Karin L Burns

Merchant vs hedge in battery storage... That's what I'll be discussing at the Solarmedia Battery Asset Management Summit November 12 in San Diego I'll be on a panel with my friend Joe Crespo, Sandeep Arora of REV Renewables, Erdal Kara, PhD of Vistra Corp., Li Xu of LXI Capital and Sebastian Blake of Octopus Energy talking about risks and rewards, and sharing my Plus Power perspective #energystorage #batterystorage #batteries https://lnkd.in/eQDiv_Ax

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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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Google’s 24x7 Clean Energy Tariff sets the standard for data centers, utilities, and investors. Google secured a groundbreaking new clean energy tariff from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. Existing procurement structures for renewable energy, including geothermal, face several limitations. The new Clean Energy Tariff allows the Nevada utility to sign a PPA with a Fervo geothermal facility, which they otherwise could not sign due to its relative cost. This agreement underscores the role of innovative tariffs and regulatory frameworks in facilitating corporate clean energy transitions. Investors and industry stakeholders who recognize the potential of these innovations will be well-positioned to capitalize on the shift toward a carbon-free future. #Geothermal #Google #Fervo #CleanEnergy #ClimateTech #CleanTech #Utility #DataCenters

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Disappointing Decision by CPUC: A Setback for California's Solar Growth On May 30, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) made a disheartening decision, approving a revised proposal for the state's community solar program, supported by major investor-owned utilities. This decision ignored a promising alternative proposed by a coalition of solar advocates, ratepayer groups, and labor unions. The rejected proposal, based on a Net Value Billing Tariff, aimed to compensate community solar subscribers fairly and boost renewable energy capacity. The approved decision makes only minor changes to existing programs, which have already failed to foster substantial renewable energy growth. Derek Chernow from the Coalition for Community Solar Access criticized the decision, stating it disregards the demands for a functional community solar program and solidifies California's lagging position in community solar markets. Similarly, Aaron Halimi of Renewable Properties expressed concern that this decision will deter investment in community solar projects, undermining the state's climate goals and efforts to reduce electric bills for low-income residents. Stephanie Doyle of the Solar Energy Industries Association emphasized that the CPUC's decision favors utilities' financial interests over the needs of low-income Californians and renters, further blocking their participation in the clean energy economy. She called for intervention from Governor Newsom and state leaders to prevent further setbacks in California's clean energy progress. This decision marks a significant missed opportunity for California to lead in community solar, leaving solar advocates deeply disappointed. #CPUC #CommunitySolar #RenewableEnergy #SolarGrowth #CleanEnergy #CaliforniaSolar #EnergyEquity #Sustainability #ClimateGoals https://lnkd.in/gbe8rmrm

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As we enter the fourth day of power outages in Texas combined with sweltering heat, the impact of hurricane Beryl illustrates both the impacts of climate change and the critical need to accelerate deployment of climate-tech solutions for a more resilient grid. Hurricane Beryl is yet another warning that climate change is upon us and accelerating. Warmer sea temperatures are driving more brutal and destructive hurricane seasons, with more powerful storms starting earlier in the year and occurring more frequently. While rising global temperatures ensure more frequent and deadly heatwaves - for over a year, every single month has been the hottest in recorded history, making extreme heat the new normal. From India to the middle east to the US, thousands have already died this year due to extreme heat. The combination of increasingly frequent and violent weather events, extreme heat and an antiquated, fragile grid are starkly illustrated by the 1.3 million homes in Texas still without power in the peak of summer heat. But it doesn't have to be this way. Climate-tech solutions, in particular distributed energy resources like solar and storage, are cheap, mature, and infinitely deployable technologies that can massively increase grid resilience and mitigate the compounding risks of heat and power outages during extreme weather events. In a world where roof-top solar and in-home battery storage compete on even playing field with centralized generation and distribution the grid is more resilient and power outages, when they inevitably occur, less deadly. DERs increase grid resilience by shifting generation, storage and distribution to the ultimate load (your home or local area). This takes pressure off the grid by reducing the need for antiquated, energetically inefficient T&D infrastructure that otherwise needed to link generation assets to load, through miles of expensive powerlines, transformers, etc., all susceptible to downed lines and overload. DERs also allow for demand response, load shifting, efficiency-as-a-service and other grid services that can stabilize the grid when power demand and generation capacity are dangerously unmatched. Simultaneously, DERs and microgrids mitigate the worst risks of inevitable grid failures. In home battery storage can keep your fridge running at a time when food and perishable items can't be reached. Rooftop solar can keep your air-conditioning running at the hottest parts of the day, and your cell phone charged, even if it takes days for your local utility to restore power. And these same assets can keep critical communication infrastructure up when emergency services need them most. And that's before even considering the fact that these technologies are already cheaper than conventional energy systems, faster and easier to deploy, and essential in reducing the carbon emissions driving this crisis in the first place. https://lnkd.in/g8bebhA8

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When is a utility NOT a utility, and how can they affect massive change for EV charging optimization at scale? In California, one of the largest Community Choice Aggregators (#CCA) is MCE which provides retail electricity to nearly 1.5 million residential and business customers in the Bay Area. Our company, ev.energy, provides MCE and its customers with a method to ensure that EV charging happens 1) to avoid stress on the electric grid and 2) when the most abundant renewable energy is available. In the video here, MCE's customers explain in their own words how the ev.energy app allows them to "set it and forget it" to optimize charging to keep electricity bills as low as possible, while keeping their EV charged and ready to go when they need it. We at ev.energy are bringing this forward-looking approach to managed charging not just to utilities around the country and the world, but also to emerging organizations dedicated to clean transportation. #electriccars #electricvehicles #virtualpowerplant #vpp #EVcharging #utilities #tesla #marincounty #loadmanagement #demandresponse

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