In 1945, economist F.A. Hayek wrote an article entitled The Use of Knowledge in Society. In it, he described flawed thinking he found to be endemic in the world of economic planning. His arguments centered around how knowledge was used and where the limits to […]
The Use of Knowledge in the Grid Read More »
The current discussion around Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and grid modernization often relies upon a magic box called optimization to make everything work. According to its proponents, it will coordinate tens of millions of grid-connected devices, unlock loads of latent value, and avoid the need
This is Better Than “Optimal” Read More »
The US electric power grid has a remarkably sophisticated and capable control system that has centralized, distributed, and autonomous components and in some regions is integrated with real time optimizing electricity markets – sophisticated and capable that is, for the 20th Century grid. Depending on
The Fly-by-Wire Grid We Need Read More »
In the discipline of Grid Architecture, we recognize that an architecture is composed of three types of things: structure, back box components, and externally visible characteristics. Components are black box in the sense that we are not concerned with how they work or are implemented
DER and Anti-Gravity Read More »
Changing the grid to meet 21st Century needs is a serious business, involving hard work at all stages. There is much discussion in the industry about grid transformation, but most proposals and efforts are in fact incremental steps that make essentially small linear changes to
Building the Grid We Need: Incremental Change vs. Core Grid Transformation Read More »
In the field of electronics, the concepts of small and large signals are well understood. For example, a simple transistor audio amplifier must be designed for a combination of large and small signals to work. The large signal (also known as the bias in electronics)
Large Signals, Small Signals & Grid Fallacies Read More »
It’s the early evening in the dog days of summer in California on a warm Tuesday night. In the background I can hear the muffled sounds of the SF Giants baseball game playing on the tv. With each crack of the bat, my head pops
This Little Light of Mine Read More »
The Pacific Energy Institute is pleased to announce the release of its new white paper, “A Gambit for Grid 2035”. This paper by the Institutes’ Fellows examines the evolution of the power industry and structural considerations as we accelerate towards a clean and distributed electricity
A Gambit for Grid 2035 Read More »
Those of you who worked over the last couple decades in wind and then solar integration may find a familiar scene being played out with DER integration today. Compensation for wind and solar was initially based on 20-year projected avoided costs which often ended up
DERs: Déjà vu all over again Read More »
Planning for the future or the past? Striking the balance between robust and nimble planning Utility planners are facing increasing challenges and it’s tempting to conclude that the answer is ever-more complex models that co-optimize across a larger number of variables to undertake ever-more sophisticated