Studies on clean local energy

The Clean Coalition has collected a number of internal and third-party studies on various aspects of distributed generation.

DG+IG Enhances System Reliability & Efficiency. This presentation highlights how distributed generation integrated with intelligent grid solutions (DG+IG) balance power, voltage, frequency, which creates in a far more reliable and efficient electrical system. PDF

Enhancing the Investor Appeal of Renewable Energy. This article by Felix Mormann introduces an investor-oriented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed criteria to a qualitative comparison of the primary policy instruments, and offers recommendations to enhance the investor appeal of renewable energy in the United States. PDF

Local Power: Generating Clean Energy in Our Communities. This article, written by Clean Coalition’s Stephanie Wang and Rebecca Davis and co-authored by Timothy Green, was published in the American Planning Association Law Journal on June 8, 2011. PDF

Memos for the IEPR Committee Workshop on Renewable, Localized Generation on May 9, 2011 | KEMA, Inc. These memos were generated by KEMA, Inc., a global energy consulting firm, and were commissioned by the California Energy Commission’s Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) Committee. The findings in the memos were presented at the IEPR meeting in May 2011. KEMA’s overarching conclusion is that California’s grid can accommodate high penetrations of Wholesale Distributed Generation (WDG), which is comprised of 20 MW-and-smaller projects that are interconnected to the distribution grid. Download the first memo, which discusses physical infrastructure and distributed generation (DG) interconnection, here. Download the second memo, which discusses DG network planning and operational impacts, here.  Download the third memo, which discusses DG options, here.

The German Feed-In Tariff for PV: Managing Volume Success with Price Response. This report, completed by Deutsche Bank, analyzes the transparency, longevity, and certainty of Germany’s feed-in tariff (FIT) policy. The FIT policy, which the report finds to be the best renewable energy policy structure in the world, is presented according to its historic evolution and future trajectory. PDF

The Biogas Opportunity in Wisconsin: 2011 Strategic Plan. This strategic plan, by Gary Radloff of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, describes the importance of feed-in tariffs (FITs) in helping Wisconsin build a new energy economy by turning biogas into energy. PDF

Community Power: Decentralized Renewable Energy in California. This policy paper, which was completed as a joint project of the Sierra Club California Energy-Climate Committee (ECC) and the Bay Area’s Local Clean Energy Alliance, stresses the need to reduce electricity demand and transition to renewable sources of energy. To work towards these goals, the merits of decentralized electricity generation are discussed. PDF

CLEAN Contracts: Making Clean Local Energy Accessible Now: Bringing More Renewable Electricity into the Marketplace. By Richard W. Caperton, Bracken Hendricks, John Lauer, & Courtner Hight | Center For American Progress, Groundswell, Energy Action Coalition. This study examines CLEAN contracts, which have spurred more renewable projects than any other mechanism, and gives advice about how lawmakers and advocates can accelerate the adaptation of CLEAN contracts in their communities. PDF

Democratizing the Electricity System. John Farrell’s report explains the exciting transformation that will occur as renewable energy changes the structure and sale of the distribution grid. By abandoning the 20th-century grid dominated by large, centralized utilities and creating a 21st-century grid that is a democratized network of independently-owned and widely dispersed renewable energy generators, the economic benefits of electricity generation will be more widely dispersed. PDF

CLEAN V SRECs: Finding the More Cost-Effective Solar Policy. In light of the collapse of Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) markets, John Farrell’s report compares the cost-effectiveness of SREC and Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN) Programs to finance solar energy projects and meet renewable energy goals. Farrell found that the transparency, certainty, and low-risk nature of CLEAN Programs allow them to deliver solar energy at a significantly lower levelized cost than SRECs. PDF

Ratepayer Benefits Analysis Study. This Clean Coalition analysis found a critically important result: CLEAN Programs will save money for California ratepayers. Read more

Economic Benefits of a Comprehensive Feed-In Tariff: Analysis of the REESA in California.This ground-breaking study led by Dan M. Kammen concludes that a statewide CLEAN Program in California would create three times more jobs than the state’s current plan for meeting its renewable energy goals, increase direct state revenues by more than $2 billion, and stimulate up to $50 billion in additional private investment. Read more