 The interest from the industry is huge and they are currently running projects with some of the leading battery manufacturers. You can read more and contact them here: https://lnkd.in/d7V-mKrx

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What if distributed energy resources could communicate and cooperate at the speed of thought? Imagine the possibilities. Locally-generated and shared power. Self-forming grids. Simple, scalable energy solutions. At SYNCRIS, our technical team is already delivering microgrid hardware with response times that are 10,000 times faster than industry, and we know that we can go even faster. Perhaps as fast as the neurons in your brain. And if that doesn't get you thinking... #grid_of_tomorrow #clean_energy_transition #we_got_this

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More home solar installations are being paired with batteries, as customers seek backup power, and policies change. At the same time, homes are becoming more efficient, flexible, and electrified. How synergistic are all these technologies in ensuring the reliability of homes? We at the Energy Markets & Policy Group, Berkeley Lab asked this question in some or our recent research that was recently accepted in the journal Energy. The research focuses on the technical capabilities of PV+storage under a variety of building stock conditions where we use NREL’s ResStock building model to represent homes in ten US locations, then show how solar and battery storage needs change with increased energy efficiency, load flexibility, and electrification measures. It turns out the size of battery you need to backup your homes varies A LOT by the underlying load profiles of your home and its geographic location. Read more below, open access! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gbk9Dpuy #electricity #outages #VoLL #solar #storage #backup #power

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New #ChargeCycle Episode Alert: Exploring Low Carbon Fuel Policies with UC Davis Expert Colin Murphy! In our latest episode of The Charge Cycle, we dive deep into the future of low carbon fuel standards (LCFS) and fleet electrification with Colin Murphy, Co-Director of the Low Carbon Fuel Policy Research Initiative at UC Davis. Colin shares valuable insights on: • The evolution of low carbon fuel policies and how they’re shaping the future of transportation • Challenges and opportunities in renewable diesel, biofuels, and EV adoption • The complexities of lifecycle analysis and indirect land use change (ILUC) • What policymakers should focus on for the next decade to meet climate goals This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in fleet electrification, climate policy, or clean energy initiatives! Listen to the full episode here Youtube: https://lnkd.in/gx-iJrsy Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3TQnJoc Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3TSt8uZ Join the conversation and discover how we can accelerate the shift to cleaner, greener transportation! 🌍 #LowCarbonFuels #EVs #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #ClimatePolicy #FleetElectrification #TheChargeCycle #Podcast

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Yesterday, ERCOT issued a notice of "possible future Emergency Condition of reserve capacity deficiency" for Friday & Saturday nights. This makes the latest The Energy Capital Podcast with Zach Dell, founder of Base Power Company, particularly relevant and timely. Residential batteries solve multiple problems. Base Power Company is the first and, so far, only retail electric provider in Texas to offer customers a home battery, monthly energy service, and installation all in one package. This episode highlights one of the things I most love about Texas’ competitive energy market: we are seeing a lot of innovative offerings. And in that category, Base Power stands out. The goal of Base Power is to essentially operate as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). When the grid is up and running, the batteries installed in participating homes will improve grid stability and lower costs. And when there are blackouts, batteries will provide customers with backup power. People often forget that over 90% of power outages happen at the distribution level. When increasingly dangerous storms, hurricanes, wildfires hit the distribution grid, no amount of large central station generation will keep the power on; that will take distributed resources located at homes and buildings. Residential batteries contribute to resource adequacy, ensuring there is enough bulk power to meet demand for everyone, but they also provide consumers a measure of self-reliance and reliability you can't get from the ERCOT grid. Please listen and share widely! #txlege #txenergy https://lnkd.in/d9XVbckD

