Isabella Espinel

The grid is undergoing a transformation. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are playing an increasingly important role, but these resources are variable – they don't always produce power when we need it most. To maintain a reliable grid, we need a strong backbone of steady state and dispatchable resources – fast starting resources that can be turned on and off quickly to meet the growing load and balance renewable variance. Here's where fast interconnection comes in. The ability to streamline the interconnection of these dispatchable resources to the grid, allows them to supply electricity where it's needed most, and fast. This is crucial for a few key reasons: Balancing Variable Renewables: When the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, dispatchable resources can kick in and fill the gap. Fast interconnection ensures this happens quickly, preventing dips in frequency and potential blackouts. Optimizing Grid Efficiency: Dispatchable resources can be located in areas with abundant generation or low demand. Fast interconnection allows us to integrate this power efficiently to areas where it's needed, reducing reliance on local generation and minimizing transmission losses. Market Integration: Fast interconnection allows for a wider pool of resources to participate in energy imbalance markets and future Day Ahead Markets, especially in the west. This competition can drive down prices and ensure the most cost-effective generation is supplying the grid. Investing in fast interconnection infrastructure is essential for building a resilient and reliable grid that can integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy and meet load growth in an ever expanding electrified world. It's a win-win for everyone: a cleaner, more affordable, and dependable power supply for the future.

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In his first article for Forbes Technology Council, Ben Dwinal of Locana, a TRC Companies, Inc. company, discusses why it's important for execs to become data whisperers. Read the full article here: https://okt.to/SQLV9M

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This morning, my team at BloombergNEF published our Climate-Tech Investment Radar 1Q 2024 update. Climate-tech companies raised $11.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024 across public and private markets, the lowest quarterly funding since BloombergNEF started tracking this data. The total deal count remained stable compared with the previous quarter. Over 70% of the funding raised came from venture capital and private equity (VC/PE) investments. Key takeaways: - Trends in public and private markets were similar this quarter. Climate-tech VC/PE funding dropped 30% compared with the rolling four-quarter-average while public market funding fell 46%. Climate-tech continued to make up more almost 15% of total private market funding but fell to only 4% of total public market funding. -Clean-power companies raised the most funding this quarter at $3.3 billion, ending energy storage’s two-quarter reign as the top sector. Low-carbon transport rose to second place with $2.9 billion in equity. VC/PE investment in clean molecules saw a small increase driven by hydrogen equipment makers. -Mainland China regains its position as the best-funded market for climate-tech due to raises by power developers and mobility companies. This was somewhat surprising given manufacturing overcapacity in the region is discouraging investments in new facilities, typically the market’s main funding driver. -The European Innovation Council made the leader board of most active climate investors for the first time this quarter, partaking in six deals with an average deal size of $80 million. -Some 31 new venture capital and private equity funds closed in the first quarter with a total of $13.7 billion in dry powder, which is money that has been raised by climate funds that haven’t been deployed. This figure was notably more than the $8.3 billion in VC/PE funding invested in climate startups this quarter.

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The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) undeniably plays a pivotal role in shaping the renewable energy landscape in the United States, with the solar industry standing out as a major beneficiary. Amidst this transformative era, there's burgeoning curiosity and conjecture regarding the potential shifts in trajectory should the Trump administration resume leadership. The following episode delves into these dynamics, offering a thoughtful analysis of the possible outcomes. #InflationReductionAct #RenewableEnergy #SolarIndustry

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The Inflation Reduction Act has paved the way for billions of dollars in incentives aimed at clean energy projects. Central to these incentives are the Investment and Production Tax Credits, which developers and investors leverage to subsidize their investments. Notably, projects that meet specific criteria can qualify for the Energy Communities Adder, providing an additional 10% tax credit.   In collaboration with Gregory and Kush, we conducted an in-depth analysis of key trends associated with this adder. Our findings reveal that 57% of the green energy projects currently under construction in the U.S. qualify for this adder. Our analysis also offers crucial insights into the locations of these projects and provides strategic advice on how utilities and investors can effectively utilize the IRA to finance their initiatives. Read more below.

