DSM Pocket Guidebook Volume 5: Renewable and Related ... - NREL

SECT I O N 1
RENEWABLE RESOURCES FOR
UTILITY APPLICATIONS
.INTRODUCTION
Electricity is o key to the country's economic health and quality of life.
Through the integrated resource planning (IRP) process, Western Areo
Power Administration (Western) customer utilities need to pion the next
generation of power supplies. Utilities need to investigate the integration
of renewable resources in the suppide and demondide management
(DSM) options chosen for the future.
Historically, the bulk of utility electric generation has been dispatchoble
and bused on economies of scale. Lorge power plants offered the best
economics. Today, legislators, utility regulators, and consumers ore
promoting improved efficiency in the use of our energy resources,
reduced dependence on fossil fuels, and o course of action that willleod
to o more sustainable and secure energy future.
Utilities con consider many kinds of renewable energy technologies for
power generation; eoch technology has different operating and cost
chorocteristics. Consider these examples:
• Hydro-generation and geothermal steam-powered generation
ore both long-established, inexpensive technologies that con be
dispatchoble, depending on the quality of the resource.
• A solar thermal power plant con produce os much energy os o
conventional central station power plant. The time of maximum
power output may be coincident with o utility's peak power
needs.
• Burning biomass-such os wood waste-become on economical
fuel alternative under the encouragement of the Public
Utilities Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 (PURPA), and the prevalence
of these fuek makes them renewable sources.
However, just os utility planners would not build o system using only
one fuel source or plant, no utility planner should build o future system