Why Australia is Truly the Virtual Power Plants Market Frontier By Peter Asmus As one scans the world for opportunity during the current energy transition, one of the most vibrant regional markets is often forgotten due to its geography. I’m talking about Australia, that down under market which is forging a path of energy market innovation forward with few rivals on the world stage. A report by energy network Australia and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) forecasts that by 2050 almost 2/3 of all customers in Australia will feature some form of distributed energy resources (DER.)1…
Technological and Interoperability Standards for the Future Energy Landscape By John Bonnin John Bonnin has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including 18 years at CPS Energy, where he was their Vice President of Energy Supply and Market Operations. His focus was managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of CPS Energy’s power generation fleet, which included over 1.5 GW renewable energy and 200 MW Demand Response capability. Mr Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a B.S. in Chemistry from LSU. Introduction In previous blogs, we have discussed the…
The Future Energy Landscape: Layers of Interconnectivity A look into the multi-level, interconnected topography of the future energy landscape. A visualization of these relationships as mutually dependent functions, all of which need to operate efficiently to drive the best performance of the grid. By John Bonnin John Bonnin has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including 18 years at CPS Energy, where he was their Vice President of Energy Supply and Market Operations. His focus was managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of CPS Energy’s power generation fleet, which included over 1.5 GW renewable energy and…
The Future of the Energy landscape – A Day in the Life A short vignette, on the cooperation and interconnectivity between the utility, an aggregator, the ISO, thermal generation resources, and distributed resources (both load-based and generation-based), acting in concert to meet the energy needs of the grid. By John Bonnin John Bonnin has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including 18 years at CPS Energy, where he was their Vice President of Energy Supply and Market Operations. His focus was managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of CPS Energy’s power generation fleet, which included over…
Participation of DERs in the Wholesale Market: Regulatory Watershed By John Bonnin John Bonnin has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including 18 years at CPS Energy, where he was their Vice President of Energy Supply and Market Operations. His focus was managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of CPS Energy’s power generation fleet, which included over 1.5 GW renewable energy and 200 MW Demand Response capability. Mr Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a B.S. in Chemistry from LSU. Vice President of Energy Supply and Market Operations….
Sustainability Rules: Why FERC 2222 Could Pave The Way For Virtual Power Plant Growth By Rahul Kar, General Manager and Vice President at AutoGrid Systems. On September 17, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a new ruling regarding distributed energy resources. And it’s laying the groundwork for transforming the energy market and the grid. The order, called FERC 2222, aims to break down barriers to entry for distributed energy resources (DERs) and could accelerate competition in the electricity market. Now, DERs can participate through aggregation and can band together to meet minimum size and performance requirements. As the U.S….
Business Case for a Flexibility Management System, Part 1: Overview and Basic Elements By John Bonnin (John Bonnin has 25+ years of industry experience, including 15 years at CPS Energy. He has directed the Day Ahead and Real Time activities of Energy Supply and Market Operations, with a focus on managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of our power generation fleet. Mr. Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Louisiana State University) Introduction The use of Demand Response (DR) by utilities…
Business Case for a Flexibility Management System, Part 2: Example Analysis By John Bonnin (John Bonnin has 25+ years of industry experience, including 15 years at CPS Energy. He has directed the Day Ahead and Real Time activities of Energy Supply and Market Operations, with a focus on managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of our power generation fleet. Mr. Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Louisiana State University) Introduction In Part 1 of this discussion, an overview of the basic…
Value of Demand Response Participation to the Retail Customer By John Bonnin (John Bonnin has 25+ years of industry experience, including 15 years at CPS Energy. He has directed the Day Ahead and Real Time activities of Energy Supply and Market Operations, with a focus on managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of our power generation fleet. Mr. Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Louisiana State University) Many utilities and other load serving entities use a portfolio of approaches to decrease…
AutoGrid Flex now available on Amazon Web Services Marketplace to simplify procurement and deployment of Flexibility Management programs The award winning AutoGrid Flex™ is now available for purchase through AWS Marketplace. This allows AWS customers another easy, no-hassle option to purchase AutoGrid Flex Demand Response (DROMS), Distributed Energy Resources (DERMS) and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) management systems directly through existing procurement channels. Transacting in AWS Marketplace streamlines the purchase process, simplifies renewals, and consolidates billing with existing AWS expenses. This option is available for both new and existing AutoGrid clients, as long as they have an account on AWS Marketplace. …
Value of Flexibility Management in the Eyes of a Market Trader & Operator By John Bonnin (John Bonnin has 25+ years of industry experience, including 15 years at CPS Energy. He has directed the Day Ahead and Real Time activities of Energy Supply and Market Operations, with a focus on managing market risks to native load customers and optimal dispatch of our power generation fleet. Mr. Bonnin has a Master of Science in Management/Computer Resource Management from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Louisiana State University) As a trader and operator in the Electric Reliability Council…
In this blog, we discuss energy-storage control options to manage battery storage units. As the price of battery storage falls and its usage continues to increase, it is important to look at different programs and systems that can optimize its usage. It is expected that 1,290 GW of new batteries will be commissioned worldwide by 2050, and energy providers will need to find a way to extract maximum value from this unique resource. This need for optimization—especially for aggregating, integrating and orchestrating batteries in concert with other grid assets—will involve digging deeper into which energy-storage control options work best in different applications, and the pros and cons of each. Here, we will introduce several key terms and consider different use cases and communication scenarios for the variety of storage control options.
As energy storage becomes cheaper and more plentiful, fully utilizing battery storage deployments requires value-stream co-optimization. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the challenges and opportunities we’ve experienced as we help our utility customers deploy and co-optimize larger energy-storage portfolios.
AutoGrid Case Study: Solar + Storage Pencils Out for this AutoGrid Innovator By Vish Ganti The incentives to pair rooftop solar with energy storage couldn’t be greater than now. And if the changing climate, wildfires and rising energy bills aren’t enough motivation to trim your carbon footprint, maybe the economics will put you over the edge. As you’ll see with my own experience, the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards of operating your home energy system with sunlight and a battery really add up. Come with me on a little journey as I tell the story of my latest home energy project:…
In part two of our BYOT series, we first explore the economic value of implementing a BYOT program from a utility perspective. Next we dive into the success measures of a DR program. Then we wrap up with the role of BYOT in both the short- and long-term utility planning cycles.