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"The vision is to have these distributed power plants — which can be stood-up, scaled and dispatched far more quickly and affordably than conventional centralized power plants — drive down costs and boost reliability for all the grid’s users. The problem is that only one of the six FERC-jurisdictional grid operators, the California Independent System Operator, has successfully developed — and begun implementing — a wholly compliant Order No. 2222 implementation plan. But it’s the case of the nation’s largest grid, the PJM Interconnection, that best illustrates the costs of non-compliance. Case in point are the results of what’s known as its July “capacity auction,” a process by which power plants are paid to commit to be available, and consumers are paid to conserve during future emergencies. Beset with an extraordinary mismatch of power supply and demand, the results of that July auction tell us that the price of electricity for 65 million people across the mid-Atlantic and Midwest is set to increase significantly next year, and it threatens to keep climbing thereafter. Regrettably, in a region with growing fleets of rooftop #solar panels, #batteries and #electricvehicles, distributed power plants, or DPPs, were not afforded a chance to mitigate this summer’s record-shattering capacity auction. Though, to PJM’s credit, it’s not for lack of trying; after one failed attempt, earlier this year PJM’s plan for integrating DPPs into its wholesale energy markets was accepted by FERC just a few days prior to the capacity auction. Yet, despite the proverbial canary in the coal mine, PJM has since informally proposed delaying their approved plan’s effective date by two years — or at least four additional capacity auctions — from February 2026 to February 2028. That would mark more than seven years since Order No. 2222 was handed down." #FERC2222 #VirtualPowerPlants

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The impact of small grants on spurring testing of new technologies and approaches underscores exactly why programs like TECH Clean California are vital to scaling climate solutions. #renewables #power #energy #wind #offshore #onshore #solar #hydropower #floating #nuclear #geothermal #efficiency #transition #susteinability #circular #economy #esg #clean #decarbonization #electrification #climate #hydrogen #mobility #greensteel #ammonia #transportation #storage #fuelcell #smartgrid #der #powersystem #generation #transmission #distribution #electricity #machines #motors #drives #sensors #iot #education #engineering #innovation #entrepreneurship #creativity #technology #digitalization #cybersecurtity

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We are getting many questions from industry who are confused about the Order No. 901 standards revisions. We don't have all the answers, but want to be helpful in sharing what we can glean from North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)'s posted materials and announcements. Important Data Points: 🔹 NERC's Milestone 2 projects for Order 901 are related to the creation of NERC PRC-028 (IBR disturbance monitoring), PRC-029 (IBR ride-through performance), and PRC-030 (IBR post-event performance validation). 🔹 All three standards have not received passing ballots up to this point. Latest ballots: 47% for PRC-028, unknown for PRC-029 in July (not yet posted) but got 25% in April, and 31% for PRC-030. ❗❗ NERC states in today's 901 summary update (see below) that the upcoming July 22-August 12 ballot "will be the last opportunity for NERC to ballot these projects through traditional mechanisms." This is the last chance for industry to vote and provide feedback through the normal ballot process. ⚠ The NERC Board "may take requisite action" in August, meaning that the proposed standards may proceed to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after this last ballot - i.e., potentially failed balloted projects may be moved forward... (right?) Questions we're hearing include: ♦ Industry experts on the NERC Drafting Teams are working hard to try to compile a wide range of comments and feedback. Can industry get more time to align on these important standards? Or are we going to settle with a v1 draft that would need further revisions immediately? ♦ Can we consider adopting IEEE 2800-2022 at the NERC level to bring uniformity on some of these topics? Maybe we wouldn't need multiple standards and could unify workloads and speed up the process? 📣 We encourage all industry stakeholders to have a voice in this process - it's important for all sides to be at the table and part of this pivotal rulemaking. Milestone 2 Summary: https://lnkd.in/d_nKkZj2 PRC-029 Recent Ballot Comments: https://lnkd.in/d6CgR3bi

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#unavoidableopportunity #climateresilience investment now. "Separately, the Department of Energy is trying to help utilities squeeze more capacity out of the existing grid. That includes “grid-enhancing technologies” such as sensors that allow energy companies to send more power through existing lines without overloading them and advanced controls that allow operators to ease congestion on the grid. It also includes replacing existing lines with advanced conductors, which can potentially double capacity along existing routes. The Energy Department is currently offering $3.9 billion in funding that could go toward these and other solutions."

