Proactive Solutions to Curtailment Risks | Identifying New Contract Structures for Utility-Scale Renewables

Proactive Solutions to Curtailment Risks | Identifying New Contract Structures for Utility-Scale Renewables

  • How to incentivize developers to incorporate backup and grid support services
  • Balancing curtailment risk allocation between utilities and developers
  • Three examples that redefine how curtailment is managed

Overproduction and Curtailment

Combine high levels of solar generation with self-contained grids unable to export power to other regions, and you have the unique challenge of overproduction and curtailment now facing Hawaiian Electric Companies, which provides power on five of the state’s six islands.

A Unique Solution

A report from the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and ScottMadden tackles the problem with a new approach to power purchase agreements, aimed at allocating risk evenly between developers, utilities and customers — and turning distributed generation from “must-take” to dispatchable power. With an eye to achieving the state’s goal of 100-percent renewable generation by 2045, PPA models in the report seek to incentivize dispatchability, preserve system flexibility and maximize value for consumers.