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Polish coal boiler phase-out an inspiration for clean heat

By Jan Rosenow, Richard Cowart
It all started in Krakow, Poland. The medieval city is known for its beauty, but also for poor air quality from coal heating. In 2012, a group of local residents joined together and founded the organisation Krakow Smog Alert to push for change — and the campaign got results. In 2013, the city approved a law banning boilers and stoves that burn coal and wood. T... Read More

For MADRI, the End of an Era … and the Beginning of Another

By John Shenot
Over the past 15 years, a group of power sector professionals have followed — and fostered — developments in an era of enormous change for the sector. In December, the group met in Washington DC for the 54th and final meeting of this group, the Mid-Atlantic Distributed Resources Initiative (MADRI). So MADRI’s final convening was a graduation ceremony of sor... Read More

Updating Embedded Cost of Service Studies for a New Era

By Jim Lazar, Mark LeBel, Paul Chernick
In the first blog post in this series, we outlined how our new manual, Electric Cost Allocation for a New Era, looks comprehensively at the process of dividing utility costs among customer classes — and proposes several ways it should be updated to account for modern features of the power system. In this second installment, we’ll dive a bit deeper into the co... Read More

A Green Deal that works for everyone – Making the renovation wave a reality

By Marion Santini, Jan Rosenow
Change is in the air. European leaders agreed in December that Europe would adopt a net-zero emissions target for 2050. The European Commission announced that it will put forward new legislation by March to enshrine climate neutrality in law. The Commission has issued a list of initiatives to reach carbon neutrality while leaving no one behind. This includes a... Read More

Cost Allocation: New Approaches for a New Era

By Jim Lazar, Paul Chernick, William Marcus, Mark LeBel
Setting electric utility rates has traditionally been a three-step process: first, determining the revenue requirement; second, determining how to equitably divide costs among classes of ratepayers; and third, designing the rates themselves. That second step, cost allocation, is a process that has been around for decades, and many jurisdictions have created de... Read More

21世纪电力系统的灵活性

By Carl Linvill, Jim Lazar, David Littell, Jessica Shipley, David Farnsworth
简介 电力系统最基本的规则是发输用电必须同时完成。多年来，电网运营商一直在确定系统的负荷，并通过增加可用的发电机来满足需求、调整供电。 然而，现在供应侧出现了快速爬坡和高度灵活的联合循环燃气轮机发电等新技术，需求侧也出现了智能热水器和储能等新... Read More

Navigare necesse est: Rerouting network companies toward decarbonisation

By Zsuzsanna Pató
Changing the course of a sailboat requires coordinated action. The skipper announces the manoeuvre to the crew, turns the rudder and works with the crew to readjust the sails. To achieve the maximum cruising speed with the prevailing winds and currents, all sails need to be swiftly positioned at just the right angle. The need for fluid coordination also applie... Read More

减少弃风：提高电力系统调度比改造燃煤电厂更高效

By Lu Hong, Kevin Porter, Max Dupuy
中国的风能和太阳能装机容量世界第一，且有望成为“世界可再生能源的超级大国”。然而，中国也遇到了弃风限电问题。虽然近年来可再生能源弃电量有显著下降，但在很多省份仍然存在问题，且将随着风能和太阳能发电装机量的增长而持续成为挑战。幸运的是，政府部门... Read More

Improving Power System Dispatch Reduces Wind Curtailment More Effectively than Retrofitting Coal Plants

By Lu Hong, Kevin Porter, Max Dupuy
China has the most installed wind and solar capacity in the world and has potential to become “the world’s renewable energy superpower.” However, China’s power sector has also struggled with extensive curtailment of wind and solar generation. Although renewables curtailment has dropped significantly in recent years, it is still an issue in large parts of ... Read More

国际电力改革和气候变化季报-Q3-2019

By Regulatory Assistance Project
国际电力改革和气候变化季报回顾近期全球电力行业和气候变化政策和监管的最新进展，并摘选一些我们认为对中国特别相关的进展，以供参考。 1) 美国得克萨斯州：德州“ERCOT”批发电力现货市场价格飙升。8月13日和15日，实时节点边际电价达到每兆瓦时9,000美元(人民币640... Read More

The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)® is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to a clean, reliable, and efficient energy future.