The City of Boston's Finance Manager, NH's Consumer Advocate and an NHPR radio host weigh in on ISO New England's peak load data and the role of behind-the-meter solar in our regional energy mix.
Joe LaRusso, Energy Efficiency and Distributed Resources Finance Manager for the City of Boston, posted 22 tweets on July 20th stating, "July 17 Newswire contains some insights regarding the performance of behind-the-meter (BTM) PV in its service territory during the recent 6/29-7/5 heatwave."
His calculations reveal solid evidence for behind the meter (BTM) photovoltaic (PV) solar power as a means to reduce peak load, and ultimately, our reliance on fossil fuels. It also strengthens the position that we do not need more natural gas.
"The point is this: it’s a clear & irrefutable fact that BTM PV has arrived; that *all* NE electric customers benefit from it; & that its positive effects on the ISO-NE grid will only grow as battery storage becomes ubiquitous and the amount of installed BTM PV increases."
This conversation comes on the heels of 7 tweets on July 5th from D. Maurice Kreis, NH Consumer Advocate, where he questioned crediting the lack of spikes in ISO New England's wholesale markets during the heat wave to Marcellus shale gas.
His comments had come in response to NHPR's Sam Evans Brown's tweets on July 3rd that "things remained decidedly unspicy all day" [on the grid] with only a few small spikes that "didn’t even hit triple digits", wrapping up the tweet with the enthusiastic declaration, "This is the power of the Marcellus Shale at work."
The Twittering discourse between energy gurus and talking heads are expatiations worth following for those entrenched in state and regional energy negotiations, okay, disputes. Utility, energy and pipeline companies have the upper hand in selling pipe dreams of cheap fuel and electricity, while the general public accepts the aggressive sales tactics as some kind of benevolent offering.
Listen, read, learn. Ask questions of those willing to share their expertise. Ask questions of yourself and and your legislators. They can't be expected to be knowledgeable on every issue. We must educate them, and unfortunately, are obligated to dispute the shiny advertising that oozes from every boil of consumerism by multi-billion dollar corporations.
Legislators are taking their cues and talking points from the very sources that seek to profit from our acceptance of promised municipal wealth and ratepayer savings, with no evidence to back up their claims. If promises are broken, we get to keep the stranded costs, continuing to pay for what we didn't need in the first place.
Energy masters, financiers and radio hosts can talk all day, but if we're not listening, the pipelines flow on.
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