Clean Energy Canada published an important report for this province. It is titled BC Distributed Energy Resource Potential Study. It seems the best examinations of this province’s energy needs come from public interest groups, not from our multi-billion dollar public utility.
This is a comprehensive examination, but here are the key takeaways:
| 1 | BC Hydro is on solid footing for expanding DER contributions. The Reference scenario forecasts roughly 670 MW of effective peak reduction by 2040 (4.2% of peak). This scenario aligns closely with the DER contributions projected in BC Hydro’s 2025 IRP through 2030 and reflects meaningful progress supported by the utility’s current programs and planning. However, these results also rely on the assumption that BC Hydro follows through on its commitment to introduce V2X participation opportunities as V2X-capable vehicles become more common. |
| 2 | Avoided cost for capacity have risen substantially — rendering all individual DERs cost-effective. Given BC Hydro’s updated avoided costs of capacity ($410/kW-year, up from $202/kW-year in the previous IRP) every DER measure included in this study is cost-effective, meaning that economic DER potential is equivalent to technical potential. This also supports much higher incentive levels for DERs, as assessed underthe DER-Centric scenario. |
| 3 | With stronger incentives, the role of DER’s in meeting BC’s emerging grid needs could be transformative. The DER-Centric scenario yields a ~90% increase in potential compared to the Accelerated scenario, demonstrating that there is room to unlock significantly more DER capacity. This would entail ambitious policies such as code requirements for controllable water heaters, and fully paid batteries for all solar NEM customers, ultimately moving DERs from a supplemental resource to become a central load growth solution that can be rolled out instep with BC’s decarbonization efforts. |
Categories: Energy
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Thanks Norm.
I think one of the key requirements to engage people to partake in DER measures is to make it as easy as possible to do it. Homeowners should be able to have an adviser come out to discuss the possibilities that make sense for them, and then there needs to be a simplified process to get it done.
It is too much to expect people to do it all on their own.
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