On October 19, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final rule directing the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop new or revised reliability standards to address the grid reliability gap associated with inverter-based resources (IBRs). Issues:1 Reliability standards will impact wind and solar renewable energy sources, as well as battery storage.
IBR is a power generation technology that converts direct current generated by a generator into alternating current and transmits it to the grid. Some IBRs are not configured or programmed to maintain grid voltage and frequency in the event of a system failure and may temporarily stop operating during a failure. Such short outages, even lasting a few microseconds, can result in reduced power output, compromising network reliability when it occurs across many resources on the network. However, IBRs can provide network operational flexibility because they are capable of operating with larger frequency variations than synchronous generation resources.
There are two key considerations in FERC’s final decision. First, FERC noted that current reliability standards were designed for the use of conventional synchronous generators, not IBRs. Consequently, these standards may not adequately address the technical differences of IBR and may not provide system operators with the appropriate tools to integrate IBR into the power system. Second, FERC noted that the grid’s generation resource mix is undergoing rapid changes, including “unprecedented proportions of intermittent resources,” or IBRs.
New or revised NERC reliability standards will have a significant impact on developers, owners and operators of inverter-based renewable energy sources.
FERC’s final rule directs NERC to develop new or modified reliability standards to address at least four key areas: (1) data exchange; (2) model validation; (3) planning and operational studies; and (4) performance requirements. NERC must submit a detailed, comprehensive plan for developing and implementing standards within 90 days of the rule’s issuance.
FERC clarified that the final rule does not address federal or state jurisdictional issues. NERC’s authority is limited to power systems and does not extend to facilities associated with distribution systems. FERC noted that while some of the guidance applies to registered entities, such as distribution service providers receiving aggregated data on distributed energy resources (IBR-DER), the final rule does not impose any restrictions on unregistered entities or facilities used for on-site energy distribution. electricity.
NERC must introduce new or revised standards in stages from November 4, 2024 to November 4, 2026.
The standard-setting process initiated by the final regulation will be an important undertaking. It is critical that IBR developers, owners, and operators collaborate with NERC’s standards development team and incorporate industry input into the process. As FERC noted, while NERC has ongoing projects related to IBR, the final rule requires the development of a comprehensive plan that will apply nationwide at all phases of interconnection, planning, and operation.
We thank fellow freshman Stuart B. Robbins for his contributions to this publication.
Disclaimer: Due to the general nature of this update, the information provided here may not apply to all situations and should not be applied without specific legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
© K&L Gates LLP var Today = new Date(); var yyyy = Today.getFullYear(); document.write(yyyy + ” “); |
Copyright © var Today = new Date(); var yyyy = Today.getFullYear();document.write(yyyy + ” “); JD Supra LLC
Post time: Nov-03-2023