- This event has passed.
Solar Austin Happy Hour: Distributed Solar in the ERCOT Market
September 27, 2016 @ 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
From Solar Austin –
Distributed solar on homes and businesses has traditionally been largely ignored by electric markets. The energy produced benefits the customer and their electric utility, but hasn’t been valued by the market that determines when all other energy resources – including utility scale solar, wind, coal, gas and nuclear – are competitively priced. As more customers are choosing solar, many have argued that there should be a way for this resource to be valued by the wholesale market.
That’s why the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) – the entity that controls the electric grid that serves most of Texas – convened the Distributed Resource Energy and Ancillary Markets (DRETAM) Task Force. The purpose of the DREAM Task Force was to evaluate new rules for distributed energy resource participation in the ERCOT wholesale power market.
The DREAM Task Force vetted concepts and made recommendations. Then it was time for ERCOT staff and stakeholders put forth market rule revisions based upon concepts vetted in the DREAM Task Force. Dan Seif will present an update on where we are with these new rules and what it means for new profitable opportunities for distributed solar in Texas.
Dan Seif is Managing Director of Grid Economics, a clean energy policy, markets, business development, and financial advisory consulting firm. Prior to cofounding Grid Economics, Dan was a Sr. Consultant with The Butler Firm, an Austin-area boutique clean energy legal and consulting firm. Dan also previously led the solar program as a Principal at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), was an investment team member of the private equity firm, US Renewables Group, and led global energy optimization and carbon emissions mitigation for the semiconductor manufacturer, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Mr. Seif holds a BS and MS in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia and the University of Arizona, respectively, and an Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.