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This working group convenes ESIG members to recommend, analyze, and report on energy system planning topics. The SPWG sponsors Task Forces that conduct targeted economic and engineering analysis on the transition to a decarbonized energy future. Topics include: transmission planning, generation planning, interconnection, electrification, resource adequacy, and long term market design.

Members of the System Planning Working Group are encouraged to interact with one another via Groups.IO, an online discussion platform and community network. The ESIG Resource Library is also a valuable tool for those seeking information on System Planning, as well as other topics.

Links to both can be found below:

 

 

 

(Please note: only members of ESIG may participate in the Working/Users Groups. If you are interested in membership, please email us at info@esig.energy.)

Transmission Planning for 100% Clean Electricity Task Force

The work of this task force is complete. Please click on the links below for the final report of the task force along with all associated materials.

Completed work includes:

Transmission Benefits Valuation Task Force

This task force is examining transmission valuation processes at RTO’s and examining a transmission valuation framework that balances impact of a full-range of benefits with ease of use. It aims to move beyond production cost savings to understand the broader reliability, capital cost savings, and environmental benefits of transmission.

Current work underway includes:

  • Case study on applying different transmission valuation methods to hypothetical transmission upgrade scenarios within ERCOT

Task Force Lead: Daniel Olsen, Breakthrough Energy

Proactive Planned Transmission Task Force

The goal of this task force is to conduct quantitative, technical analysis on a proactive, planned interconnection approach to transmission, compared to the current approach of individual generator interconnection facilities.

Current work underway includes: This task force kicked off in November and is currently scoping analysis to quantify the costs of interconnection of large amounts of variable renewables under a proactive, planned approach versus an incremental, piecemeal approach.

Task Force Lead: Bruce Tsuchida, Brattle

Capacity Accreditation

This task force seeks to evaluate the state of the art practice for capacity accreditation. It will evaluate novel capacity accreditation methods and procurement mechanisms necessary for system planning and reliability with a changing energy mix, new technologies, and decarbonization goals.

Current work underway includes:

  • Summaries of ongoing capacity accreditation reform at ISO/RTO markets
  • An evaluation of capacity accreditation for all resources, including thermal generation, transmission, and hybrid resources
  • Consideration of alternative market designs for reliability and firm capacity

Task Force Lead: Derek Stenclik, Telos Energy

Redefining Resource Adequacy Task Force

The purpose of this task force is to consider new methods and considerations for resource adequacy, capacity accreditation, and reliability planning for systems with increasing shares of renewable energy and energy limited resources. The Task Force considers recommendations for new metrics and improved insights into resource adequacy results. The Task Force will also convene on topics related to best practices for weather modeling for power system planning.

Current work underway includes:

  • Best practices for probabilistic modeling
  • Review of alternatives to the capacity accreditation and reliability procurement
  • Weather modeling recommendations and improvements

Completed work includes:

Task Force Lead: Derek Stenclik, Telos Energy

Macrogrid Design Studies

The purpose of this task force is to provide technical support to a macrogrid initiative across the continental US which would help accelerate the clean energy transition underway by removing transmission constraints to enable the expansion of renewable energy in a reliable and cost effective fashion.

Current work underway includes: This task force is scoping a series of national-level transmission studies to decarbonize the electricity system. These studies include:

  • Macrogrid design
  • Reliability studies
  • Resilience studies
  • Operations and operability
  • Economic analysis

Completed work includes:

Task Force Lead: Bob Zavadil, EnerNex

Best Practices for Modeling Weather, Extreme Events, and Climate Trends

The energy transition is shifting the impact of weather on grid planning and operations, from one where weather (chiefly temperature) plays a primary role in modulating peak load and its timing, to one where weather is instrumental in driving system risks across multiple interconnected dimensions. Impacts include: wind and solar generation, load shape and magnitude, storage charge/discharge, and drivers of traditional system outages. This task force seeks to convene a cross-disciplinary group of system engineers and atmospheric scientists to advance the application of weather data in power systems planning and operations. The focus will be on better use of existing weather inputs in resource adequacy analysis, including for capacity expansion and production cost modeling, and upon determining what is needed from a “next generation” dataset that will serve the needs of the sector throughout the energy transition.

Our main objectives are:

  • To establish best practices for using currently available weather data which typically imperfect and not applied in scientifically defensible ways.
  • Developing a detailed description of what is needed from a national power systems weather database in a format that can be translated into a request to DOE, FERC, or other entity for funding.
  • To provide recommendations on how high-impact, low-probability (HILP) events are likely to evolve and what planning should be done to prepare for such events.
  • To consider to what extent power systems modeling should endogenously simulate weather impacts with concurrent weather timeseries data, versus the current generally approach of managing weather impacts exogenously using typical or specific weather scenarios.

Task Force Lead: Justin Sharp, Sharply Focused

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