Can California conquer the next phase of renewables integration?

June 11, 2017 by Ronjoy Bezbarua

(Source: Greentech Media) Between its 50 percent state renewable portfolio standard (RPS), aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, and energy efficiency mandate, California has some of the strictest environmental policies on the books in North America. And these policies are progressively getting more stringent with a potential move toward a 100 percent RPS. These mandates, which have already pushed an unprecedented number of renewables onto the grid by U.S. standards, have introduced a new set of operational challenges. System operators and regulators are currently preparing for and dealing with consequences such as overgeneration, renewable curtailments, local transmission congestion and flexible backstop procurement in order to keep the system reliable. However, the prospect of a system that is both reliable and clean to the level that California has mandated is simply unattainable without battery and grid edge support. Read full article….