Warren LasherDirector, System Planning
October 4, 2014
Our Energy Future
2 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
What Does ERCOT, Inc. Do?
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power on the transmission system. We are responsible for the reliability and adequacy of the transmission grid.
ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 6.7 million premises in competitive choice areas.
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The ERCOT Region is one of 3 interconnections in
North America.
The ERCOT grid:-75% of Texas land-85% of Texas load -38,000 miles of transmission lines-550+ generation units-68,305 MW peak demand (set 8/3/2011)
The ERCOT Region
Regional Import Capacity: 1,256 MW of Asynchronous Tie Capacity (820 MW with Eastern Interconnection)
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
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Record Peak Day Generation Output
Nuclear
Coal
DC Tie Imports
Wind
Natural Gas
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Gen
erati
on (M
W)
Hour of Day
Hydro
Generation on August 3, 2011
Generation match load
must
at all
times…
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August 2013 Generation Output
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Agg
rega
te H
ourl
y G
ener
ation
(MW
)
Other
Gas
Wind
Coal
Nuclear
Monday08/05/2013
Tuesday08/06/2013
Wednesday08/07/2013
Thursday08/08/2013
Friday08/09/2013
Saturday08/10/2013
Sunday08/11/2013
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Typical April Generation Output
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ERCOT Region Generation
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Wind Generation Development in ERCOT
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
Wind GenerationRecords
(Instantaneous)
• 10,296 MW, March 26, 2014, 8:48 p.m.− Non-Coastal Wind
Output = 8,863 MW− Coastal Wind Output
= 1,433 MW− Supplying 28.78% of
the 35,768 MW Load− Installed
Commercial Capacity = 11,055 MW
• 39.40% Wind Penetration, March 31, 2014, 2:12 a.m.− Total Wind Output =
9,699 MW− Total Load = 24,618
MW
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CREZ Transmission Update – January 30, 2014
• As of January 30, 2014, the CREZ transmission projects were complete.
• The transmission plan is designed to serve approximately 18.5 GW:– ~3600 right-of-way
miles of 345 kV– $6.9 billion project
cost• Lines are open-
access; use not limited to wind
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
Project details available at: http://www.texascrezprojects.com/quarterly_reports.aspx
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Generation Development in ERCOT
Fuel Type
Initial Screening Study Projects
(MW)
Full Interconnection Study Projects
(MW)Completed
Projects (MW) Total (MW)
Natural Gas 9,517 16,252 6,792 32,561
Coal 0 0 270 270
Wind 2,875 13,650 8,852 25,377
Solar 588 3,208 265 4,061
Storage 0 594 0 594
Total 12,980 33,704 16,179 62,863
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
Current ERCOT Interconnection Queue
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• Price is dropping rapidly• Can be installed close to load centers• Can be installed very quickly
Advantages of Solar Generation
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
• Small solar facilities (5 – 10 MW) have economy of scale. So they can be spread throughout the grid, increasing reliability and decreasing congestion. With wind generation, economy of scale is achieved at ~100 MW. Thermal generation facilities typically are 100 – 800 MW per unit.
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ERCOT Region Generation
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
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EPA Clean Power Plan Proposal
• The EPA’s proposed state goals are based on four possible
strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. – Increase resource efficiency
– Switch from coal generation to natural gas
– Increase generation from renewable resources and maintain nuclear output
– Expand energy efficiency programs
• At a high level, a successful
implementation plan will include
a combination of measures that
reduce carbon dioxide emissions
from the generating fleet and
decrease the growth of future
energy demand.
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View of the Future
October 4, 2014
• Increasingly Electric• Solar Generation (much of it
near the customer)• Electric Transportation• Energy Storage (Batteries,
Compressed Air, others)• DC Power• Micro-grids• Customer (Load Demand)
Participation
Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit
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CREZ Reactive Study
Questions?
October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit