Researchers from NREL and Clean Energy Group found that placing a monetary value on the ability of solar+storage to avoid losses during grid outages can significantly impact project economics and system design.
Extreme weather and related power outages come with a price tag, but these costs are not typically accounted for when considering the potential benefits of a resilient power system. The result is that fewer solar+storage systems pencil-out to make economic sense than would be the case if the power resilience they provide was accurately valued.
This interactive webinar discussion is a follow-up to two earlier webinars: “Using Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Funds for Low-Income Solar” (1/11), and “Using Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Funds for Low-Income Solar” (1/16).
Since 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has been working on designing rules and regulations for including renewable thermal technologies in the Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS). This webinar featured a presentation on the draft regulations by Samantha Meserve, Renewable Thermal Program Coordinator at DOER.
LIHEAP serves as an emergency bill assistance service, but state LIHEAP administrators have flexibility to use some program funds to reduce long-term dependence on energy assistance. Some argue that these LIHEAP funds should be used for low-income solar.
Traditionally, the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) focused on increasing energy efficiency for low-income households. As solar costs have declined, interest in using WAP funds for low-income solar deployment has increased.
2017 was a banner year for offshore wind in the U.S. Boosted by the start of commercial operations at the Block Island Wind Farm in December 2016, the offshore wind sector gathered momentum and made significant progress over the year.
Any investigation into the massive power outage at Atlanta’s international airport last month should not only look back to see what went wrong. Rather, it should look forward to how the airport could use new technologies like solar and battery storage to prevent such disasters from happening again.