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Grid Reliability Impacts of EV Charging-Two Important Initiatives-Call for Engagement Several years ago, with the support of EnerTech Capital, the California Mobility Center, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), WECC and other organizations, I was fortunate to be involved in helping to form and manage a working group focused on increasing cross sector collaboration to better understand and mitigate potential adverse impacts of EV charging. In April 2022, a CMC working group published a paper including a number of grid friendly charging recommendations, as well as highlighted the need for more robust technical collaboration between the electric industry and EV OEMs and real-world data to both support and build on recommendations regarding grid friendly charging behaviors. I'm highlighting two recent initiatives and encouraging ongoing technical engagement and support from experts in utility, automotive, communications, software, consulting, and related fields. NERC is proposing to stand up an electric vehicle task force under its industry led Reliability Security Technical Committee. The task force deliverables over 2 years include reports regarding bulk power system reliability risks, a technical report on EV charging states and type tests, improvements in EV charging load modeling, and recommendations regarding interconnection requirements. For more information contact [email protected] or [email protected] In addition, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently made available a paper entitled “Exploratory Pilot: Analyzing Grid and EV Interactions Through Measuring Driving Behavior, Charging Behavior and Electricity.”  James Sayer and Eric Wingfield led the work for UMTRI, together with Taylor Spalt from Utilidata. The pilot monitored ten vehicles for operational data over 86 days at 8 public charging locations outfitted with Utilidata’s meter adapters. Among the observations was that during specific charging events, EVs generated increased power loss, contributed to voltage loss, and created unfriendly grid responses among other effects. Further research is recommended to support the assessment of potential broader grid impacts, as well as improve modeling. These observations are consistent with the findings contained in the CMC working group report. The paper also included observations regarding charging behaviors and impacts. Continued stakeholder supported research by UMTRI is critical and can help inform the NERC EV Task Force initiative. Please reach out to Eric Wingfiled at UMTRI for a copy of the paper. He may be reached at [email protected] Fostering electric system reliability is critical to the success and reputation of the automotive and utility industries.  Getting this type of collaboration off the ground and maintaining momentum is not easy, especially given the pressing challenges facing both industries. Please lean in. Your support is critical.

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FERC has approved interconnection reform - and this is *generally* good for the energy transition. That said the devil in in the details of how states and utilities implement these changes. Some improvements like penalties assessed against utilities for tardy studies, trying to clean out queue squatters, and expressly identifying certain technical flexibility into interconnection design are good. However, we have specifically seen "Cluster Studies" and higher financial security requirements stymie development and create very costly and endless loops of re-studies in many markets (utility and DG). Calling on American Clean Power Association (ACP) Solar Energy Industries Association and importantly state level advocacy and watch dog groups to closely watch and actively participate as the implementation of these changes occur at the state level PUCs and DPUs - ensuring proper accountability and fair play. https://lnkd.in/ewehaH52 NYSERDA New York Solar Energy Industries Association MID-ATLANTIC RENEWABLE ENERGY COALITION Renewable Energy Vermont American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Smart Electric Power Alliance NECEC Cleantech Leaders Roundtable

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Virginia looks at a novel way to distribute costs more fairly for solar, batteries, EV fleets and other distributed energy resources connecting to the grid. https://lnkd.in/ed4SMJaG

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There are at least $270 billion in potential savings by accelerating the buildout of transmission for a high-renewables grid! At least according to the DOE's National Transmission Planning Study. Their analysis shows that speeding up the deployment of transmission infrastructure for renewable energy not only helps meet climate goals but also saves billions. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eNBkbTz3

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Utilities buying distribution transformers face waiting times and higher prices, as do solar developers needing similar step-up transformers. Distributed solar can extend the useful life of distribution transformers, says an NREL report. (My latest for PV Magazine USA) Authors: Killian McKenna Sherin Ann Abraham Wenbo Wang Abodh Poudyal

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First Solar opened its new $1.1 billion fully integrated thin-film solar factory in Lawrence County, Alabama. This move adds a substantial 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar manufacturing capacity to the US market and is anticipated to generate more than 800 jobs. Supported by the #InflationReductionAct, this initiative marks a significant step towards bolstering the country's renewable energy sector. One key feature that sets First Solar apart is its full vertical integration in thin-film PV solar panel manufacturing. With the capability to transform glass into a functional solar panel in just four hours, the company relies heavily on US-sourced materials, including locally-sourced glass and steel within a 25-mile radius of the factory. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) expressed optimism, stating that this production facility is poised to make a substantial impact in the US #renewableenergy landscape. #solarenergy

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