CANARY IN THE COALMINE: IEEE CONFERENCE MATERIALS

(Part of these materials were presented at the Friday, April 21, 2022 IEEE Tech Conference and Expo at Las Vegas, Nevada.)

The steady increase in typically behind-the-meter (BTM) resources, such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, microgrids, smart home devices, other demand side response solutions, etc. has given distributed energy resources (DERs) a new role in national grids. Given the renewable energy transformation, increased demand for electricity, and the challenges facing the build-out of transmission or other utility scale generation and storage assets, especially in the USA, it Is no surprise societies are turning to DERs to participate in the bulk power system (BPS), also referred to as the Bulk Electric System (BES). This presentation is aimed at a variety of DERs, be they virtual power plant providers participating in wholesale markets, DER aggregators selling ancillary services to TSOs, or demand response solutions (DRPs) allowing customers to reduce their reliance on TSOs and distribution system operators (DSOs).

The rise of DERs has allowed historically BTM assets to provide electrical energy to the BPS and participate in wholesale electricity markets where such exist. BPS regulators, transmission system owners and operators (TSOs), and distribution service owners and operators (DSOs), have historically faced the greater weight of the balance of increased penetration of DERs, seeking to maintain system reliability and security given the changing resource mix through improved regulations, interconnection practices, business protocols, etc.. Now, however, state and federal regulations are catching up to DERs. This may impact DERs bottom-line by increasing the compliance and regulatory burden they face as they operate within the BPS and within distribution systems.

This presentation offers a brief survey of some federal orders, federal initiatives, state laws and state law initiatives that may impact DERs. Just like coalminers used canaries to give them a heads-up of hidden dangers, DERs should ask if their regulatory and compliance teams, legal advisors, and subject matter experts are incorporating processes and procedures that help them gain a clear understanding of the laws and regulations impacting their business model, or risk seriously impacting their profitability and viability in the future.

IEEE Las Vegas Expo April 21 2023 Power Point from Ruben Arredondo

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IEEE Las Vegas Expanded Outline April 21, 2023

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SOLVING THE INTERCONNECTION QUEUE LOGJAMS AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL

RECORDING AND SLIDES

Aloha! Thanks again for all those that attended the webinar on January 18, 2022 originating from Honolulu, hosted by Ruben Arredondo and Durrett Lang Morse LLLP.

You can find the recording of the 52 minute webinar here. The passcode to view it is !GUSmA&0

Please find a copy of the webinar slides below.

SOLVING THE INTERCONNECTION QUEUE LOGJAM

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Questions about interconnection logjams and disputes? Contact Ruben Arredondo at ruben@regime360.com, or schedule a time to met by clicking on the "Let's Chat" button.

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OWN A POWER PROJECT WITH A NAMEPLATE RATING OF 1MW+? YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO FILE THESE TWO FORMS

(This information is merely intended to provide general guidance. To determine whether these requirements are applicable to your project talk to an attorney and/or review the EIA info available here)

Statistical data collected by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA):

You may be obligated by law to complete surveys required by the EIA if applicable. The EIA collects information about electric power plants through two annual surveys (Form EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report, and Form EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report) that have monthly supplements. Find general information about the nature of data collected and its use here. You can find the 2018 Guide to EIA Electric Power Data (most recent guide as of the date of this document) here, along with links to the forms, instructions for the forms, links to published aggregate data collected from the information on these forms, etc.

The EIA collects information about

1. Power plant characteristics (Form EIA-860) this form is mandatory:

   1. Existing plants are required to respond to the EIA-860 if:

      1. The plant’s total generator nameplate capacity is 1 Megawatt (MW) or greater and

      2. The plant’s generator(s), or the facility in which the generator(s) resides, are connected to the local or regional electric power grid and have the ability to draw power from or deliver power to the grid. If the existing plant is jointly-owned, only the operator of that plant should respond to the EIA860.

   2. Proposed plants are required to respond to the EIA-860 if:

      1. The plant’s proposed total generator(s) nameplate capacity will be 1 MW or greater; and

      2. The plant’s proposed generator(s), or the facility in which the proposed generator(s) resides, will be connected to the local or regional electric power grid and will be able to draw power from or deliver power to the grid; and the plant meets one of these two conditions:

         1. The plant will be primarily fueled by coal or nuclear energy and is expected to begin commercial operation within 10 years; or

         2. The plant will be primarily fueled by energy sources other than coal or nuclear energy and is expected to begin commercial operation within 5 years.

         3. The five and ten year reporting horizons are calculated from January 1 of the reporting year. For example, reports made in 2014 should reflect plans through December 31, 2018 (five year horizon) and December 31, 2023 (ten year horizon). If the proposed plant is jointly-owned, only the planned operator of that plant should respond to the EIA-860.

      3. Generators located in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico are required to respond to the EIA-860 if:

         1. The generators are connected to a local or regional transmission or distribution system that supplies power to the public.

   3. For all plants:

      1. The total generator nameplate capacity is the sum of the maximum ratings in MW on the nameplates of all applicable generators at a specific site.

      2. For photovoltaic solar, the total generator nameplate capacity is the sum of the AC ratings of the array. Note that energy storage systems that output electricity or otherwise store energy for the purpose of electricity output are considered to be generators.

2. Power plant operations (Form EIA-923): Form EIA-923 is a mandatory report for all electric power plants and CHP plants that meet the following criteria:

   1. Have a total generator nameplate capacity (sum for generators at a single site) of 1 megawatt (MW) or greater; and

   2. Where the generator(s), or the facility in which the generator(s) resides, is

   3. connected to the local or regional electric power grid and has the ability to draw power from the grid or deliver power to the grid.

   4. In addition to power plants, fuel transfer terminals for generating stations may be required to report on Form EIA-923.