Low-Carbon Grid

CEERT’s Low-Carbon Grid Program promotes the integration of large amounts of renewable energy on the grid by tracking and intervening in crucial proceedings at the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and other agencies. We also seek to foster joint operating agreements between the CAISO and the state’s municipal and investor-owned utilities, and promote coordination and consolidation of the Balancing Areas in our state and region as a low-cost means of integrating renewable power. The issues are often highly technical, but have enormous impact on the price of renewable energy projects and their access to the transmission and distribution system.

Recent Developments:

Regional Grid Integration

V. John White moderated a panel on “Regional Market Development: Advancement Toward a Western regional transmission operator (RTO)” at the recent California Clean Energy Procurement Summit. The panel discussed issues of cost, timing, and the need for greater coordination and renewable procurement, and examined the CAISO’s and the Southwest Power Pool’s real-time markets, the SPP’s Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS), Northwest Power Pool’s proposed capacity-sharing program, the Western Markets Exploratory Group, and the prospects for the CAISO Energy Day-Ahead Market (EDAM).