Clean Energy and the Smart GridRenewable Energy Vermont Distributed Generation Conference May 19, 2010

George Twigg, Deputy Policy Director

Proposition: The Smart Grid is a Means to an End

• Smart Grid is a tool to help us achieve existing policy goals, and inform our development of new ones:- Least-cost planning for Vermont’s electricity

supply- Vermont building efficiency goals- Vermont climate change policies- Vermont renewable energy policies & goals

Least-Cost Planning

• § 218c. Least cost integrated planning(a)(1) A "least cost integrated plan" for a

regulated electric or gas utility is a plan for meeting the public's need for energy services, after safety concerns are addressed, at the lowest present value life cycle cost, including environmental and economic costs, through a strategy combining investments and expenditures on energy supply, transmission and distribution capacity, transmission and distribution efficiency, and comprehensive energy efficiency programs

Building Efficiency Goals

• 10 V.S.A. § 581 building efficiency goals:- Substantially improve the energy fitness of at least 20

percent of the state’s housing stock by 2017 (more than 60,000 housing units), and 25 percent of the state’s housing stock by 2020 (approximately 80,000 housing units).

- Reduce annual fuel needs and fuel bills by an average of 25 percent in the housing units served.

- Reduce total fossil fuel consumption across all buildings by an additional one-half percent each year, leading to a total reduction of six percent annually by 2017 and 10 percent annually by 2025.

- Save Vermont families and businesses a total of $1.5 billion on their fuel bills over the lifetimes of the improvements and measures installed between 2008 and 2017.

Climate Change Policies

• Legislative Findings from Act 92• The general assembly finds that:

- Global climate change, which is threatening our environment and perhaps ultimately our existence, has been caused in part by an energy policy that is largely dependent on the burning of fossil fuels.

- In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation, it is essential that we reduce or eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels by significantly improving energy efficiency and shifting to nonpolluting benign forms of energy such as wind, sun, and water power.

Renewable Energy Policies & Goals

• Standard offer/FIT• 25x25 goal

- 10 V.S.A. § 579: It is a goal of the state, by the year 2025, to produce 25 percent of the energy consumed within the state through the use of renewable energy sources, particularly from Vermont’s farms and forests.

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1,000

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2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019 2022 2025 2028 2031

GW

hVermont’s Energy Challenge

for the Future

Energy requirements with 1.5% underlying annual growth

Committed electric supply

with efficiency at 1.7% / year

with efficiency at 3% / year

Smart Grid Investment Grant: An Opportunity to Support

Vermont’s Clean Energy Goals

• VEIC Focus: Leveraging the smart grid investment to enable deeper investment in energy efficiency.- Supports least-cost planning goals- Reduces load necessary for renewables to

support- Helps Vermonters save money

The current system does not empower consumers

Do you know how much electricity you use? Do you know when you use it?

Do you know how much electricity different appliances in your home or business use?

Would you like to be able to better control your energy use to reduce your energy costs?

Usage Display

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kWh

KWPEAK

KWOFF

KWHTOT

KWHPEAK

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The Present

The Future

Smart Grid Technology can Help Vermont Meet that Challenge• Information is Power …

- In-home displays- Home Area Networks

(HANs)- Hourly (at least!) energy

use data

The power of Smart Grid data• Consumer

empowerment• Understanding

current statewide energy usage at a very granular level

• Planning for our future energy needs in highly targeted ways

Next step after information: control• Smart appliances• Controllable by your Home Area

Network• Able to respond to dynamic rates and

the needs of the grid• Integration with Transportation:

- Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles - Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology

How do we get there?

• R&D to figure out what really works

• Technology alone isn’t enough – consumers need programs and support to take action

• Once we know what is truly cost-effective, Efficiency Vermont can build Smart Grid tools into its services

Goal: A set of cost-effective tools to

significantly increase energy efficiency and support Vermont’s policy goals for

clean energy.

Recommended Reading

• VEIC Paper: “Electric Evolution: Issues Posed and Opportunities Presented by the Emergence of the Smart Grid” – David Fribush, Scudder Parker, Shawn Enterline

• Available online at:- http://www.veic.org/resourcelibrary/10-04-23/El

ectric_Evolution.aspx

Questions or Comments

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation255 S. Champlain St.Burlington, Vermont888 – 921 – 5990

www.veic.org

George Twigg x 1133gtwigg@veic.org