Distributed generation from biomass resources: Emerging potential for utilities

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:478691

Whittier, J; Haase, S ^[1]; Badger, P C ^[2]

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1. NEOS Corp., Lakewood, CO (United States)
2. Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL (United States)

Distributed generation (DG) offers potential to enhance the range of services provided by electric utilities. Competitive pressures experienced by the utility industry are sending simultaneous, and often conflicting, signals to planners concerned with busbar costs, market share and customer retention. DG technologies allow planners to address concurrent utility and customer concerns. DG will also open markets for additional commercial applications of diverse biomass technologies. Distributed generation offers multiple benefits both to utilities and to end users. Utilities may site new power production resources more readily and with lower capital costs and reduced financial risk than with larger power generation systems. Important benefits may accrue to the transmission and distribution (T&D) system including various forms of grid support (e.g., reduced line losses, voltage support, and power quality improvement), deferral of upgrades to substations, and provision of power in increments that match projected demand patterns. Other DG benefits may include assistance with customer waste disposal problems, fuel diversity, reduction in emissions of NO{sub x}, SO{sub x}, and CO{sub 2}, and increases in system reliability. Substantial changes in utility planning practices are required to accommodate DG. The utility must re-think planning procedures to begin from the customer and extend back to the system rather than beginning from comprehensive system planning at the power plant level. As competitive pressures encourage utilities to redefine business practices, DG may help to focus strategic responses to the market.

• OSTI ID: 478691
• Report Number(s): CONF-960958--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
BIOMASS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
POWER DISTRIBUTION