our energy future

Warren LasherDirector, System Planning

October 4, 2014

Our Energy Future

2 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

What Does ERCOT, Inc. Do?

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power on the transmission system. We are responsible for the reliability and adequacy of the transmission grid.

ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 6.7 million premises in competitive choice areas.

October 4, 2014

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The ERCOT Region is one of 3 interconnections in

North America.

The ERCOT grid:-75% of Texas land-85% of Texas load -38,000 miles of transmission lines-550+ generation units-68,305 MW peak demand (set 8/3/2011)

The ERCOT Region

Regional Import Capacity: 1,256 MW of Asynchronous Tie Capacity (820 MW with Eastern Interconnection)

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

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Record Peak Day Generation Output

Nuclear

Coal

DC Tie Imports

Wind

Natural Gas

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Gen

erati

on (M

W)

Hour of Day

Hydro

Generation on August 3, 2011

Generation match load

must

at all

times…

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

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August 2013 Generation Output

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Agg

rega

te H

ourl

y G

ener

ation

(MW

)

Other

Gas

Wind

Coal

Nuclear

Monday08/05/2013

Tuesday08/06/2013

Wednesday08/07/2013

Thursday08/08/2013

Friday08/09/2013

Saturday08/10/2013

Sunday08/11/2013

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Typical April Generation Output

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

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ERCOT Region Generation

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Wind Generation Development in ERCOT

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

Wind GenerationRecords

(Instantaneous)

• 10,296 MW, March 26, 2014, 8:48 p.m.− Non-Coastal Wind

Output = 8,863 MW− Coastal Wind Output

= 1,433 MW− Supplying 28.78% of

the 35,768 MW Load− Installed

Commercial Capacity = 11,055 MW

• 39.40% Wind Penetration, March 31, 2014, 2:12 a.m.− Total Wind Output =

9,699 MW− Total Load = 24,618

MW

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CREZ Transmission Update – January 30, 2014

• As of January 30, 2014, the CREZ transmission projects were complete.

• The transmission plan is designed to serve approximately 18.5 GW:– ~3600 right-of-way

miles of 345 kV– $6.9 billion project

cost• Lines are open-

access; use not limited to wind

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

Project details available at: http://www.texascrezprojects.com/quarterly_reports.aspx

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Generation Development in ERCOT

Fuel Type

Initial Screening Study Projects

(MW)

Full Interconnection Study Projects

(MW)Completed

Projects (MW) Total (MW)

Natural Gas 9,517 16,252 6,792 32,561

Coal 0 0 270 270

Wind 2,875 13,650 8,852 25,377

Solar 588 3,208 265 4,061

Storage 0 594 0 594

Total 12,980 33,704 16,179 62,863

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

Current ERCOT Interconnection Queue

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• Price is dropping rapidly• Can be installed close to load centers• Can be installed very quickly

Advantages of Solar Generation

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

• Small solar facilities (5 – 10 MW) have economy of scale. So they can be spread throughout the grid, increasing reliability and decreasing congestion. With wind generation, economy of scale is achieved at ~100 MW. Thermal generation facilities typically are 100 – 800 MW per unit.

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ERCOT Region Generation

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

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EPA Clean Power Plan Proposal

• The EPA’s proposed state goals are based on four possible

strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. – Increase resource efficiency

– Switch from coal generation to natural gas

– Increase generation from renewable resources and maintain nuclear output

– Expand energy efficiency programs

• At a high level, a successful

implementation plan will include

a combination of measures that

reduce carbon dioxide emissions

from the generating fleet and

decrease the growth of future

energy demand.

Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy SummitOctober 4, 2014

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View of the Future

October 4, 2014

• Increasingly Electric• Solar Generation (much of it

near the customer)• Electric Transportation• Energy Storage (Batteries,

Compressed Air, others)• DC Power• Micro-grids• Customer (Load Demand)

Participation

Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit

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CREZ Reactive Study

Questions?

October 4, 2014 Earth, Wind, & Fire Energy Summit