By Herman K. Trabish | GreenTech Media
The road to bringing more distributed solar into the utility resource mix runs through long-term planners.
Solar complicates utility planning decisions, according to the findings presented in Treatment of Solar Generation in Electric Utility Resource Planning, a survey of 28 utilities and load-serving entities in twenty-two states from the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. What planners consistently say is that they want more and better data.
A utility’s integrated resource plan (IRP) “is a long-term view to balance resources and ensure reliable service for fifteen to twenty years into the future,” explained report co-author and Solar Electric Power Association Utility Strategy Director John Sterling during a SEPA webinar. “The two key factors are load growth and available resources.”
