Utilities invited to test transmission modeling tool

The Phase 1 Report from the Western Renewable Energy Zone initiative contains maps used in developing the generation and transmission modeling tool. (Art by Western Governors' Association)

In building a renewable energy project, the big questions facing developers and utilities alike are, where are the best resources, how do we deliver the energy to our load and how much will it cost. The Western Renewable Energy Zone (WREZ) initiative is compiling data and designing analytical tools to answer those questions, and you have the opportunity to help.

In cooperation with Western and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the WREZ project is presenting a webinar on how to use its new generation and transmission modeling tool (GTM), Aug. 19, 2009, at 11 a.m. MDT. The GTM allows users to evaluate the relative economic costs, including transmission, of delivering renewable energy from proposed sites to load centers. The cost of the webinar is free, and Paula Fronk urges Western customers to participate. "This is an amazing tool that removes much of the guesswork from figuring out whether or not a specific renewable energy project will work in the utility's situation," explained the Western Energy Services representative.

Jerry Vaninetti, co-chair of the modeling team and vice president of transmission developer Trans-Elect, said the GTM will also encourage collaboration between power providers in the West. "The model can show utilities where they can team up to achieve economies of scale on larger transmission lines needed to reach remote resources," he explained. "Sharing development and transmission costs could give them access to rich sites that wouldn't be available to individual utilities. Such partnerships could ultimately bring down the cost of renewable energy to customers."

Feedback from training

The WREZ committee hopes the training session will encourage utility planners, renewable energy developers, environmental groups, policy makers and others to "test drive" the GTM and offer feedback on possible improvements. Webinar participants will get a thorough introduction to the 2.0 version of the modeling tool that is currently online.

The GTM is an Excel-based screening tool that offers users a list of resources to select or the option of creating a resource. Users then choose pre-defined transmission lines and routes to deliver the energy to load zones. The program calculates a variety of transmission characteristics to give users the delivered price of power from a specific renewable energy zone (REZ). Users can modify inputs such as transmission line capacities and capital costs, right-of-way costs, substation capital costs, operation and maintenance costs and transmission losses to evaluate different scenarios

Fronk believes that the model's flexibility will be a boon to utilities going through the integrated resource planning (IRP) process. "Up to now, our customers could only estimate the cost of adding renewable resources to their portfolios, or spend a lot of time researching markets," she said. "With the GTM, they can plug in their own numbers to quickly get a more precise picture of how a particular resource fits their needs. This tool could streamline planning and make IRPs more accurate, so it is important for our customers to be a part of its development."

Feedback from webinar participants will provide the modeling team with more insight on the needs of utility users, said Jeff Hein of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The staff professional engineer and commission energy advisor is on the WREZ technical committee and part of the modeling team. "The GTM is especially useful in that it marries generation and transmission planning, and these are areas where utilities have extensive day-to-day experience," he said.

The release of GTM 2.0 marks the end of the second phase of the WREZ initiative, but the model will be periodically updated. "We’ll be incorporating feedback from users and adding new resource data as it becomes available," Hein said. "Like any good program, the GTM will continue to evolve."

Steps toward renewable future

The Western Governors' Association (WGA) and the Department of Energy launched the WREZ initiative in May 2008. Building on the work of WGA's Clean and Diversified Energy initiative, the goal of WREZ is to encourage development of the abundant renewable resources within the Western Interconnection.

Phase 1 identified the most promising areas—those with the most energy potential that could be tapped with the least environmental impact—and determined transmission needs and costs. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council, renewable energy developers, tribal representatives, utility planners, environmental groups and government policymakers all contributed to the Phase 1 Report, released June 15, 2009.

The report includes a map of the resource-rich areas that can be used to estimate their distance to load zones. The map is a key part of the GTM developed by energy consultants Black & Veatch, with input from NREL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, WGA and utility transmission and regulatory experts. The team is also working on a Peer Analysis Tool that can create a supply curve to any individual load center with the entire list of renewable resources from all REZs in the Western Interconnection.

These tools will facilitate the third phase of the WREZ initiative, stimulating development of commercial G&T projects, or modification of existing proposed projects, to deliver REZ power. The fourth and final phase will engage political, industry and stakeholder leaders across the region to cooperate on permitting multi-state generation-transmission projects and resolving cost allocation issues.

Model for the West, webinar for all

This is all good news for utilities scrambling to comply with renewable portfolio standards, meet growing customer demand for clean energy and prepare for climate change legislation. Unfortunately for some Western customers, the tool only works for the 11 states, two Canadian provinces, and areas in Mexico served by the Western Interconnection. Customers from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas are welcomed to participate in the webinar, however.

Reservations or registration for the WREZ modeling webinar are not required. Join the meeting online Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. MDT. The username and conference code are both 7196252. You do not need to call into the audio conference or install the program. Users will be prompted to run the "light version," which requires that the computer have Java and Active X controls. Once the moderator arrives, the service will automatically dial your phone number or prompt you to join the audio broadcast. Please contact Jagmeet Khangura at 925-949-5966 with questions.

Resources

Western Renewable Energy Zone

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Generation and transmission modeling tool

Integrated resource planning

Colorado Public Utilities Commission

Trans-Elect Development Company

Western Governors' Association

Resources (cont.)

Department of Energy

Western Electricity Coordinating Council

WREZ Phase 1 Report

Black & Veatch

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

WREZ modeling webinar instant meeting

People

Paula Fronk

Jerry Vaninetti

Jeff Hein

Jagmeet Khangura

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Western governors map out region's renewable energy future

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