Cooperative Living August 2017 - 26

CloserLook | by Paul Wesslund, Contributing Writer
Renewable energy grows like gangbusters
H
Solar, wind and other innovative ways to generate electricity: how we got here and the challenges ahead.
ere's how big solar energy has
gotten: The eclipse coming up on
Aug. 21 has utilities making plans to
avoid power outages when the moon
blocks the sun for two minutes and 40
seconds over the middle of North America.
No, you don't need to worry about
losing electricity. Your local electric
cooperative knows the eclipse is coming
and will keep the power flowing. But that
astronomical event does show how
renewable energy is starting to make a
difference as solar and wind power elbow
their way into the more traditional
electricity fuels of coal, natural gas and
nuclear power.
" Electric Industry Generation, Capacity
and Market Outlook, " a new report by the
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA), describes those
changes and what they will mean for
electric co-ops.
" The (U.S. Department of Energy's)
Energy Information Administration (EIA)
projects that by 2018 non-hydroelectric
renewables will be about 10 percent of the
generation mix, which is a really big deal, "
says Lauren Khair, an NRECA regional
economic analyst and one of the authors of
the report. " Back in 2008, just to give you
an idea, the share of non-hydro renewables
was around 3 percent. "
But the rapid rise is only half the story.
Wind and solar also generate electricity
differently and that has utilities making
changes in the incredibly complicated
system of generation and transmission.
SOLAR-ECLIPSE LESSONS
When the moon moves in front of the
sun during an eclipse, " Solar shuts off
very quickly, " says Michael Leitman,
NRECA strategic analyst. " Then it
comes right back to full power. " That
can cause problems for an electric grid
designed to generate power exactly
when it's needed and to keep that
electricity at a consistent frequency.
Traditional baseload resources, like
coal, nuclear and natural gas, provide
stability to the electric grid and prevent
sudden shifts in frequency. Due to their
intermittent nature, wind and solar do
24 | Cooperative Living | August 2017
not automatically provide these benefits.
As the share of wind and solar grows, this
becomes more problematic. Luckily, new
inverter technologies are emerging that
can provide synthetic inertia to help
alleviate this problem, in conjunction with
more natural gas resources, which are
more flexible than coal at adjusting to
sudden shifts in supply and demand.
Further, these flexible resources can ramp
up faster when the sun stops shining or
wind stops blowing.
The organization responsible for
assuring resource adequacy of the
electric grid, the North American Electric
Reliability Council (NERC), issued a
report suggesting that utilities prepare
for the eclipse. NERC singles out
California and North Carolina as states
that are both near the path of the total
eclipse and that also rely on a lot of solar
power. NERC says those states should
" perform detailed studies and retain
necessary resources to meet the increased
and varying load " as the expected drop in
solar will call for more electricity from
other sources during those few minutes.
The path of the total eclipse in North
America will start in Oregon at 10:15 a.m.
Pacific time and move across the country
during the next hour-and-a-half, leaving
South Carolina at 2:49 p.m. Eastern time.
A partial eclipse will affect a much wider
band along that route.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
Government policies are a big reason for
the expansion of renewable energy. Solar
and wind power grew rapidly due to
federal tax credits in 2012, slowed when
they were expected to be discontinued,
then picked up when the credits were
extended. The tax credits even affect the
time of year that renewable energy projects
are built. As NRECA's report states, " Most
renewable projects are completed in the
fourth quarter of the year, due in part to the
timing of qualifications for federal, state or
local tax incentives. " Projections for
renewable energy show strong growth until
2020, then leveling off for several years as
tax credits begin to expire. Renewable
growth is projected to strengthen again
around 2026 as electricity-demand growth
continues and more coal power plants are
expected to retire.
State governments also help the growth
of renewables, with laws setting targets for
renewable energy use, known as
Renewable Portfolio Standards. Although
the federal tax incentives are a primary
factor for renewable projects, Renewable
Portfolio Standards are another important
driver. Renewable Portfolio Standards have
been adopted by 29 states and Washington,
D.C., with several others adopting
voluntary standards.
CHEAPER AND BETTER
TECHNOLOGY
Improved technology and lower prices
are also pushing renewable energy growth.
The NRECA report says, " States have been
able to meet or surpass these [Renewable
Portfolio] standards, in part because of
declining costs of solar and wind ...
utility-scale solar costs for crystalline
panels dropped 85 percent and utilityscale
wind costs dropped 66 percent in
the last seven years. "
MORE TRANSMISSION
LINES NEEDED
Large-scale wind and solar installations
tend to sit in wide-open spaces, so the
electricity needs new transmission lines to
get to where people live. The transmission
system also needs to accommodate
renewable energy generated only when the
wind blows or sun shines. " The increase
in variable generation to the wholesale
market has led to increasing concerns
about transmission congestion, " says the
NRECA report. The report cites one
estimate, from Edison Electric Institute,
that investor-owned utilities plan to spend
$22 billion this year on transmission
projects, noting another speed bump to
the development of renewable energy:
" As transmission projects become more
difficult to site due to environmental
concerns, land availability, local
opposition and other constraints, planners
will need to find innovative ways to meet
these challenges. " 
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Cooperative Living August 2017

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