Geothermal Energy

1
Planning for Geothermal

• Geothermal Energy
• 2008 Conference
• October 7th, 2008
• Bradley Nickell
• Renewable Integration Director
• Western Electricity Coordinating Council

2
Discussion Topics

• Opportunities and Challenges
• WECC TEPPC
• Western Governors Association REZ

3
Challenges

• Lack of Existing Transmission Capacity
• New Transmission to Renewables
• Interstate vs. Intrastate Siting
• Cost of Energy
• Recognizing Other Values
• Capacity
• Ancillary Services
• Heat

4
Opportunities

• Lots of Demand
• Renewable Portfolio Standards
• Carbon Limitations
• Geothermal generation characteristics
• Energy Profile
• Transmission Utilization
• Get involved in the planning processes
• Sub-Regional Processes
• Regional Processes
• LSE Resource Planning

5
TEPPCTransmission Expansion Planning Policy
Committee

• Regional transmission planning that utilizes a
  synchronized study plan cycle to integrate
  transmission planning activities across the West
• Open Season for Study Requests
• TEPPC is the focus of the Western
  Interconnections response to the regional
  planning requirements of FERC 890

6
TEPPC Study MethodSecurity Constrained Economic
Dispatch

• Nodal Power Flow Model
• 10 Year Study Horizon
• Hourly Energy Dispatch with Unit Commitment
• Inputs
• Projected Hourly Loads
• Projected Generation Resources
• Additional Parameters per case request
• Outputs
• Transmission Congestion Metrics
• Shadow Prices
• Regional Resource Identification

7
TEPPC Renewable Energy CasesWGA WIRAB Request

• 15 Renewable Energy
• NERC LTRA Filling Requirement
• 20 Energy Efficiency
• Carbon Target
• Reduce Carbon Emissions by 15 by 2020
• Includes 20 Energy Efficiency
• Technology Mix
• Large Amounts of Geothermal

8
Installed Capacity15 Renewable Energy in 2017
9
TEPPC Geothermal Information

• Existing Units
• Generation Profiles Provided by Members
• New Units
• Flat profile
• 15 Outage Rate
• Selection Criteria
• State Level Penetration provided by WGA
• Based on WGA CDEAC work
• Substation Locations based on
• CA RETI
• State Level Info

10
TEPPC Opportunities

• 2009 Study Cycle
• Open Season in January
• Request Studies
• Provide Updated Resource Information
• Assist with identifying placement of new
  resources
• Indentify plausible generation scenarios

11
Western Governors AssociationRenewable Energy
Zones

• The goal of the Western Renewable Energy Zone
  (WREZ) initiative is to
• Develop a consensus proposal covering the Western
  Interconnection (11 major states, two Canadian
  provinces, and northern area in Mexico).
• Identify best areas to develop renewable
  resources and deliver that power to load centers.

12
Western Interconnection
13
Western Interconnection Context

• Highly integrated grid
• Excellent and diverse renewable resources
• State-by-state REZ initiatives
• Other Western Interconnection actions important
  to the WREZ work

14
Value Proposition

• LSEs, transmission providers, generation
  developers, state regulators can make more
  informed decisions about
• Costs of renewable power
• Transmission needed to move renewable power to
  consumers
• Potential partners in developing transmission to
  access renewable areas and
• Where renewable energy developers can site their
  facilities to ensure access to the transmission
  system and minimize environmental impacts.

15
WREZ Motivation

• Outside of the CAISO and AB, there is no
  mechanism in the Western Interconnection to force
  unwilling parties to pay for new transmission
• LSE fuel choices will ultimately determine what
  transmission gets built
• LSE resource planners (and regulators) often
  operate in stovepipes and may miss opportunities
  for inter-company and interstate collaboration
• Inter-company collaboration is important because
  transmission is a lumpy investment with large
  economies of scale

16
WREZ Motivation

• Promote a regional view of renewables development
  blunting potential balkanization of the
  renewables markets.
• Pave the way for interstate collaboration on
• Permitting of multi-state transmission
• Allocating and recovering cost of new
  transmission.

17
WREZ Phases

• Identification of WREZs
• Technical analysis
• Stakeholder process ground truthing
• Conceptual transmission from WREZs
• Model the delivered price of energy from REZ to
  loads
• Coordinate with transmission planning groups
  TEPPC, Subregional Planning Groups
• Phases 1 2 completed in early 2009
• Coordinated procurement for renewables
• Institutional options to facilitate interstate
  transmission for renewables

18
WREZ Modeling ToolPrimary Deliverable from
Phases 1 2

• Assist resource planners and regulators to
  evaluate the relative attractiveness of
  geographically broad renewable resource options
  at a screening level.
• Estimate delivered cost of both in-state and
  out-of-state RE options from REZs to LSE load
  areas.
• Highlight potential and benefits of collaboration
  between LSEs to build transmission lines.
• Highlight potential for competition for limited
  renewable resources.

19
Questions
Bradley Nickell Renewable Integration
Director Western Electricity Coordinating
Council720.635.3817 bnickell_at_wecc.biz www.wecc.bi
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