wayne gardner - pennsylvania public utility commission
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June 15, 2011Wayne Gardner's presentation from America’s Sustainable Future: How U.S. Cities Are Making Energy Work, an invitational conference of public-private partnership efforts from U.S. cities pursuing innovative energy management and smart grid initiatives. The assembled leaders in industry, research and policy-making will explore the diverse energy strategies emerging in Philadelphia and across the United States. “We’re really looking forward to both learning from the great examples set by other cities represented in the conference, and showing off the groundbreaking work happening right here in Philadelphia,” says Laurie Actman, Viridity Energy’s director of strategic partnerships and public policy.“With smart ideas and smart policy, we should be able to build support for smart grid projects and microgrids at the federal, state and local level.”"Energy technology is changing at such a rapid pace, it's crucial to examine who's doing it right in smart grid and microgrid projects all around the country," says Eugenie Birch, Penn IUR co-director. "With the right policy moves—which we'll be exploring at the conference—Philadelphia can be a national leader in energy innovation," noted Susan Wachter, Penn IUR co-director.TRANSCRIPT
Smart Microgrids: Actions of the PA PUC
Act 129 of 2008 creates an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Program to be overseen by the PUC.
Reductions in energy use: 1% by 2011 3% by 2013
Smart Meter Deployment Plans: PECO – Beginning October 2011 – 1.6 million smart meters in 10 years. PPL –Beginning 2011 – Pilot programs for bidirectional communications. First Energy – By January 2013 – Pilot batch of up to 10,000 smart meters. Duquesne – 5-year major deployment plan, to be completed in 2019. Allegheny – By March 2011 – First batch of 93,100 smart meters deployed.
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Smart Microgrids: The Pennsylvania Experience
Viridity Energy (Conshohocken PA): works with utilities either as a partner or under their brand to achieve energy efficiency mandates such as Act 129
Microgrid project at Drexel University – VPower Technology – 20% energy cost savings
Eaton Corporation (Pittsburgh PA): received $2.4 million in federal stimulus money to develop a smart microgrid to manage energy consumption at military bases.
Philadelphia Navy Yard: West coast solar company Sunverge Energy is participating in the Energy Innovation Hub with its Solar Integration System.
The Borough of Smethport hopes to achieve comparable energy cost savings with a proposed biomass-fired CHP plant and an associated microgrid.
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Smart Microgrids: PA gets an “A” for Policy
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•PA is politically and economically advantageous for micro-grid deployment
•“A” in Policy for 3 consecutive years
•Net Metering and Interconnectedness
1) 2010 Penn State Study2) Network for New Energy Choices
Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards
•Microgrids for a two-fold purpose:•Assistan
ce during grid emergencies
•Maintaining critical infrastructure for emergency services.
•$1.3 million being spent on Energy Assurance Planning•
identifying disruption risks and profiling system vulnerability.
Virtual Meter Aggregation
•Act 35 – The PA alternative that allows the benefits of net metering without new microgrid infrastructure.
Smart Microgrids: Consumer Awareness
For Smart Grid technologies to take off, consumers must become more engaged.
A 2011 EcoPinion survey has found that consumer interest is high: 56% of Americans see smart grid opportunities as “extremely/very appealing.”
As it implements provisions of Act 129, Pennsylvania will continue to move forward with the concept of a smart grid, paving the way for a smarter national grid.
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