Renewables Helped Prevent Blackouts on New England’s Hottest Day This Summer

Solar
panels
by
Route
100
VT-100
in
Waterbury
Center,
Stowe,
Vermont.
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/
iStock
/
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Renewable
energy
sources,
such
as
solar
power
and
battery
storage,
have
helped
keep
power
on
in
New
England,
even
during
peak
demand
on
the
hottest
day
of
summer.

According
to

a
recent
report
from
the
nonprofit
Acadia
Center,
more
than
5
gigawatts
of
behind-the-meter
solar
provided
additional
support
during
peak
demand
times,
despite
the
temperature
in
New
England
exceeding
100
degrees
Fahrenheit
on
June
24. 

ISO
New
England,
a
grid
operator,

issued
a
Power
Caution
on
June
24
due
to
the
heat,
and
that
evening,
peak
energy
demand
reached
26,024
MWh,
the
highest
peak
since
2013.

Based
on
Acadia
Center’s
findings,
as
much
as
22%
of
power
usage
in
New
England
on
June
24
came
from
behind-the-meter
solar.

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Thanks
to
residential
solar,
customers
did
not
have
to
face
energy
blackouts
and
even
saved
money
on
skyrocketing
electricity
prices
during
the
heat
wave.
The
report
from
Acadia
Center
noted
that
while
wholesale
electricity
prices
reached
more
than
$1,000
per
megawatt-hour
(MWh),
customers
with
behind-the-meter
solar
saved
more
than
$8.2
million
collectively.
This
estimate
may
even
be
much
lower
than
reality,
with
Acadia
Center
explaining
that
behind-the-meter
solar
may
have
saved
customers
$19.4
million
in
energy
costs
on
June
24
alone.

“Solar
was
helping
not
just
deliver
megawatt-hours
but
also
suppressing
demand
for
the
entire
region,”
Jamie
Dickerson,
senior
director
of
clean
energy
and
climate
programs
at
Acadia
Center,

said
in
a
statement.
“Basically
helping
ensure
that
the
grid
could
keep
the
lights
on,
could
keep
the
air
conditioning
running.”

But
total
energy
and
cost
savings
were
likely
even
higher
thanks
to
other
clean
energy
improvements,
such
as
battery
storage
and
higher
energy
efficiency.
According
to
Acadia
Center,
energy
efficiency
helped
reduce
peak
demand
by
about
2
gigawatts.

As
Canary
Media
reported,

extensive
battery
storage
in
Vermont
further
reduced
grid
strain
during
peak
demand.
Green
Mountain
Power,
a
utility
provider
in
Vermont,
was
able
to
reduce
strain
on
the
grid
via
residential
and
EV
batteries,
saving
customers
around
$3
million.

“Green
Mountain
Power
has
proven
that
by
making
these
upfront
investments
in
batteries,
you
can
save
ratepayers
money,”
Peter
Sterling,
executive
director
of
the
trade
association
Renewable
Energy
Vermont,
told
Canary
Media.
​“It’s
something
I
think
is
replicable
by
other
utilities
in
the
country.”

Acadia
Center
warned
that
recent
cuts
to
the
Inflation
Reduction
Act
for
clean
energy
investments
will
likely
limit
states’
and
utility
providers’
abilities
to
quickly,
efficiently
respond
in
similar
peak
energy
demand
scenarios,
which
would
increase
risk
of
power
disruptions
to
consumers.

“Those
resources
are
susceptible
to
equipment
failure
and
to
outages,
and
there
is
correlated
outage
risk
across
the
very
large
fleet
of
natural
gas
generation
in
the
region,”
Dickerson
said.
“All
the
more
reason
why
we
need
to
diversify
the
region’s
portfolio.”

Relying
solely
on
fossil
fuel
energy
sources
alone
will
not
be
enough
to
meet
demand,
especially
during
heat
waves
like
the
one
observed
in
New
England
on
June
24.

“Taken
together,
the
June
24
heat
wave
event
was
a
clear
example
of
a
successful
portfolio-based
approach,
using
multiple
complementary
clean
energy
resources
—
solar,
energy
efficiency,
energy
storage,
transmission
imports,
and
beyond
—
to
help
ensure
resource
adequacy
for
the
grid
and
relieve
extreme
prices
for
the
region’s
consumers,”
the
Acadia
Center
report
concluded.
“Unless
further
thwarted
by
counterproductive
federal
proposals,
the
northeast
will
see
an
increasingly
diversified
clean
energy
portfolio
called
upon
to
meet
similar
peak
demand
events
in
the
years
ahead,
minimizing
the
reliance
on
aging,
inefficient
fossil
fuel
power
plants
to
serve
peak
demand.”

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