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Grid-Integrated Distributed Solar: Addressing Challenges for Operations and Planning
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Integrating DPV on a distribution system poses both unique challenges and opportunities. This factsheet reviews the barriers and provides best practices when operating and planning for distributed solar.
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Topics & Resources
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Grid Planning, Integration, & Operations
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Grid Planning, Integration, & Operations folder
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Advanced Inverter Functions to Support High Levels of Distributed Solar
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Technological innovations are supporting increased DPV penetration levels. One important innovation involves the use of advanced inverter functionality to address PV grid integration challenges. In many cases these functionalities only require software and protocol updates to inverters currently in use. The report describes the use of advanced inverters to support voltage and frequency level control as DG comes on and off-line. Policy and regulatory considerations to support advanced inverter deployment are also presented in the paper.
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Grid Planning, Integration, & Operations
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Grid Planning, Integration, & Operations folder
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Grid-Connected Distributed Generation: Compensation Mechanism Basics
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DG owners can be compensated in different ways for the electricity their systems generate. This short report defines compensation mechanisms for grid-connected, behind-the-meter DG systems as instruments that comprise three core elements: (1) metering & billing arrangements, (2) sell rate design, and (3) retail rate design. This report explores metering & billing arrangements (net energy metering (NEM); buy all, sell all; and net billing), with some limited discussion of sell rate design.
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Regulation & Public Policy
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Regulation & Public Policy folder
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Moving the Fulcrum: A Primer on Public Climate Financing Instruments Used to Leverage Private Capital
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Various sources estimate between $264 and $565 billion dollars will be needed annually to finance climate change-relevant projects, such as distributed PV, in developing countries. While some of this has been pledged through international institutions like the Green Climate Fund, the rest will need to come from a combination of private and public investments. This report examines methods to utilize public investment to leverage private investment by reducing investor risk. By coordinating their investment strategies, efficient funding opportunities can be selected to maximize the return on investment.
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Financing & Business Models
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Financing & Business Models folder
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Power System Planning: Advancements in Capacity Expansion Modeling
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An electricity capacity expansion model (CEM) is a tool or suite of tools used in long-term planning studies for the power sector. CEMs are used to identify the least-cost mix of power system resources, taking into consideration new policies, technologies, demand projections, and other factors. CEM analysis can be an important tool in developing power sector master plans or integrated resource plans. Low-cost clean energy, storage, and demandside management technologies, along with low-cost computing have improved the quality and complexity of CEM analysis. This fact sheet summarizes eight key advancements in the CEM process:
Increased temporal resolution
Increased geographic resolution
Representing RE resource variability
Energy storage technologies
Demand response, electric vehicle, and distributed energy resource representation
Climate change impacts
Technologies for deep decarbonization
Linkages across energy sectors
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Quick Reads
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Fact Sheets
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Grid-Connected Distributed Generation: Compensation Mechanism Basics
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This short report defines compensation mechanisms for grid-connected, behind-the-meter distributed generation (DG) systems as instruments that comprise three core elements: (1) metering & billing arrangements, (2) sell rate design, and (3) retail rate design. This report describes metering & billing arrangements, with some limited discussion of sell rate design. The report details the three possible arrangements for metering & billing of DG: net energy metering (NEM); buy all, sell all; and net billing.
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Topics & Resources
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Distributed Generation
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Distributed Generation folder
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Integrating Variable Renewable Energy Into the Grid: Key Issues
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To foster sustainable, low-emission development, many countries are establishing ambitious renewable energy targets for their electricity supply. Because solar and wind tend to be more variable and uncertain than conventional sources, meeting these targets will involve changes to power system planning and operations. Grid integration is the practice of developing efficient ways to deliver variable renewable energy (VRE) to the grid. Good integration methods maximize the cost effectiveness of incorporating VRE into the power system while maintaining or increasing system stability and reliability.
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Fact Sheets
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Wind and Solar on the Power Grid: Myths and Misperceptions
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Wind and solar are inherently more variable and uncertain than the traditional dispatchable thermal and hydro generators that have historically provided a majority of grid-supplied electricity. The unique characteristics of variable renewable energy (VRE) resources have resulted in many misperceptions regarding their contribution to a low-cost and reliable power grid.
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Fact Sheets
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The Evolution of Power System Planning with High Levels of Variable Renewable Generation
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Power system planning methods and processes can evolve to address the unique characteristics of variable renewable energy (VRE). This brief presents an overview of the analyses involved in traditional power system planning, and describes the changes required to plan for higher levels of VRE integration.
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Fact Sheets
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Scaling Up Renewable Energy Generation: Aligning Targets and Incentives With Grid Integration Considerations
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Countries around the world have established ambitious targets for increasing the contribution of renewable energy toward meeting their national energy demand. At low penetrations of wind and solar (e.g., below 5%–10% of annual electric demand), impacts to the power system are likely to be minimal. However, as the proportion of variable renewable energy (VRE) connected to the grid increases, power system planners will increasingly need to evaluate and manage the impact of increased variability and uncertainty on system operations. They will also need to ensure that the policy and regulatory environment offers sufficient certainty and revenue streams to encourage investment in new VRE generation. To address these needs, power system planners can take several steps to align targets and incentives with grid integration considerations.
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Fact Sheets
