The Energy Optimist

著者： The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC)
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  • Welcome to The Energy Optimist, a monthly podcast brought to you by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Each episode, we tackle a thorny energy policy challenge in bite-sized interviews with leading experts. We start with the bad news and end with what increasingly feels like a radical idea: that there are reasons for optimism. If you're new to how we regulate the energy system, we'll demystify it for you. If you're a seasoned practitioner, we'll hopefully leave you with renewed optimism to keep doing the work to improve our energy system.
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あらすじ・解説

Welcome to The Energy Optimist, a monthly podcast brought to you by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Each episode, we tackle a thorny energy policy challenge in bite-sized interviews with leading experts. We start with the bad news and end with what increasingly feels like a radical idea: that there are reasons for optimism. If you're new to how we regulate the energy system, we'll demystify it for you. If you're a seasoned practitioner, we'll hopefully leave you with renewed optimism to keep doing the work to improve our energy system.
社会科学 科学
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  • Episode 08: In Our Lifetime: Tribal Energy Sovereignty and Equity

    Episode 08: In Our Lifetime: Tribal Energy Sovereignty and Equity
    2025/02/19

    Clean energy projects offer a crucial path for Native American tribes to achieve energy sovereignty (control over their energy resources) and address a long history of energy inequity. Energy inequity for Tribes takes a variety of forms including higher utility rates, older grid infrastructure, more frequent outages, and, still today, 14% of Native Americans living on tribal lands lacking electricity altogether.

    Our guest, Chéri Smith, is the founder, President, and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, which supports the self-determined efforts of Tribes to develop clean energy. Chéri joins us in conversation about the energy inequities facing Native American communities and systemic barriers that currently impede Tribal development and ownership of clean energy projects. These include access to federal funding, interconnection process requirements that create undue burdens for Tribes, and more. Chéri shares how the Alliance is addressing these challenges by helping Tribes develop clean energy projects that can enable them to participate in wholesale energy markets (earn revenue), lower energy costs, and achieve energy resilience and sovereignty.


    For show notes and transcript, visit: https://irecusa.org/blog/energy-optimist-podcast/the-energy-optimist-episode-8-in-our-lifetime-tribal-energy-sovereignty-and-equity/
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    46 分
  • Episode 07: Interconnection Policies—The Electric Grid’s “Rules of the Road”

    Episode 07: Interconnection Policies—The Electric Grid’s “Rules of the Road”
    2024/12/17
    This episode of The Energy Optimist explores a topic that is a central focus of much of IREC’s regulatory work: interconnection. Interconnection policies can be thought of as the “rules of the road” for the electric grid. They govern how systems that produce electricity are permitted to connect to the grid. These policies are a critical factor in how efficiently and affordably clean energy can be developed, though they remain relatively behind the scenes in terms of public awareness of them. We dig into what happens in the interconnection process, some of the common pitfalls, and what defines effective interconnection policies. Key Takeaways: Interconnection rules govern how energy-generating and electrification projects connect to the electric grid. State-level interconnection rules define these processes for local clean energy projects—like community solar, rooftop solar, and home batteries (also known as distributed energy resources or DERs). Interconnection is something of a “hidden issue” in the delivery of climate change solutions. Few Americans are aware of the process, but it determines how efficiently clean energy technologies can access the grid to deliver climate (and other) benefits. The steps in the interconnection process vary depending on the type and size of project. The process always starts with the customer submitting an interconnection application that provides key details to the utility about the project they are seeking to connect to the grid, regardless of the project size and type. The interconnection process exists to ensure that the safety and reliability of the electric grid will not be negatively impacted by projects that are seeking to connect to it; if such impacts may result, the electric utility determines what is needed to prevent them (such as making infrastructure upgrades). Smaller projects, which are less likely to cause adverse impacts to the grid, go through a simpler screening process by the utility. Larger projects on the other hand, typically go through a detailed “study process” in which the utility seeks to identify potential grid impacts. If the utility identifies potential negative impacts, it then identifies needed grid upgrades and how much they will cost. Common challenges in the interconnection process include: Delays: Currently, many states have significant interconnection backlogs, which can add months or years to development timelines. Delays have a variety of causes, including: inefficient processes that are not suited to the current volume of projects, construction timelines, supply chain issues and delays in acquiring needed equipment. Lack of clarity: Interconnection rules that can be interpreted differently by different parties result in uncertainty and disputes. Misalignment with new technologies: Interconnection rules need to be updated as new technologies like energy storage become more prevalent. New technologies may operate differently from technologies the rules were originally written for and thus changes may be needed to ensure the rules enable the full use of those technologies' capabilities and don’t create unnecessary barriers. Grid upgrade costs: When grid upgrades are needed, costs can be another challenge. Currently, most states have policies that require the developer of the project that “triggers” the upgrades to cover the full cost of the infrastructure improvements. Since these costs can be very high (sometimes exceeding the cost of the project itself), they can result in projects being canceled. This in turn can result in sections of the grid remaining inaccessible to new clean energy projects for long periods. Some states are beginning to explore alternative approaches to distribute the costs of grid upgrades. There is also a growing effort to proactively make grid investments to ensure that the grid can accommodate projects that align with policy goals. Effective interconnection rules must include: Transparency: Interconnection rules should provide customers with visibility into timelines, costs, and grid conditions so they can make informed decisions. Visibility into grid conditions enables customers to understand optimal locations to site projects and the constraints on how much energy those projects can send to the grid without upgrades. This benefits all parties by reducing time spent on projects with a low likelihood of success. Hosting capacity analyses, which are essentially a map of grid conditions are one tool for enabling this visibility. Timelines and accountability: Interconnection rules should specify exactly how long each step of the process takes and include deadlines for the relevant party, whether that is the utility or the customer. Systems for holding parties accountable for delays must be built in; this includes mechanisms for tracking key data—such as how long certain steps actually take, as well as consequences when timelines or ...
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    35 分
  • Episode 06: Career Reflections & Reasons for Hope from an Incoming Utility Regulator

