Author Archives: Frank Andorka

More Than 200 Mayors Join Group’s Efforts To Support Solar Energy

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

With a decided lack of leadership at the national level on moving clean energy policy forward – and in some cases taking significant steps backward instead – the power to affect change in environmental policy necessarily is defaulting to the city and state level.

That’s why the latest numbers from Environment America’s Research and Policy Center’s announcement yesterday that more than 200 mayors across the United States – 216 in fact – have signed its letter calling for more solar energy is such an exciting development.

Even more exciting is the fact that the signatories aren’t limited to states and regions that have traditionally supported solar power as a natural part of their development. From every region of the country, solar energy is gaining momentum as the environmentally smart choice.

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“While our federal government is promoting 19th-century energy policies, Americans can look to local governments to lead the United States’ transition to clean energy,” said Emma Searson, Environment America’s Go Solar Campaign Advocate in a press release announcing the news. “Mayors across the country are rising to the challenge — thinking bigger, acting smarter, and tapping the sun for more power.”

The list of 216 mayors who signed the letter spans the political spectrum, including 25 Republicans, as well as a broad range of city sizes and budgets. Republican Mayor James Brainard of Carmel, Ind., is proud to support solar in his community and says it’s a “no-brainer” for every city to consider:

“Even as Carmel continues its substantial growth, our city is working aggressively to reduce our carbon footprint well below what it was several years ago, when we were a smaller community,” Brainard said in the release. “Solar plays a major role in that effort, including more than 6,100 panels on four major facilities: our water treatment plant, a sanitary sewer pump station and two public parking garages in our city center. They’ll cost about $3.2 million but yield well over twice that in energy savings over the life of the panels. All this in a part of the country that hardly gets sunshine every day of the year.”

What Brainard says is true – solar isn’t just for the sunny states anymore. As battery storage and other technological improvements continue to grow, the range of regions that can successfully install solar continues to expand as well. So the letter signed by these mayors is just another signal to the national government that it should get its act together and support solar energy – because the Solar Revolution is already here, whether the fossil fuel interests that dominate our politics like it or not.

Partnership Will Test Software’s Ability To Integrate Renewables Into Grid

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As more renewables are added to the United States’ electrical grid, management of those resources becomes ever more critical. Software that can help utilities integrate more renewables on the grid is becoming ever more critical, and companies that can bring such software to life are leading the way toward a more futuristic, customer-centric grid.

Which is why a new partnership between PPL Electric Utilities and GE is so fascinating.

PPL Electric Utilities and GE Power Digital announced yesterday a joint initiative to develop and test software to manage and control electricity from renewable and stored energy sources.

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Planning for, monitoring and controlling DERs while maintaining reliability requires in-depth system knowledge combined with advanced technologies. GE’s DER Orchestration software uses automated and adaptive technologies to manage the impact of distributed generation. GE was recently recognized by IDC MarketScape as a leader in DER management systems.1

PPL will adopt GE’s DER Orchestration and integrate it with the utility’s Advanced Distribution Management Solutions (ADMS). This combination will enable the utility to model and improve grid operations, maintain grid reliability, enhance load forecasting and improve bi-directional communication with DERs. PPL and GE will test the software within the utility’s service territory for assistance with future product development and verification for others within the industry considering DERMs solutions.

Matt Green, chief information officer at PPL, commented, “There will be more change in the electric utility industry over the next 10 years than we have experienced in the prior 100 years. Distributed energy will be everywhere, but we’ll still need the grid. With the proper investments to successfully orchestrate DERs, the grid will become more valuable. Utilities are best positioned to provide the platform of the future and enable emerging technologies to thrive. To accomplish this, we need long-term strategic relationships such as the one we have established with GE.”

Responding to changes in the grid while maintaining reliability is a key focus for PPL. Their investments to date include installing smart grid technology, designing data analytics models to improve equipment maintenance and replacement and installing better protection against damage from lightning strikes. PPL is ranked in the top 10 percent nationally and first in the Mid-Atlantic region in keeping the lights on for its customers, according to system average outage frequency figures from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Reliability is directly related to customer satisfaction. PPL routinely ranks among national leaders in customer satisfaction, according to a noted national study. The study measures utility customer satisfaction by examining key factors, with power quality and reliability having the highest weight.

