Analyzing California’s framework for estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with retail electricity sales

Accurately attributing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the electric power sector is critical to measuring progress towards climate policy goals. We evaluate a new methodology adopted by the California Energy Commission to calculate the GHG emissions intensity of retail electricity providers. In the long run, the new regulations better align with the physical nature of grid operation than did past practices, but policymakers should monitor a set of potential challenges as market structures evolve.     

美国和欧盟温室气体管理机制对我国电力行业碳排放管理的启示

温室气体（GHG）排放的测量、报告和核查（MRV）是各国温室气体管理工作的基础。电力生产是温室气体排放的主要来源,是温室气体管理工作的重点内容。重点介绍了美国联邦政府强制性温室气体报告制度和欧盟排放交易体系对电力企业温室气体排放的核查方法。通过分析2个机制在管制对象、温室气体种类、温室气体监测、报告和核查等方面存在的差异,探讨了美国和欧盟温室气体管理机制对我国电力行业碳排放管理的启示。     

Proposed guidelines for U.S. Scope 2 GHG reduction claims with renewable energy certificates

In the United States and Canada, individual states and provinces control their consumer energy markets. Under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) definitions the “market” for market-based GHG reporting is typically defined as the state or province that maintains regulatory control or the interconnected grid where consumption occurs. Under current guidance, many systems suggest the U.S. may be considered a single grid since it is a single country. However, consumers in different regions are physically unable to consume energy generated in some other regions. This paper argues that in the U.S. and Canada, the interconnected grid where consumption occurs could initially be considered the FERC grid, and optimally the localized eGRID defined by the U.S. EPA in the U.S. These definitions are important given the requirement in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate rule to disclose Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) impact on carbon reporting. This paper outlines the justification for the proposed interpretation and serves as a public reference for market-based GHG market boundary definitions.     

Energy finance data warehouse: Tracking revenues through the power sector

Reliable data is needed to understand financial relationships in the power sector. However, relevant data acquisition and visualization can be a challenge due to the fragmented nature of the power sector. The US DOE and ORNL leveraged a Sankey prototype to elucidate the ‘big picture’ of financial flows to understand the complex relationships between specific actors within the power sector. The continued incorporation of high quality data can improve the fidelity of such an approach and lead to an increasingly detailed understanding of financial relationships in the power sector and their implications for policymakers.     

The end of the grid as we know it?

The climate change challenge we are currently facing globally makes attention to the energy sector an imperative, and this includes taking seriously the potential for radical changes to our current system, including a greater contribution from distributed generation (DG). At the same time, there is reason to be cautious in accepting all of these claims wholesale and creating specific policies to promote DG as a distinct, arbitrary category within the energy sector. It is clear that in the present situation there is not adequate consumer pull to spontaneously create a market of any significant scale for DG technologies, regardless of their technological potential. In the context of the UK's liberalised energy market, what is required is a well-designed policy framework that will reward efficiency and environmental benefits in DG technologies the same way as it does for conventional largescale generators. Such a framework would ultimately foster the emergence of a more diverse and low-carbon energy system in which DG solutions would find their place. This paper identifies the different factors that need to be considered to make DG a real option     

Using advanced metering infrastructure to characterize residential energy use

Decades of effort have been dedicated to understanding precisely where energy is consumed in residences to help consumers, device manufacturers, utilities, and policymakers better manage this consumption. We review and classify the three most prevalent methods currently used to build this understanding. We then compare two prominent studies, and make recommendations for how existing datasets can inform estimates of device-level energy consumption in the U.S.     

Directional causality in the demand for electrical energy in the United States

The majority of the studies on the demand for electrical energy have been done with single-equation models. In this paper it is demonstrated that not only is the quantity of electrical energy demanded a function of price, but price is related causally to quantity in the residential sector. The significance of this is that it is not sufficient to estimate single-equation models. Since bidirectional causality cannot be statistically rejected, any estimation of the demand for electrical energy must be done in a system of simultaneous equations to avoid specification errors and the associated problems.     

Alternative ratemaking in the US: A prerequisite for grid modernization or an unwarranted shift of risk to customers?