    Episode 06: Career Reflections & Reasons for Hope from an Incoming Utility Regulator
    2024/09/25
    When this podcast launched last year, it was led by my former colleague Radina Valova, IREC’s Regulatory Vice President. A couple of months ago, Radina got some very exciting career news which is part of why this podcast has been on a bit of a hiatus. In June, Radina was appointed as a Commissioner on the New York Public Service Commission, the utility regulatory body for New York. In this role, she will work to deliver on the Commission's mandate of ensuring electricity safety, reliability, affordability, and achieving New York's energy and climate goals. Her last day at IREC was June 18.This was of course a bittersweet moment for our team. We were sad to lose Radina as a colleague, but also very heartened to know that the people of New York will get to benefit from her commitment to advancing the public interest through sound energy regulatory policy. And we’re proud to see Radina’s electricity and clean energy regulatory expertise recognized in this way.Although Radina is no longer with IREC, we are excited to continue to host the Energy Optimist podcast and strive to build her vision for this show to demystify energy policy issues, with a focus on reasons for optimism.Before Radina’s last day, she and I took some time to sit down for a transition episode. This episode that you’ll be listening to today is a bit different from our normal policy-based interviews, focusing more on how Radina got to this point in her career, and what makes her optimistic about our energy policy trajectory. I hope you enjoy the discussion! Key Takeaways: Long-time Energy Optimist podcast host and former IREC Regulatory Vice President was appointed as a Commissioner on the New York Public Service Commission, the utility regulatory body for the state, earlier this year. Her last day with IREC was June 18, 2024. As a New York Public Service Commissioner, Valova will have significant authority in shaping New York’s utility and clean energy markets and its ability to meet its ambitious climate change and clean energy targets as one of seven members of the Commission. This interview, recorded prior to her first day as a utility Commissioner, explores Radina’s career to date and her advice for others interested in following a similar path. We also discuss her strategies for maintaining a hopeful and constructive perspective in the face of sometimes challenging energy and climate news, and her personal reasons for optimism. Highlights: “…my first piece of advice… from a career perspective for lawyers in particular is if you have the opportunity to work with a smaller firm, go for it. I know larger firms can come with a bigger paycheck and can come with other advantages, but you're much less likely to get the breadth and depth of experience immediately after being admitted to the bar the way that you would with smaller firms.” “the biggest takeaway for me from [my career so far] has been that very few of us know, the moment we enter college or when we graduate, where we're going to land in our careers and there is very little sense in worrying about it because life has a way of offering opportunities and sending you in different directions that you could never have expected. And as long as you put in the work, and you're open to learning new skills, and then transferring those skills to wherever you go in the future, you can build a really solid career that way.” “my favorite quote to keep me optimistic is ‘Just because you can't do everything, doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything.’ No one can solve every single ill in the world, but we can all do something to make the world a better place, whatever issue you're working on.” “I think what gives me hope the most is knowing how far we've already come…. within the energy space. You have laws like New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, like in Illinois, the Clean Energy Jobs Act. You have these very forward-thinking legislative actions that are shaping the way that we operate the energy system for the benefit of ratepayers, for the benefit of the environment, and energy equity—in a way that I don't think any of us could have imagined, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago. I think if you had asked advocates back then, do you think you're likely to see many states across the country adopting ambitious laws like the CLCPA or like CEJA, they probably would have said, ‘No, it doesn't, it doesn't seem possible.’ But now here we are, and more and more states are doing that. So I think for me, I have hope because I see what we've already managed to accomplish.” Resources and Further Readings: This 2016 white paper from the New York State government provides an overview of the state’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) process, an effort to transform energy regulation in the state, with stated goals that included achieving the following by 2030: a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels;...
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    27 分
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