How clean is the energy supply in New England? Very clean. They are getting cleaner every day, as a matter of fact. A mixture of new clean energy generation sources, renewable distributed generation, and energy efficiency programs are moving New England to zero or net zero by 2050. Looking back of the past few years, the electric generation resource mix has changed radically. The mix has reduced fuel oil and coal to almost zero, while natural gas and renewable energy have dramatically increased. Looking at the current generation interconnection queue, over 90% of the new resources coming online are wind, solar, and storage[1]. This tells a compelling story from the supply side of the equation. However, there is a compelling story on the demand side of the equation.
Looking at the New England states collectively, a combination of energy efficiency programs, distributed energy resources, and electric vehicles are making a significant impact. All states have Energy Efficiency Resource standards that help control customer-side usage. Additionally, distributed energy resources such as solar photovoltaics are seeing increased penetrations that, in turn, change the need for peaking supply-side solutions. Examining the penetration of solar PV systems (under 1 MW), installations this year are on track to exceed 2021. On a monthly basis, 2022 installations are tracking 388 MW and 105,999 MWh higher than last year.[2] Energy efficiency programs in these states reduced 310 MW of peak demand and energy consumption by over 2,054,859 MWh[3]With the penetration of electric vehicles increasing, the Independent System Operator – New England has estimated its impacts, and it shows that both electric demand and energy consumption will increase over the next 10 years[4] However, this increase will be somewhat mitigated by DER and energy efficiency program impacts.
ANB Systems is helping facilitate the penetration of clean energy technologies in three New England states (New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts). ANB products like eTRACK+, eTRM, and DRM (Document Recognition and Management System) are helping investor-owned and municipal utilities, as well as statewide organizations, track and implement clean energy programs. eTRACK+ is being used not only to administer energy efficiency portfolios; it is also being used to manage distributed generation and electric vehicle programs. While eTRM is used to disseminate the statewide Technical Reference Manual. In some cases, all three products are being used together to provide a powerful program management tool. As the New England states move rapidly towards a clean energy future, ANB Systems looks forward to helping them meet their aggressive goals.
Written by – Michael Stockard
Michael Stockard is an independent consultant at Stockard Energy Advising and is a member of the Advisory Panel at ANB Systems. Michael has over 40 years of experience in the design and implementation of demand-side management programs.
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