With increasing frequency, investor-owned electric utilities are requesting preferred cost recovery for “grid modernization” in multiple forms, from multi-year rate plans to riders. Utilities’ claims that massive grid investment is necessary, and that exceptional investment requires exceptional cost recovery, are typically accepted by policymakers with little challenge. It is difficult for policymakers to resist the siren call of grid modernization’s perceived outcomes, from improved reliability and resilience to reduced risks to safety and new customer technology adoption (electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and more). This paper provides a contrarian viewpoint that is virtually absent as policymakers consider alternative ratemaking practices. It introduces the possibility that excess grid investment in the name of modernization is not only possible, and economically harmful, but has already occurred, encouraged by alternative ratemaking. It provides examples of common grid modernization expenditures the authors have identified as cost-ineffective in the course of their work. It also describes traditional grid planning practices with proven ability to address changing requirements over time, calling into question the need for exceptional grid modernization investment plans. Most important, the paper explains the moral hazard inherent in alternative ratemaking, and the fundamental shift in ratemaking risks and responsibilities from utilities to customers that results. The perspectives this paper presents are critical for policymakers to understand before adopting, extending, or expanding alternative ratemaking practices in their respective jurisdictions.     

清洁发展机制与电力需求侧管理

清洁发展机制(CDM)作为一项基于发达国家温室气体减排义务之上的发达国家和发展中国家的合作机制,蕴藏着巨大商机,目前已在国际上得到广泛应用.简要介绍了清洁发展机制的概念和管理机制,分析了中国电力部门参与清洁发展机制活动的潜力、意义和面临的问题,提出了在电力需求侧管理中积极开发清洁发展机制项目的有关建议.     

Energy innovations through blockchain: Challenges,opportunities, and the road ahead

As a secure distributed ledger, blockchain has attracted a great deal of attention over the past decade. The power sector is not an exception to this phenomenon and industry leaders are looking into different ways to create value through this technology. Blockchain is a powerful enabling technology for decentralization of the energy systems of the future. Although this technology can be applied to a wide spectrum of applications in the power sector, many challenges and limitations are still needed to be addressed before its full implementation into grid operations. This paper presents energy innovations through the blockchain technology and addresses the barriers that preclude the power sector from large-scale, full-scope adoption of this technology. The emerging blockchain trends in near future will be further discussed and its potential in facilitating a secure, decentralized energy trading platforms will be investigated in this paper.     

Assessing power system security. A framework and a multi model approach

This paper presents a methodological framework using a multi model approach to assess power system security. System security is viewed here as a multidimensional systemic property of the entire energy system. The paper shows that the different dimensions of a secure energy system are correlated, and hence their behaviour cannot be explained solely by an understanding of the individual dimensions or by system elements in isolation. The implication of this is that a proper assessment of the security of a power system requires a combination of different techno-economic models. The paper develops a comprehensive multi-model approach for investigating energy security issues within power systems, and applies it to a case study focussing on the Italian power sector. The core research activity involves using an energy systems model of Italy (MONET) to build a dedicated power systems model (PLEXOS_IT) and then undertaking a soft-linking exercise between the two models. The purpose is to use PLEXOS_IT to investigate the system adequacy of the power system results produced by MONET for future possible energy system scenarios.     

Developing a legal framework for energy storage technologies in the U.S: The case of pumped underground storage hydro

