RUS | ENG | All
Enter the email or login, that you used for registration.
If you do not remember your password, simply leave this field blank and you will receive a new, along with a link to activate.

Not registered yet?
Welcome!

2023-07-28 06:55:00

GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY

GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY

 

By TONY PARADISO Principal, E3 

ENERGYCENTRAL - Jul 17, 2023 - Those that follow the renewable energy industry are treated to almost daily articles about how much solar is being installed. Because the industry and Washington have a vested interest in hyping the market, I look upon the number with some skepticism.

Honestly, in most cases I’m not sure what goes into the numbers. Is it just projects that have actually turned on? Or do they include projects sitting in some interconnection queue praying for an opportunity to connect to the grid?

I ask the question because among the myriad problems associated with renewable energy, perhaps the biggest is the massive number of projects that are going nowhere fast.

I’ve mentioned PJM’s backlog. PJM is one of seven regional transmission operators or RTOs. They manage the Mid-Atlantic region, and with 65 million people in its region, they are a major player.

According to the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) there are 2,003 onshore wind and solar projects waiting to connect to the grid in PJM’s territory. These projects total 167 gigawatts of new generation capacity. The total monetary value is estimated to be $33 billion. That is assuming they get built.

But there's one thing I know for sure. Many of those projects won’t see the light of day - or more appropriately - be turning anyone’s lights on.

Consequently, touting the big total is a bit deceiving. That’s because even if there wasn’t a bottleneck in evaluating projects, many would never get built. We would just know which ones much quicker. And that would be a good thing.

The point is big numbers like these are constantly bandied about when the reality may be much different.

“The current grid backlog is unprecedented. With commonsense reforms, grid planners and operators could ease the logjam in our nation’s interconnection queues, accelerating the renewable transition and delivering meaningful economic and health benefits to states across America,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of ACORE.

That statement is only partially true. The backlog is unprecedented. It was also predictable.

Yes, there are ways to improve the process but there are systemic issues that process alone cannot address. These include a trained workforce to review interconnection applications - and wait for it, this is the big one – a rearchitected grid that was never intended to have thousands of “mini-utilities” attached to it.

Perhaps we should have developed a solid strategy to fix that glaring problem before incentivizing a “gold rush” mentality in renewable energy.

-----

This thought leadership article was originally shared with Energy Central's Clean Power Community Group. The communities are a place where professionals in the power industry can share, learn and connect in a collaborative environment. Join the Clean Power Community today and learn from others who work in the industry.

-----


Earlier:

GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, July, 21, 06:50:00
GLOBAL CLIMATE WANT MONEY
BNEF estimates that the global annual green investments would need to almost triple to $6.9 trillion by 2030 to have any hope of getting to net zero by 2050.
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, July, 21, 06:40:00
GLOBAL ELECTRICITY MODERNIZATION
Historically, power cuts and outages were deemed a problem only for the developing world, however, we’re now seeing more of these issues in the so-called developed world, primarily driven by a lack of electricity infrastructure spend over many years.
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, June, 16, 06:45:00
GLOBAL WARMING & WILDFIRES IN CANADA
“Climate change has been implicated in worsening wildfires across North America,” Kristina Dahl, principal climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ climate and energy program,
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, June, 9, 06:30:00
GLOBAL ENERGY CHALLENGES
As the energy transition/energy addition continues, many changes are occurring that will impact the performance of grid reliability.
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, June, 2, 06:50:00
GLOBAL CLIMATE SCAM
Last fall, when the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis looked into the world’s 13 “flagship, large-scale” CCS projects, representing about 55% of global carbon capture capacity, it found that seven of the 13 projects underperformed, two failed outright, and one had to be mothballed.
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, June, 2, 06:40:00
GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT
"For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about 1.7 dollars are now going into clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-to-one," Birol said.
GLOBAL SOLAR MARKET INSTABILITY
2023, April, 28, 06:40:00
GLOBAL ENERGY CHALLENGES CONTINUING
The challenges today are not likely to end anytime soon. Market participants must adapt to the uncertainty, tightness of supply and fluctuating prices.
All Publications »
Tags: SOLAR, POWER, ENERGY, CLIMATE