Energy Markets & Policy Department, Berkeley Lab

"A report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) shows that retail electricity prices increased at an average moderate rate of 2.5% per year from 2014 to 2023. However, in recent years, price increases have ramped up". "Average U.S. electricity rates rose 4.8% per year from 2019 to 2023. The Energy Information Administration reported that state utility regulators signed off on $9.7 billion in net rate increases in 2023, more than double the $4.4 billion authorized in 2022. EIA said rate increases totaled roughly $9 billion in 2024. Over the past three winters, nominal year-over-year increases in residential electricity prices averaged 7%, EIA said" #electricity #energy #energytransition #energypolicy #energysecurity #infrastructure https://lnkd.in/e7v7hGR6

Registration deadline is March 3 for the Integrated Distribution System Planning 2.0 training in Detroit, March 11-12. The 2024-2025 training series covers all new topics, with a focus on load growth and local resources. The training is open only to state utility regulators, energy offices, and utility consumer offices. Limited travel stipends are available. Register at https://lnkd.in/gDhqYZGC. NARUC NASEO - National Association of State Energy Officials NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE UTILITY CONSUMER ADVOCATES INC

We reported earlier on the massive backlog for grid interconnection. To better understand the dynamics and what solutions may be available, we just published “Grid connection barriers to renewable energy deployment in the United States,” in the journal Joule.   Available here: https://lnkd.in/gmiQCBgX Massive growth in solar and battery development has led to the queue backlog. Since 2010 the queue has grown >5X and the process length has nearly doubled. To get more details about what’s going on, we analyzed 5000 interconnection studies to create a first-of-a-kind cost database.   Interconnection costs have risen over time. Projects withdrawn in recent years had costs 23% greater than the preceding 5 years and more than double those before 2014. Costs are much greater for withdrawn projects ($373 per kW) than for those that completed interconnection studies ($73 per kW).   Wind and solar are seeing the highest costs, whether completed or not. While wind and solar projects that completed the interconnection study process saw interconnection costs making up 6-8% of total project costs, withdrawn projects faced costs of 30-37% of total.   Interconnection service can either be firm (capacity) or as-available (energy). One would expect that as-available service would cost less, be approved more quickly, and be less likely to trigger grid upgrades, but our evidence suggests that is often not the case.   A big factor is the cost of network upgrades, which are often billed to project developers to overcome transmission constraints. The wide range of interconnection costs across the country and by situation illustrates the uncertainty and lack of uniformity of the process.   These findings suggest the need for continued interconnection reforms, tighter links between long-term transmission planning and project-level interconnection processes, and more interconnection outcome transparency.   Policymakers are actively working with stakeholders to improve procedural rules for interconnection but commonly cite the lack of data and transparency as a gap to evidence-based decision-making. We hope these data will shed light on the process.   For even more information, see our landmark research on the interconnection queues, in the report Queued Up. Find also recorded webinars, interactive data sets, and more, at https://emp.lbl.gov/queues. 

Our latest Berkeley Lab report finds U.S. average retail electricity prices were mostly flat between 2019 and 2023 when taking inflation into account, though have been rising faster than inflation for residential customers. What's behind the trend? Read the report to find out: https://lnkd.in/gfHAZP8c Kudos to Sydney Forrester, Galen Barbose, Evangelos Cappers, Cesca Miller, and Andrew Alberg!

Community solar is growing, but customers can be confused when they get separate bills from a community solar company and from their utility. A new report by National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Berkeley Lab explores the complications and implications of consolidated billing for community solar. Download at https://lnkd.in/g2ESv2Fw

Thanks to ESIG (Energy Systems Integration Group) for the invitation to blog on our work understanding the use of the rates (aka price based demand response) in IRP. Light holiday reading for y'all!

I am honored to be included in this Knowable Magazine article on top science stories of 2024 (that includes a feature on aliens)!

The U.S. market for customer-owned solar has become wider and deeper, across regions and income levels. Our annual report on the demographics of solar adopters is covered by Dan Gearino at Inside Climate News. https://lnkd.in/gMqy_e73