E3 and Viridity Energy recently issued their Task 6-8 Report “Strategies and incentives for integration of renewable generation using distributed energy resources – A case study based on the University of California, San Diego” for the California Solar Initiative RD&D Project and is now posted on the California Solar Research website.
They found that UCSD DER dispatch strategies are technically feasible and can be cost-effective, but current tariff designs inhibit their performance, and net cost-savings are small relative to total campus resource costs. For each renewables integration strategy, they modeled and evaluated the cost-effectiveness of alternative incentive, tariff and resource dispatch cases. Their findings suggest alternative incentive mechanisms and engagement strategies beyond direct load participation and dynamic pricing strategies currently under consideration are needed.