The Energy Act of 2020 authorizes $1 billion over five years from 2021 to 2025 to support energy storage development in the United States. In addition, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Orders 841 and 2222 opened the wholesale energy markets for distributed energy resources, including energy storage. The statute and orders pave the way for novel energy storage technologies to participate in electricity markets as the qualifying facilities, thereby expanding opportunities for energy storage development. However, the existing policy, legal, and regulatory regime, including these much-welcomed newcomers, fails to recognize and support the entire spectrum of benefits that some forms of energy storage create. In this paper, we focus on Pumped Underground Storage Hydro (PUSH), a variant of pumped hydro storage (PHS), which currently provides over 90% of the world's energy storage capacity. PUSH operates with the same principle as PHS; however, it is an entirely underground variant of PHS. In addition to becoming competitive in the wholesale electricity market, PUSH facilities can be developed as community infrastructure in the postindustrial landscape, particularly in abandoned underground mines. Given federal energy law and policy development, this paper identifies how communities with abandoned mines, technically feasible for PUSH facilities and operating as municipal-owned utilities or cooperatives, can participate and take advantage of federal legislation. We further look into the implications through the lens of technical, economic, and social aspects of energy justice. We consider energy justice as a conceptual framework that seeks to explain the occurrence of injustice within energy system decisions and outcomes and how policymakers can respond to these injustices. We use it as a conceptual tool for understanding policy formulation and detailing the energy system's missing ethical and justice dimension. We argue that as a technically mature technology, PUSH facilities can act as a potential means to speed up the energy transition in the United States. The federal and state law along with utility market structures are vital in shaping the potential opportunities and barriers for energy storage facilities like PUSH. We show that although it supports PUSH development, there are gaps in the current market structure, specifically in the regulatory framework, when seen through the lens of justice and valuation of just energy services. These gaps limit the realization of utility-scale energy storage technology's potential to fully contribute to a decarbonized energy system that is more resilient and more just than the incumbent system.     

Why microgrids are becoming an important part of the energy infrastructure

The term “microgrid” is somewhat non-specific and always changing. This is not necessarily a bad thing. In one form or another, microgrids have been in the energy service toolbox for 30 years. However, with the evolution of software systems, cost reductions in energy technology, and increasing customer drive for sustainability, reliability, resilience, and cost predictability, microgrids have become more capable today and have experienced a surge in deployment. Make no mistake, the growth is customer driven. So, what does the future hold for microgrids? If customers continue to seek cost predictability, sustainability, and reliability/resilience in their energy services, then long-term growth in the microgrid industry should be obvious, even in the face of resistance from utilities and policymakers. Where will microgrids be in 2035? 2050? Will utilities embrace microgrids? Will policymakers become facilitators of microgrids? Will municipalities and rural cooperatives use microgrids to hedge costs and improve sustainability and resilience for their citizens/members? This article will discuss the trends and drivers stemming from the early days of microgrids that still exist today which likely lead to an institutionalization and growth of microgrids in the future.     

Understanding the impact of state-level financial incentives on the deployment of renewable energy at colleges and universities

Over 400 colleges and universities have signed carbon reduction pledges through Second Nature. Nonetheless, a review of their greenhouse gas inventories shows that many universities continue to show limited or no progress in terms of renewable energy deployment and generation. One study from 2019 shows that it is now cheaper to build new renewable energy projects than it is to continue operating existing coal-fired power plants (for 74% of existing fleet). Meanwhile, another study shows that universities rarely achieve a positive economic net benefit when deploying solar on their campuses, despite the cost declines in solar and rising utility prices. This same study finds that these same projects accrue a positive social and environmental net benefit for the surrounding community that outweighs current economic subsidies, implying that increased subsidies for college solar deployment would, more often than not, pass cost-benefit analysis. This present study builds on the previous two studies and explores the question of whether state-level financial incentives have a meaningful impact on the deployment of renewable energy on college campuses. The thesis guiding this research is that universities in states with certain state-level financial incentives will be more successful in deploying renewable energy and in meeting their clean energy goals. The financial incentives being studied are limited to grants, tariffs, net metering (at retail rates), and solar renewable energy credits. This research paper shows that the presence of these financial incentives is positively correlated with renewable energy deployment across colleges, providing a starting map for policy-makers interested in supporting universities’ renewable energy deployment in their states.     

Japan's Energy Conservation Initiatives: Highlighting the Energy Conservation Policy

This article introduces the energy conservation activities in Japan, focusing on the energy conservation policy. The energy conservation activities in Japan started with the two oil shocks in the 1970s. Development of relevant laws and promotion of subsidy measures were started in this period as well. The consciousness for the energy conservation had been once weakened in the late 1980s through the time of bubble years, but in response to the internationally up‐streaming discussions on global environmental problems in the late 1980s, the importance of the energy conservation was called for again in Japan. Under these circumstances, the final energy consumption in Japan after the oil shocks has leveled off in the industrial sector thanks to their endeavor for energy conservation, but in the commercial/residential sector and transportation sector, it has been continuously increasing. Under these conditions and more and more severe energy situations such as the steep rise of crude oil price, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established the ‘New National Energy Strategy’ in May 2006, in which a new energy conservation target was set forth in that the energy efficiency would be improved by 30% or more by 2030. Responding to this target, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy summarized and published the ‘Energy Conservation Technology Strategy (Interim Report)’ in September 2006. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

