6.1a ERMUSR 03-13-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

peak shaving,and as a source of backup generation in times of the need to build less new generation,reduced air pollution and high electricity demand. It is also used as base-load generation greenhouse gas emissions and,in some cases,mitigation against in areas which have limited access to other generation resources, outages on the distribution grid.For more information on solar such as Alaska and Hawaii,and the territories of the United DG,see APPA's issue brief,"Solar Distributed Generation." States. (Note however,that the latter are not included in EIAs data.) American Public Power Association Position Non-Hydro Renewables Every fuel type has its advantages and disadvantages that require Non-hydro renewables were responsible for 7.3 percent of total substantial risk management planning.Therefore,it is very U.S.generation and 2.1 percent of total public power gener- important for today's electric utilities(where possible) to have ation in 2015.The main challenges facing non-hydro power a balanced generating portfolio with multiple fuel types.An renewables are:the intermittent nature of wind and the sun;the over-reliance on one fuel can and will create potential risk that need to have them backed up with base load generation(typical- could substantially increase prices to consumers and reduce ly natural gas);limited access to transmission lines;and financ- reliability.The Association supports federal policies that support ing. Recent concerns about integrating wind have arisen due to and promote such fuel diversity in electric generation. the fact that the wind often blows when demand is not high, which thereby requires a ratcheting down of other resources that can often be uneconomic and cause stresses to the operation of American Public Power Association Contact a regional or sub-regional system.Most renewable resources, Steven Medved, Government Relations Coordinator, however,do not emit pollutants or CO2 and their ongoing fuel 202-467-2928/smedved@publicpower.org costs are low or non-existent. Paul Zummo, Director,Policy Research and Analysis, Distributed Generation 202-467-2969/pzummo@publicpower.org Interest in distributed generation(DG)has increased over the last few years.As of October 2016, 12.6 gigawatts(GW) of distributed solar capacity has been installed in the U.S. DG is power produced at the point of consumption.More than ninety The American Public Power Association is the voice of percent of DG is rooftop solar,but it can include small wind not-for-profit,community-owned utilities that power turbines,combined heat and power,fuel cells,microturbines, 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.We represent pub and other sources. Under a policy called net-metering,cus lie power before the federal government to protect the tomers with on-site generation are credited for the amount of interests of the more than 49 million people that public kilowatt-hour sales sold back to the distribution grid.This rate power utilities serve,and the 93,000 people they em can vary per utility,but is generally set the at the retail rate,as ploy.Our association advocates and advises on electricity opposed to the wholesale rate,which is the rate utilities use to policy,technology,trends,training,and operations. Our members strengthen their communities by providing purchase power for their customers. Due to this rate structure,concerns have arisen that net superior service,engaging citizens,and instilling pride in metering customers are not paying their fair share of the costs community-owned power. of keeping the grid operating safely and reliably.DG also has operational issues that pose challenges for utilities,such as maintenance of electric grid system balance,safety issues for line-workers,load forecasting impairment,and increased strain on the distribution system.Potential benefits of DG include 22 PublicPower.org 204