So, there were these people who were disappointed that they weren't selected to host a utility solar farm. They decided to build their own.
It becomes a cute little media story when you add in some sheep lawn mowers. However, the story gets lost there. It was too expensive for this DIY solar power plant to connect to the grid in order to sell its product. Farming the sun for profit maybe isn't as easy as it looks.
There's nothing stopping these folks from erecting a solar array to serve their own property. The problem comes from building more than they need and trying to sell it to others via the electric grid. The freight is too expensive. I'm not sure what message this story is trying to serve? The rules for connecting to the grid are bad?
The rules for connecting a new generator to the grid require the generator to pay for the connection and any changes to the grid made necessary to serve their generator. Who else should pay for it?
It becomes a cute little media story when you add in some sheep lawn mowers. However, the story gets lost there. It was too expensive for this DIY solar power plant to connect to the grid in order to sell its product. Farming the sun for profit maybe isn't as easy as it looks.
There's nothing stopping these folks from erecting a solar array to serve their own property. The problem comes from building more than they need and trying to sell it to others via the electric grid. The freight is too expensive. I'm not sure what message this story is trying to serve? The rules for connecting to the grid are bad?
The rules for connecting a new generator to the grid require the generator to pay for the connection and any changes to the grid made necessary to serve their generator. Who else should pay for it?
"We felt like this is stacked against the little guy because utilities are not willing to invest in infrastructure.”
Oh, utilities! Utilities are supposed to pay to upgrade the grid so that a new entrant generator can sell its product? Why? Where do you suppose utilities get the money they "invest" in building the grid? Ratepayers, consumers, people who pay an electric bill, that's who. So what they're really saying here is that other people are supposed to pay for the infrastructure necessary to connect their DIY power plant? Why? Not all of those people will even be using the power.
The correct answer is that the customers of the DIY power plant (although I don't see mention of any customers in this article) should pay the cost of connecting in their contract to purchase the power. But that's going to make the cost of the power too expensive! And that's why this location is not suitable for a power plant and probably why it was not selected by a utility in the first place.
Utilities do their homework before siting new generators. The cost to connect (in conjunction with the cost that customers are willing to pay) is a big part of that homework. They don't just build generators willy-nilly and believe that the connection fairy will fly in with a sack of gold and make connecting free or cheap.
Of course, trying to create a fairy before siting generation in inappropriate places is in the renewable generator toolbag. No wonder these folks thought there was a fairy. A group of "clean energy advocates" want MISO to make changes to the way it plans grid upgrades. One of the changes they want is a re-evaluation of interconnection upgrade cost allocation. In other words, they want ratepayers to cover some of the costs of new generator interconnections.
The correct answer is that the customers of the DIY power plant (although I don't see mention of any customers in this article) should pay the cost of connecting in their contract to purchase the power. But that's going to make the cost of the power too expensive! And that's why this location is not suitable for a power plant and probably why it was not selected by a utility in the first place.
Utilities do their homework before siting new generators. The cost to connect (in conjunction with the cost that customers are willing to pay) is a big part of that homework. They don't just build generators willy-nilly and believe that the connection fairy will fly in with a sack of gold and make connecting free or cheap.
Of course, trying to create a fairy before siting generation in inappropriate places is in the renewable generator toolbag. No wonder these folks thought there was a fairy. A group of "clean energy advocates" want MISO to make changes to the way it plans grid upgrades. One of the changes they want is a re-evaluation of interconnection upgrade cost allocation. In other words, they want ratepayers to cover some of the costs of new generator interconnections.
But stakeholders for months have been criticizing those estimates as seriously underestimating the widespread adoption of renewables. Several have said the RTO’s predictions are resulting in inadequate new transmission projects and leaving renewable developers with prohibitively expensive interconnection upgrades as system patches.
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That existing process is blind to the fact that many others in MISO benefit from interconnection upgrades, she said.
“We all know transmission will bring a variety of benefits to a variety of beneficiaries,” McIntire said, calling for a “more holistic” cost-benefit analysis on interconnection upgrades.
All those "benefits" the ratepayers didn't know they needed! Because they didn't really "need" them in the first place. The new generators need them to make money. If generation is at a level adequate to serve load (and it is), then we don't "need" any new generators! Add in the fact that many of the new generators being built in MISO are intended as exports to other regions. The "advocates" want MISO ratepayers to pick up the tab for unneeded new generators that won't even serve MISO customers. What a fairy tale!
In reality, this will just end up creating higher transmission rates in MISO while lowering the cost of new generation so that it can survive once the federal tax credits disappear. Do they think MISO is stupid?
The only difference between the DIY power plant's thinking and that of the "clean energy advocates" is that the advocates should know better.
In reality, this will just end up creating higher transmission rates in MISO while lowering the cost of new generation so that it can survive once the federal tax credits disappear. Do they think MISO is stupid?
The only difference between the DIY power plant's thinking and that of the "clean energy advocates" is that the advocates should know better.
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