In a filing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has called for updates to the way the nation's electric utility system is operated in order to make it more efficient and better equipped to accommodate larger amounts of electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Implementing the recommended improvements would benefit consumers and the electrical system more generally – not just renewable generators, according to AWEA.
‘Wind energy is being reliably integrated onto the power system today, and reliability standards ensure that that will be the case in the future,’ says Rob Gramlich, AWEA's senior vice president for public policy. ‘The reforms AWEA is suggesting will ensure that wind energy can be efficiently accommodated on the power system and also guarantee that outdated grid operating procedures will not hold up development of America's renewable resources and the benefits they provide for our economy, environment and energy security.’
The ideas for many of the reforms AWEA is seeking, Gramlich adds, have been adopted from experience with integrating large amounts of wind energy in Europe, where wind already provides 10% or more of the electricity supply in countries like Spain, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Denmark.
The full text of AWEA's filing is available at awea.org.
SOURCE: The American Wind Energy Association Â