实现商业建筑绿色照明的有效途径

本文简要介绍了国内外一些商业建设照明用电状况和目前主要推行的照明节电措施,并按不同的商业设施分提出了比较详细的照明节电改进办法,以供商业部门在进行照明节电改造时借鉴和参考。     

燃煤电力企业温室气体排放量化方法对比分析

电力生产消耗的化石燃料是中国温室气体排放的主要来源,是温室气体管理工作的重点内容。确保温审气体量化的准确性是电力企业温室气体排放管理工作的基础。通过对某燃煤电厂实测数据的分析对比,研究了燃煤电厂典型温室气体排放源的量化方法的差异和差异来源,并结合中国电厂的普遍情况,提出了符合国际惯例及中国现状的碳排放量化方法。     

基于深度强化学习的居民实时自治最优能量管理策略

随着居民分布式资源的普及,如何考虑用户多类型设备的运行特性,满足实时自治能量管理需求以达到用户侧经济性最优成为亟待解决的课题。传统基于模型的最优化方法在模型精准构建和应对多重不确定性等方面存在局限性,为此提出一种无模型的基于深度强化学习的实时自治能量管理优化方法。首先,对用户设备进行分类,采用统一的三元组描述其运行特性,并确定相应的能量管理动作;接着,采用长短期记忆神经网络提取环境状态中多源时序数据的未来走势;进而,基于近端策略优化算法,赋能在多维连续-离散混合的动作空间中高效学习最优能量管理策略,在最小化用电成本的同时提升策略对不确定性的适应性;最后,通过实际情境对比现有方法的优化决策效果,验证所提方法的有效性。     

Electric cooperatives and the political economy of rural electrification in Africa: Insights from Uganda

Rural electrification is a crucial process of enhancing the modern energy access of rural communities which is an important global development goal. Electric cooperatives have played an important role as drivers of rural electrification worldwide, both historically and contemporaneously. The emerging role of cooperatives in rural electrification is yet to be examined in the context of East Africa, a region that experiences serious infrastructure deficits alongside widespread rural poverty. This study adopts a political economy perspective to explore the roles and challenges of cooperatives in rural electrification in Uganda. Through a high-level case study of two electric cooperatives, we show that while the cooperatives can deliver rural electrification, they face a series of political and economic challenges in fulfilling their mission. To enhance rural electrification through cooperatives, the challenges should be addressed by policy solutions: (1) providing more support to rural households that cannot afford electricity; (2) providing further support to cooperatives to avoid overburdening the community; (3) enhancing investment to upgrade the grid and extend its geographical coverage; and (4) exploring new financial and technological options for rural electrification. We expect the findings of this study to be useful to policymakers, implementers, cooperatives, and international donors currently working in rural electrification in Africa and beyond.     

Energy systems planning and GHG-emission control under uncertainty in the province of Liaoning,China – A dynamic inexact energy systems optimization model

In this study, a dynamic interval-parameter optimization model (DIP-REM) has been developed for supporting long-term energy systems planning in association with GHG mitigation in the region of Liaoning province. The model can describe Liaoning province energy planning systems as networks of a series of energy flows, transferring extracted/imported energy resources to end users through a variety of conversion and transmission technologies over a number of periods and address the problem of GHG-emission reduction within a general energy planning systems framework under uncertainty. Two scenarios (including a reference case) are considered corresponding to different GHG-emission mitigation levels for in-depth analysis of interactions existing among energy, socio-economy and environment in the Liaoning province. Useful solutions for Liaoning province energy planning systems have been generated, reflecting trade-offs among energy-related, environmental and economic considerations. The results can not only provide optimal energy resource/service allocation and capacity-expansion plans, but also help decision-makers identify desired policies for GHG mitigation with a cost-effective manner in the region of Liaoning province. Thus, it can be used by decision makers as an effective technique in examining and visualizing impacts of energy and environmental policies, regional development strategies and emission reduction measures within an integrated and dynamic framework.