Adding clean energy to the US power grid just got a lot easier
theverge.com
theverge.com
The study might show that the upgrades required to inject power at a project location and maintain system stability and reliability are too costly and the project can’t proceed as proposed.
The studies are usually performed in the order that the requests are received.
Project proponents are often unaware of where on the grid the most cost effective interconnections are for a given project size.
The feedback loop between proponents and utility could be tightened up if the utility would publish a map showing available capacity or cost to upgrade vs new capacity for different locations on the grid.
That is one way the utility could meet the demand to perform the studies faster with the same number of quants.
The point of the studies is to determine the upgrades required to the transmission system to ensure stability and reliability (prevent cascading failures)
Also we're working towards a system where demand can be controlled. Think your electric car stops charging or your air conditioner kicks off for 10 minutes when there is a problem.
Batteries exist in a different economic regime than rate payers. Where the price per megawatt varies by 2X or more. Which makes it easier for batteries to make money be arbitrage. As in buy power at 10am for $40/MWH, sell it at 7pm the same day for $80/MWH.
So making $40/MWH * 100 MWH/day = $4000 per day * 365 day/yr = 1.4 million revenue per year. Not enough to pay back $100 million.
Like you said The economics of it keep improving though Imp
> As it is now, it takes an average of five years for a new energy project to connect to the grid. There’s a huge backlog of more than 2,000 gigawatts of clean energy generation and storage that’s just waiting in line for approval. That’s about as much capacity as the nation’s existing power plants have for generating electricity today.
> [...] To clear the backlog, the new federal rule will require grid managers to assess projects in clusters instead of one at a time. They’ll also face firm deadlines and penalties for failing to finish interconnection studies on time. The new rule prioritizes projects that are the farthest along in development and also includes new requirements for project developers, like financial deposits to discourage them from proposing projects that might not pull through.
> Today, renewable energy makes up just over 20 percent of the US electricity mix. A five-year wait time isn’t going to cut it if the Biden administration wants to reach its goal of achieving a 100 percent clean power grid by 2035. Added capacity would also come in handy during sweltering heatwaves like those of this summer, when electricity demand spikes for air conditioning. Two of the nation’s largest grid operators issued alerts about potential energy shortages for that reason this week.
From "Computer simulation provides 4k scenarios for a climate turnaround" (2023) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36578412 :
> Highlights:
> • Probabilistic assessment of 4000 decarbonisation pathways with the ETSAP-TIAM.
> • Delaying the action for the 2 °C target costs similar to acting now for the 1.5 °C.
> • Demand electrification is higher in 2050 than today in all model runs.
> • Hydrogen is used in 99% of the model runs to meet the 1.5 °C target.
Wow, that's just mind-boggling.
“…includes new requirements for project developers, like financial deposits…”