“Distributed energy brings with it variability that places new stresses on the grid. To address this challenge, new approaches to business and operating models along with advanced software solutions are critical,” said Jeff Wright, vice president of product management for GE Power. “We’re glad to be working directly alongside a forward-thinking utility like PPL. Not only are they focused on innovating for the future, they’re focused on doing it the right way for their customers – safely and reliably.”

RMI Report Offers Vision Of Possible Utility Structures In Future

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

I’ve complained for years that the utility business model in the United States is broken. The idea that a centralized electricity production system is more efficient and effective than a decentralized model is one that certainly deserves to be challenged (if not, as would be my preference, tossed aside entirely).

Now the Rocky Mountain Institute has released a report suggesting that if there is to be an energy transition in this country – away from polluting fossil fuels and in the direction of clean, renewable energy – that changes to the utility business model aren’t just necessary, they’re essential.

To drive the changes, RMI, America’s Power Plan and Advanced Energy Economy Institute have put together a lengthy report detailing the policy and regulatory options they believe will help create, as they term it, a more customer-centric grid experience.

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“The grid is experiencing rapid changes in its shift to a 21st-century system, and electric utilities have a fundamental role to play in ensuring this transition strengthens resilience, improves environmental performance and protects the interests of customers while maintaining essential features of affordability and reliability,” Dan Cross-Call, a manager at RMI and one of the report’s authors, said in a press release announcing the report’s release. “This report offers a practical guide to industry leaders—regulators, utilities, grid operators, policymakers and policy influencers—on how to best engage with an increasingly decarbonized and distributed energy system, shepherding and managing this transition to maintain the fundamental role of utilities and achieve new policy objectives.”

The report not only outlines 10 reforms they believe are critical to building the grid of the future, but they also released a series of real-life case studies that show these reforms in action.

As more renewable energy is produced in the United States, utilities are panicking as they try to figure out how to deal with the additional distributed generation options that are bleeding customers off the centralized grid and affecting revenues for today’s centralized utilities. Studies like the RMI study show there are alternatives, if the utilities are willing to listen and evolve.

A Solar Tribute On Veterans’ Day: Thank You For Your Service To Our Country And Industry

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Today is the day when we say thank you to the veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces for their service and sacrifice to a grateful nation. Some of us know that we could never serve them the way they have served us.

But what we can do as the solar industry is try to pay them back by giving them jobs when they come home – something The Solar Foundation has worked diligently since the Department of Energy chose to fund a Solar for Vets program back in 2016.

According to The Solar Foundation’s 2017 National Solar Jobs Census, there are 21,599 veterans employed in the solar industry across the United States, meaning veterans make up 9% of the total number of solar workers in the nation. This is more than the 7% veteran employment percentage of overall workers in the economy. What’s more, the jobs veterans fill come in all shapes and sizes, from manufacturing to installation to everything in between.

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The best part of encouraging veterans to join the solar industry is that some of the job skills translate directly. America’s solar industry needs the technical skills of America’s veterans, and with appropriate training and certification, transitioning service members can make solid solar career matches. Military skills translate well for electrical and mechanical technicians, logistics specialists, and engineers.

In fact, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) highlights potential careers for veterans on its Solar Career Map page on its website. The range of careers spans from entry-level positions all the way up to advanced careers. And once a veteran joins a solar company, then further training can get them the skills they need to move into higher and higher positions.

In other words, the solar industry isn’t just about creating jobs for our former soldiers and sailors – it’s about creating lifelong careers for these men and women who have sacrificed so much to protect and serve the rest of us.

So today, let’s make sure we take time out to thank the veterans we know for their service and sacrifice – and, if they’re looking for work, get them connected to the solar industry. It’s the perfect place for them to find their next career.