This paper, “Competitive Markets and Renewables: The Effect of Wholesale Electricity Market Restructuring on Wind Generation in the Midwest,” estimates the effect of having a competitive wholesale electricity market on wind plant generation for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market. Continue reading »
The diverse set of e21 stakeholders have reached another milestone, concluding Phase II of their work with the release of three white papers addressing key issues in Minnesota’s energy future. The phase II report is intended as a cohesive package, with each white paper relating to and supporting the other three. Continue reading »
The e21 Initiative developed its phase I report on a consensus basis; the ideas and recommendations in in the report were intended as a cohesive package to be taken together and supported as a whole by the e21 stakeholders. Consensus did not mean that each participant is equally enthusiastic about every idea, and, importantly, consensus did not require participants to give up their right to object to future implementation details. Continue reading »
States that decide to pursue a mass-based trading approach to meet federal Clean Power Plan (CPP) requirements have the option of covering new electric generating units in addition to existing units. States that choose to cover new units will receive what EPA calls the “new source complement,” which consists of additional allowances added to the state’s mass-based emissions goal. Continue reading »
States that opt to pursue a mass-based trading approach to achieve federal Clean Power Plan (CPP) requirements will have the opportunity to decide how to distribute allowances. The total value of the allowances to be distributed is likely to be significant, making allowance distribution a key decision for states. The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative presents this white paper to assist states in making allowance distribution decisions. Continue reading »
The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative has released the first of a series of white papers prepared jointly by representatives of electric utilities, cooperative and municipal power providers, merchant generators, environmental organizations, and state regulatory agencies and designed to help states make key decisions under the federal Clean Power Plan. Continue reading »
The range of benefits energy storage can provide to the electricity system are widely known among those in industry and well documented in the literature. Among these are storage’s abilities to help integrate wind and solar energy, improve grid reliability, and increase the economic efficiency of the electricity system. Despite the benefits, there has not yet been widespread deployment of energy storage. This is due to two main factors. First, there currently are not markets set up to allow storage owners to earn revenue for many of the services they provide. Second, storage technologies have historically been more expensive than alternative resources that can provide comparable services. However, both of these barriers have been easing recently. Continue reading »
In September of 2015, the Great Plains Institute invited 40 energy thought leaders and innovators to participate in a novel gathering to crowdsource their collective wisdom on the arc of the energy system over the next 5 to 20 years. To describe this gathering, we borrowed the term “Collaboratory,” which means “collaborative laboratory.” Think of it as an incubator for creativity and bold ideas among smart people who don’t often get together. Continue reading »
There is a growing, global momentum among businesses, communities, states, and nations toward an economically and environmentally sustainable energy system.
To achieve such a system will require harnessing the speed and innovation that only the market, bound by the right policy framework, can deliver. And that will require fresh thinking: enter, the Collaboratory. Continue reading »
Many states are considering mass-based allowance trading programs to meet the federal requirements under the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Under a mass-based trading approach, states work with a certain number of allowances, or an allowance “budget,” that matches the total emissions limit for each year of the program. States have many options for allocating the allowances that power plants will need to cover their carbon dioxide emissions. Continue reading »
