The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed reforms to make the U.S. electric grid more accessible to electricity generated by renewable energy sources, which should lower costs for consumers who want to buy clean power.
FERC proposed a rule requiring public utility transmission providers to allow renewable power producers to schedule their shipments of electricity over shorter time periods to better reflect the moment-to-moment changes in generation output by renewables.
Wind and solar power producers would be able to schedule transmission service in 15-minute intervals, instead of the current one-hour scheduling procedure.
The proposed rule would reform the Open Access Transmission Tariffs (OATT) and the Large Generator Interconnection Agreements filed by public utility transmission providers to require them to offer services that will allow for a more efficient integration of variable energy resources such as wind, solar and hydrokinetics into the grid system.
‘Most of the new power plants for which developers are seeking access to the grid are variable resources such as wind and solar generators,’ says FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff. ‘This proposal will help the commission to cost-effectively integrate these and other variable generators into the grid in a way that helps maintain reliability and operational stability.’
The ruling has a particular impact on the intra-hour scheduling of wind energy.
‘FERC's proposed rule could dramatically improve power system reliability, efficiency and renewable energy integration, says Rob Gramlich, senior vice president for public policy at the American Wind Energy Association. ‘Out of all the national attention to smart grids, storage and other sexy grid-related topics, FERC gets the prize for identifying the single, most important, grid operations change: intra-hour scheduling.’
‘The wind industry has seen, time and again utilities that offer intra-hour scheduling can integrate renewables with ease,’ says Gramlich.
FERC's proposal will be open to public comment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register of government regulations.
SOURCE: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
