WRVO | New York Public News Network | By Dave Bullard
The non-profit agency that monitors energy use in New York state says the state is at “an inflection point” that threatens the reliability of the power system.
That is the primary point made in the New York Independent Systems Operator’s (NYISO) annual Power Trends report, issued last week. The NYISO acts as the air traffic control system of the state’s power grid. It monitors the flow of energy from the power plants that create it, through the substations and wires that transmit it, to the homes and businesses that use it. When power fails or begins to run short, the agency can reroute power to affected areas or buy power from out-of-state utilities.
There’s a lot happening in the energy sector in New York at present, but it boils down to this: The supply of energy is falling while demand is rising. The NYISO’s ability to ensure power is available whenever needed depends on having reserves of power ready to go. In its report, the NYISO said that reserves have fallen around 80% from levels seen just a few years ago.
Those reserves get the power system through the harshest events, and the NYISO noted that last summer’s heatwave and this past winter’s long, deep cold snap tested the system like never before.
“We need to build new resources because our energy reserves are declining to a point where we have great concerns with operating the system, especially when demand is like what we experienced last June during the heat wave or last February during the deep freeze,” said Kevin Lanahan, senior vice president of external affairs at the NYISO.
Older power plants have been shut down as they reached the end of their lives. The new power coming online – primarily from wind and solar – has not been enough to fill the gap. The NYISO report urges the rapid construction of new power plants, particularly nuclear power facilities.
“The best day to have built a new nuclear plant was 10 years ago. The second best day is today,” Lanahan said.
The state is pushing hard for the siting and construction of a new nuclear plant. Last week, the state Public Service Commission issued a draft of the policy options it believes are available. The report said that a new nuclear plant is necessary, though it will take years to build and the need for power is immediate.
One bright spot is growth in what the NYISO calls “behind-the-meter solar” power, which is the solar energy created by homeowners and businesses with their own solar panels. The NYISO, however, says that utility-scale solar farms are needed to create large amounts of electricity.
It also urged retrofitting older fossil-fuel plants with modern technology to get them back online while reducing their carbon footprint, alongside increased investment in large-scale battery technology to store energy surpluses for use during high-demand times.
Image: The control room of the New York Independent System Operator in Rensselaer, NY. (NYISO)