Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: America’s grid operators opposed standardizing capacity accreditation, Avangrid pulls the plug on its Park City Wing project, the Asia Pacific region is expected to spend trillions on power generat

Grid Operators Oppose FERC Capacity Conference

America’s grid operators have opposed a request for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold a conference on how different power generators’ capacity is accredited, according to reporting from Utility Dive.

Capacity accreditation is the process by which grid operators and utilities estimate the amount of power is available to satisfy demand.

Now that the grid is changing into one dominated by natural gas with more and more intermittent and non-dispatchable wind and solar (plus storage), there is a push to standardize capacity accreditation, thus potentially making it more precise and the grid more reliable.

But America’s grid operators oppose that idea. Because the “regional variation in how independent system operators and regional transmission organizations approach capacity accreditation makes the topic ill-suited for a national conference intended to drive ‘consensus,’” reports Utility Dive.

But some public utility commissions and utilities disagree.

“Establishing capacity accreditation and resource adequacy rules through ad hoc or voluntary proceedings and processes, without meaningful regional or federal guidance, likely poses significant risk of undue discrimination or preference,” said Eric Blank, the chair of Colorado’s PUC. “While some regional variation is expected and needed, capacity accreditation methodologies could benefit by sharing common goals and general approaches.”

Avangrid Cancels Park City Wind PPA

Avangrid cancelled its 804 MW Park City offshore wind power purchase agreement.

Avangrid won the project by low enough to force out all of the competition. But when supply chain snags and raw materials prices went up, the company appealed to Connecticut regulators to increase its contract price. They did not. Now, Avangrid must rebid the project.

“On Monday, Avangrid announced a similar termination of its offshore wind contracts in Massachusetts, where it was developing the SouthCoast Wind project,” reports the Westfair Business Journal.

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WoodMac: Asia Pacific to Invest $3.3 Trillion in

According to a recent analysis from Wood Mackenzie, the Asia Pacific region is set to invest $3.3 trillion on power generation over the next decade.

Nearly 50% of the money will be invested in wind and solar, while storage and nuclear will received 12% and 11%, respectively.

“The Asia Pacific region is critical to the power sector’s energy transition as it grows to over half of global electricity demand this year. The two largest markets in the region, India and China, are at the forefront of renewables growth, but are also leading the world in coal power deployments,” said Alex Whitworth, Head of Asia Pacific Power & Renewables Research.

Conversation Starters

• Russia and Saudi Arabia continue their voluntary production cuts. “Saudi Arabia and Russia on Wednesday said they were continuing voluntary oil cuts to year end as tightening supply and rising demand support oil prices,” reports Reuters. “The Saudi and Russian statements come hours before a ministerial monitoring panel of the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers convenes online later on Wednesday. The panel, called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, can call for a full OPEC+ meeting if warranted but sources have told Reuters it is unlikely to tweak current oil output policy.”

• Mountain Valley Pipeline’s owner has agreed to new safety measures. “Equitrans Midstream Corp., the owner of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, has agreed to new safety measures after federal regulators ordered a review of the project, arguing segments left buried underground or exposed to the elements during years of delay could pose a safety risk,” reports Bloomberg. “Under terms of an agreement with the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Equitrans will be required to submit a remedial work plan and conduct tests on coatings designed to prevent corrosion, and for pipeline damage.”

• Germany okays coal restarts. “Germany's cabinet on Wednesday approved putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from October until the end of March 2024, the economy ministry said, as a step to replace scarce natural gas this winter and avoid shortages,” reports Reuters. “Despite gas bottlenecks easing since last winter with new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal deliveries, coal-fired power plans will be reactivated and the government will make proposals by summer next year on how to offset increased carbon dioxide these plants will generate this winter.”

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