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📣 Attention Grid/Market Analytics Professionals! 🌿⚡ Do you perform grid/market analytics for a renewable energy developer in the US? I'm interested in putting together a small, informal group of like-minded folks to meet on a monthly basis and share tips, tricks, and analytical methods with one another. 🧠�� In our ever-evolving industry, I'm constantly learning newer and better ways to tackle the challenges we face, and I'm sure you are too. Rather than waiting for annual vendor-focused user group meetings, I think we could massively benefit from having a small niche community who can benefit from regular discussions on topics such as: ✅ Innovative analytical methods for optimal greenfield siting locations and risk evaluation ✅ Experiences and insights on software and data vendor subscriptions ✅ Approaches to modeling special constraints or market dynamics in specific electricity markets ✅ How generative AI is enhancing our workflows ✅ Tips and tricks for efficiently obtaining data from ISOs If you're interested in being a part of this group, please message me or comment below! For now, I'm thinking the group should be as small as 5 or as big as 20 people to encourage optimal participation/discussion 🤝

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It's been less than 24 hours since this post, and the response has been overwhelming! It's a testament to the passion and dedication within our industry to achieving our climate goals. As mentioned in the post, to ensure optimal participation and meaningful discussions, I will need to limit the group size to 20, maybe 25 participants. Making this selection will be a very difficult, and I apologize in advance to those that are not selected. To maintain a focused and productive group, the primary criteria for selection will be: 1. Currently working for a renewable energy developer or utility in North America, preferably in a grid/market analytics role 2. Located within North American time zones to facilitate scheduling I want to emphasize that this decision is not a reflection of the value and insights that those outside these criteria can offer. I have no doubt that professionals from other regions and sectors, such as consultancies and software vendors, possess a wealth of knowledge and unique perspectives. However, given the specific goals and logistical constraints of this group, I believe this criteria would be most appropriate. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and understanding! P.S. I'll keep the window open for an additional 48 hours to allow those who meet the mentioned criteria to express their interest in joining the group

In 2023, clean energy's growth story was interrupted for the first time in almost a decade with a decrease in Venture Capital (VC) funding. However, the sector remains much stronger than most startup areas, which were hit harder by the overall VC market's steep decline. Our annual Clean Energy Startup Radar found that the Asia Pacific region, hydrogen, and battery storage attracted overall increases in funding, showing a path forward for the sector. You can learn more in our latest report. #cleanenergy #funding #greenhydrogen

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I am so excited to announce that the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Technology Office funded report titled the National Wind Workforce Assessment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Needs has been released! As development increases to meet U.S. wind energy deployment goals, it is important to have enough properly trained workers to meet industry needs. This analysis has estimated that under a business-as-usual scenario there will likely be a significant shortage of wind energy workers in the coming decades. However, impactful opportunities such as connecting classrooms to careers, fostering future talent, creating clear career pathways, and prioritizing inclusivity exist to close the wind energy workforce gap. If interested, you can find more information below. https://lnkd.in/eeU2ZNnf. Additionally, I want to thank Jeremy Stefek, Chloe Constant, Laura (Ferguson) Hastings, Alexsandra Lemke, Jen Grieco and so many others that made this report possible! 🎉

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FOAK. Sounds offensive if you say it the wrong way. While it's a relatively new term for me, the acronym means First-Of-A-Kind and it represents those really innovative initiatives that are always extremely tough to get off the ground. Yet in terms of climate tech, and particularly hard tech, FOAK is important because many of the solutions we are going to need to address climate adaptation and resilience will depend on financing these risky ideas. FOAK is at the bridge between venture capital (equity) and infrastructure/project financing (debt), neither of which is well equipped to fund these disruptive types of ventures because of the risk profile, the timeline, the perceived low ROI and the complexity. So many concepts that have a scalable and unique value proposition and meaningful impact fall into the "valley of death" before getting traction. Kudos to Prime Coalition and Trellis Climate for filling this gap. The attached Latitude Media article describes it as a private sector version of the federal green bank clean financing program. The goal is to attract capital more efficiently (without gov't in the middle), reduce systemic barriers to funding and encourage community engagement. Hopefully this post helps others understand what the FOAK is going on in climate. Sorry, I couldn't resist. 😉 #climatefinancing #intermediaries #disruptiveinnovation #infrastructure

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How has the IRA impacted US utilities so far? What are recent trends in utility resource plans? Which utilities are experiencing the most load growth, how are they responding, and is the response aligned with climate success? MSCI Inc. podcast released today, featuring myself, Uday Varadarajan, and Mathew Lee.

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Howdy! 😊 Guess what? We're on a roll at The Ad Hoc Group, and we're expanding our squad! If you're ready to dive into some serious fun and meaningful work, check out the link below for not one, but TWO senior Associate roles. Got questions? Slide into our DMs - 🚀 #JoinTheFun #TeamExpansion"

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It's so inspiring to fight for the folks that need the most help! It's awesome to see such a fantastic "spread the wealth" approach to the Solar for All program. Low income homeowners everywhere will have renewed access to affordable clean energy. These monumental investments are easy to praise for their top line dollar figures and they should be, but don't lose sight of the benefits that these dollars are going to bring. Tens of thousands of homeowners are going to be benefit from these dollars. Lower bills Cleaner energy Cleaner air Healthier lives. I can't wait to see all these programs spin up 🚀 🚀 🚀 ______________ I'm Grant Gunnison Click my name + follow + 🔔 to learn how to get off gas and electrify P.S. If you'd like early access to our platform, repost this! #emissions #decarbonization #incentives #solar #heatpumps

