EPRI
Arshad Mansoor is the CEO of EPRI.
More than a decade ago, the infamous duck curve became the talk of the global energy community. The duck curve — first introduced by the California ISO and named after its resemblance to the aquatic bird — displayed electricity demand net of variable renewables, such as solar, throughout the day.
The duck curve emphasized the challenges associated with a growing solar resource that resulted in net demand declining during the day (the duck's belly) when solar resources were generating and sharply increasing at sunset (the duck's neck), with both the belly getting deeper and the neck getting steeper and longer every year as more solar resources were deployed.
Since that time, the energy industry has been working to improve how the grid operates with the duck curve, since the belly can cause over-generation issues, renewable curtailment, and heavy reliance on inverter-based assets, and the extending neck can make it more difficult for the resource fleet to be flexible enough to ramp up. Increased system flexibility is paramount to address these challenges.
Public Utilities Fortnightly's Steve Mitnick talked with EPRI CEO Arshad Mansoor about what the implications are of all this for the energy and utilities industry. Also, the sense of urgency surrounding the issues.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: What's the headline?