IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2022 - 10

Ralph Masiello and Amin Khodaei
nonwire alternatives
much ado about nothing?
T
10
THE GROWING PROLIFERATION
of distributed energy resources (DERs)
is perceived as both a challenge and
an opportunity for electric utilities.
DER integration requires a modernized
power grid capable of addressing
the two-way flow of power as well as
managing increased energy usage,
availability uncertainty, and potentially
higher feeder hosting capacity to ensure
these new additions do not cause
network congestion.
At the same time, DERs can be used
as viable solutions to provide a multitude
of benefits for customers, electric
utilities, wholesale energy markets, and
the environment. In particular, DERs can
serve as nonwire alternatives (NWAs)
that defer, reduce, or avoid the need
for conventional investments in the
grid. Multiple states have legislation,
regulatory proceedings, or initiatives
underway to mandate the incorporation
of DERs as NWAs in technology and
development planning. This introduces
new complexities in the planning and
evaluation of nonconventional alternatives
for increasing grid capacity, photovoltaic
hosting capacity, and reliability.
This issue goes beyond the technical
challenges and investigates how to
evaluate the benefits NWAs and DERs
provide to the grid and compensate for
their provided services.
This issue of IEEE Power & Energy
Magazine focuses on this timely and increasingly
important topic by gathering
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2021.3134123
Date of current version: 21 February 2022
ieee power & energy magazine
multiple outlooks from
leading authorities in
the field. The issue comprises
six articles. Five
provide an all-inclusive
view into existing practices,
challenges, and
the multiple potential
value streams of DERs
when integrated into
the grid. A sixth article
offers background on
small modular reactors.
While different
from the NWA theme,
a new look at nuclear
generation for meeting
decarbonization goals is
attracting interest.
In " Unwi r i ng the
DERs can
serve as
nonwire
alternatives
that defer,
reduce, or
avoid the
need for
conventional
investments in
the grid.
Country-The United States' Alternatives
Today, " Khashayar Mahani and
Farnaz Farzan summarize NWA activities,
highlighting the ongoing efforts in 13 states
and the District of Columbia. They further
provide an inclusive perspective into
NWA integration into utility practices,
including distribution planning and operations,
incorporation into the planning
cycle, and the role of third-party and NWA
stakeholders. The authors rightly conclude
that the NWA concept is gaining momentum,
and definitions and frameworks
are rapidly evolving. However, regulators,
stakeholders, and utilities are still in
a learning mode concerning constructing
and implementing a streamlined NWArelated
framework and process.
Beth Reid, Joe Bourg, and Devon
Schmidt investigate the impact of climate
change on the value
proposition for DERs
in terms of the overall
increased value, specifically
as NWAs, in " Let's
Make a Deal: Non-Wires
Alternatives for Traditional
Transmission and
Distribution? " Focusing
on California as a state
seeing a growing proliferation
of DERs while
being heavily impacted
by climate change, the authors
provide an overview
of valuation frameworks
for distribution upgrade
deferral, resilience, and
reliability from NWAs.
The article discusses
the regulatory policy and valuation
methodology enhancements needed
to capture the full value and increase deployments
of DER-based NWA strategies.
The authors conclude that DER valuation
frameworks that do not take additional
NWA values into account have led to
solutions that undervalue new project
solutions and may keep projects from
moving forward to development.
Olof Bystrom explains how to
capture the value of DERs in " NextGeneration
Distribution Planning, "
sharing the experience of the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District with
DER integration. The author fittingly
mentions that utilities and regulators
recognize the potential value of DERs,
but few have looked at the implications
for distribution planning and the
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2022

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