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It is exciting to see great discussions and policy work to expand Transmission Grid Capacity and the role of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) in unlocking the Grid for more renewables. We at GridAstra acknowledge some of the pressing challenges mentioned - the laborious work to simulate GETs during studies and lack of software tools to help plan the Grid with GETs. GridAstra recently released ‘𝙁𝙐𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉-𝙏 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿’ to address this very challenge by providing 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 (𝗚𝗘𝗧𝘀) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀. The ‘𝙁𝙐𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉-𝙏 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿’ can not only perform the detailed pre-projects and post-projects steady state analysis to identify the basecase and post-contingent constraints based on cluster studies, but can also provide automated suggestions for mitigating these constraints with GETs based controls. As a part of such GETs based control actions, it can automatically provide an optimal strategy by coordinating Grid Topology Reconfiguration and Advanced Power Flow Controllers (APFCs), or using any one of these control types based on your choice. In case you are wondering about where to place the APFCs in the Grid for optimal impact (with minimum APFC installation), our software can also help find that out for you! And last but not the least, this software can be easily integrated in your existing Interconnection Study workflows, thanks to its compatibility with industry-standard data formats. Ultimately, our goal with the ‘𝙁𝙐𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉-𝙏 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿’ software is to empower Transmission operators, Utilities, and Generation project developers to reliably connect larger volumes of new generation in a much shorter period of time and at a much lower cost. If you are interested in a demo of our ‘𝙁𝙐𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉-𝙏 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿’ software, please reach out to us at info@gridastra.com or https://lnkd.in/g6BacNK5.

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📃 My first report at Wood Mackenzie was officially published last week! This is our US grid-scale energy storage pricing report for 2024 H1, where I describe current system pricing trends and provide a 10 year price forecast considering policy, technological, and supply chain evolution. Here are some high-level takeaways: 📉 Prices have continued to plummet since 2023 🏛 Aggressively-priced Chinese batteries have created short-term uncertainty and heightened protectionist policy measures (see: Biden Section 301 tariff announcements, UFLPA discussions) ⚗ LFP has become the dominant chemistry of choice, although NMC systems still fill a niche where space comes at a premium Special thanks to my colleagues Allison Weis, Vanessa Witte, Aaron Todd, Phoebe Chang, Max Reid, and Anna Darmani, PhD for the thoughtful discussions & contributions! Check it out here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gSuenjQA

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Going #electric at home may appear daunting and costly. However, with state and federal incentives, this shift becomes more feasible. DSIRE's (screenshot below) platform simplifies identifying available state incentives for renewable energy and efficiency initiatives. Companies like Rock Rabbit, EnergySage, Encentiv Energy, Opower, Rebate Bus, Sense, Enervee, Powerley, and others are demystifying these incentives, making them more accessible to homeowners. Learn more in Climate People's latest #1MinuteClimateSnippet: https://buff.ly/3KyG3Nz .

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FERC has approved interconnection reform - and this is *generally* good for the energy transition. That said the devil in in the details of how states and utilities implement these changes. Some improvements like penalties assessed against utilities for tardy studies, trying to clean out queue squatters, and expressly identifying certain technical flexibility into interconnection design are good. However, we have specifically seen "Cluster Studies" and higher financial security requirements stymie development and create very costly and endless loops of re-studies in many markets (utility and DG). Calling on American Clean Power Association (ACP) Solar Energy Industries Association and importantly state level advocacy and watch dog groups to closely watch and actively participate as the implementation of these changes occur at the state level PUCs and DPUs - ensuring proper accountability and fair play. https://lnkd.in/ewehaH52 NYSERDA New York Solar Energy Industries Association MID-ATLANTIC RENEWABLE ENERGY COALITION Renewable Energy Vermont American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Smart Electric Power Alliance NECEC Cleantech Leaders Roundtable

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Clarity Grid Solutions #energystorage earnings in ERCOT for the first week of April 2024 remained stable compared March 2024. However, unlike the previous weeks where ancillary services awards were the dominant source of revenue, Real Time market earnings were a narrow majority of revenue for batteries. This is likely due to low ancillary service prices across the state, combined with some local spikes in Real Time energy pricing.

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Green Success Stories puts Venancio Méndez Levy, E.I.T, Senior Renewable Energy Consultant at Wood Group, in the Green Spotlight. Venancio describes how his wilderness trips with his dad awakened his environmental awareness, and how he finds deep meaning in his current work focusing on the development, engineering, and construction of utility-scale solar projects. He strongly encourages any new graduate or college student reading this to consider the renewable energy industry as their career choice. https://lnkd.in/ejYUybMZ

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