Black & Veatch and SEPA Examine Impact of Distributed Energy Resources on Utility Planning

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 02, 2016 -- Electric utilities are facing a variety of challenges because of rising amounts of solar, storage and other distributed energy technologies on their systems. In response, they are speeding their integration planning efforts. That is the finding of a new paper from Black & Veatch and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA).

The “Planning for the Distributed Energy Future” white paper is based on interviews with leaders at five large U.S. utilities. It profiles emerging utility planning practices for distributed energy resources (DERs). These resources include demand response technologies and electric vehicles. 

“A growing number of utilities recognize that increased DER penetration will significantly affect the grid,” said Robert Brnilovich, Vice President of Black & Veatch’s Management Consulting business.  “Black & Veatch is working with utilities to rethink their approach to planning. The five-step process outlined in the paper will allow utilities to plan for and act on the growth of distributed technologies.”

The new planning model involves:

• Modeling distribution grid impacts of DERs
• Incorporating regulatory and rate changes into the planning process 
• Formulating a business strategy toward DER integration—including any changes to utility operations and organizational structures
  
  

“What we see in the field – and this report confirms – is that utilities need to have a deep understanding not only of new distributed technologies, but of their customers’ evolving interests and expectations. Successful planning involves a fine balance of both,” said Julia Hamm, President and CEO of SEPA. “The mix of distributed resources will vary between regions and utilities. The integrated approach in this report can help a broad range of stakeholders unlock the opportunities these technologies offer to develop new products and services that benefit customers and the grid.”

The paper finds that proactive planning has benefits for utilities facing increased DER penetration. It can enable electric utilities to streamline DER deployment and maintain high reliability. They may also be able to take advantage of new opportunities tied to market change.

Notes:

• Planning the Distributed Energy Future is available for download here.
• DER technologies covered in this whitepaper are solar photovoltaics (PV), non-solar distributed generation (DG), energy storage (ES), electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure, demand response (DR), combined heat and power (CHP) and energy efficiency (EE).
  
  

About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2014 were US$3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and in social media.

About SEPA
SEPA is an educational nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, dedicated to enabling the transition to a clean energy economy by facilitating utility integration and deployment of solar, distributed energy resources, and supporting technologies onto the grid. SEPA is the founder and co-organizer of Solar Power International, the nation’s largest solar energy conference and trade show. SEPA provides a range of reports, educational events, networking opportunities and advisory consulting services to its members.

Black & Veatch  Media Contact Information:
ROCHELLE NADHIRI | + 1 913 458 9863 P | +1 415 860 6879 M | [email protected]   
24-HOUR MEDIA HOTLINE | +1 866 496 9149

SEPA Media Contact Information:
K KAUFMANN | 202 379 1637 O | 202 494 4386 M| [email protected]