Renewable Energy Solutions for Energy Market Professionals

Publicly Accessible Energy Storage Systems (ESS) Simulation Price-taker models are suitable for small-scale ESS as their capacity does not influence market prices or system dispatch. This post highlights DOE price-taker valuation tools. 🟦 1) QuESt  QuESt is a free, open-source Python application suite for energy storage simulation and analysis, developed at Sandia National Laboratories. It includes three interconnected applications:  1- QuESt Data Manager,  2-QuESt Valuation, and  3-QuESt BTM, Eligible technologies include BESS (Li-ion, advanced lead-acid, vanadium redox), flywheels, and PV, using a shared model for different BESS and flywheel types based on their parameters. 🟦 2) Renewable Energy Integration and Optimization (REoptTM)  The REopt™ platform, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), optimizes energy systems for various applications, recommending the best mix of renewable energy, conventional generation, and energy storage to achieve cost savings, resilience, and performance goals. Eligible technologies include: PV, wind, CHP, electric and thermal energy storage, absorption chillers, and existing heating and cooling systems. 🟦 3) Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM)  DER-CAM is a decision support tool from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) designed to optimize DER investments for buildings and multienergy microgrids. Eligible technologies include conventional generators, CHP units, wind and solar PV, solar thermal, batteries, electric vehicles, thermal storage, heat pumps, and central heating and cooling systems. 🟦 4) System Advisor Model (SAM) SAM is a techno-economic computer model that evaluates the performance and financial viability of renewable energy projects. It includes performance models for various systems such as PV (with optional battery storage), concentrating solar power, solar water heating, wind, geothermal, and biomass, and a generic model for comparison with conventional systems. Eligible technology types focus on electrochemical ESS, supporting lead-acid, Li-ion, vanadium redox flow, and all iron flow batteries. Users can also model custom battery types by specifying their voltage, current, and capacity. SAM offers detailed modelling of battery cells, power converters, and factors like degradation, voltage variation, and thermal properties. 🟦 5) Energy Storage Evaluation Tool (ESETTM) ESETTM is a suite of modules developed at PNNL that allows utilities, regulators, and researchers to model and evaluate various ESSs. ESETTM features a modular design for ease of use and currently includes five modules for different ESS types, such as BESSs, pumped-storage hydropower, hydrogen energy storage, storage-enabled microgrids, and virtual batteries. Some applications also include distributed generators and photovoltaics (PV). Source: see post image. Link to the modellers: in the comment section This post is for educational purposes only.

Hourly matched renewable tariffs have grown x4 in the past year - evidence business customers are changing how they procure energy. This is translating into action from non-domestic energy suppliers. A new Granular Energy survey showed that of 75 suppliers surveyed, 69% were now offering or planning to launch products that aligned renewable generation with actual consumption hour by hour. A key driver is regulatory, with proposed changes to the GHG Protocol meaning hourly matching for emissions calculations in future. This all favours contracts that combine renewables with batteries, or mix different technologies together. These can deliver power when it's scarce and valuable - e.g. evenings and winter - rather than flooding the market at midday when solar has already saturated supply. B2B energy suppliers who develop hourly matching products now position themselves well. In doing so, there's a market dynamic they will need to be aware of for customers with 24/7 demand, e.g. data centres. Here, the nature of this demand will likely create new dynamics - a two-tier certificate market where power delivered at 3am on a January evening is likely to be worth far more than midday summer solar. Suppliers who can package renewables, storage and flexible contracts to cover the difficult hours will be better positioned to win such accounts. Link to the survey in the comments. BFY Group Hannah Sword

Why Clean Energy Could Solve Electricity's Hidden Insurance Problem📊 When you sign up for electricity service, you're not just buying power—you're buying a guarantee that it will be there when you need it, at a price you can afford. But here's the challenge: Energy companies are struggling to make those long-term price guarantees, and it's making clean energy more expensive than it needs to be. New research reveals why, and it's fascinating: Think about insurance companies refusing to cover homes in hurricane zones. The problem isn't the average day—it's the extreme events that create massive losses. Energy markets face a similar challenge: When natural gas and coal prices spike together (like they did in 2022), it creates losses so extreme they're almost impossible to protect against. Let's break this down: 1. The Current Problem - Energy companies need to guarantee prices years ahead - But fossil fuel costs can spike 1000% without warning - Traditional hedging strategies don't work for these extremes - Result: Higher costs or no long-term contracts offered 2. The Clean Energy Solution - Wind and solar have no fuel costs to spike - Different weather patterns create natural risk diversity - Storage adds flexibility to manage timing - Makes long-term price guarantees more viable 3. The Market Opportunity - Better risk sharing could unlock lower financing costs - Need new approaches for managing extreme events - Focus on portfolio-level vs single project protection - Path to accelerate clean energy adoption Here's why this matters: While critics worry that renewable energy makes prices more volatile day-to-day, this research suggests it could actually reduce the catastrophic risks that currently make electricity more expensive for everyone. Question for energy and risk professionals: How are you thinking about extreme event protection in your clean energy portfolios? What new hedging products could help solve this challenge? #EnergyMarkets #CleanEnergy #RiskManagement #Innovation

Renewable energy projects have a financing problem. Banks won't even talk to them without guaranteed buyers, But here's what's changing the game : A solar farm might generate power for decades, but if there's no committed buyer, lenders see it as too risky. No financing, no project. The renewable energy sits unbuilt. Meanwhile, companies have carbon commitments and need clean electricity. But they can't build their own solar farms or negotiate with every developer independently. Resulting in billions in renewable projects stuck and companies unable to access clean energy. The gap between supply and demand keeps both sides paralyzed. Power Purchase Agreements solve this. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract where a buyer commits to purchasing electricity from a renewable generator at a fixed or indexed price, typically for 10-20 years. Developers get revenue certainty. Banks approve financing. Projects get built. Buyer locks in clean energy at a predictable price plus renewable energy certificates for carbon accounting. Simple mechanism. Massive impact. In 2023, 36 GW of renewable PPAs were signed globally. Corporate PPAs account for over 50% of deals, led by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. By 2030, corporate PPAs are projected to hit 100 GW. But these barriers kept most companies out: → Long contracts felt risky in unstable markets → Regulations around energy procurement stayed murky → Solar and wind didn't match when companies actually needed power → Small businesses couldn't navigate the complexity Until these startups stepped up: LevelTen Energy tackled price volatility. Largest PPA marketplace connecting 500+ developers with corporate buyers, providing price benchmarks and risk analytics. REDEX solved regulatory complexity. Digital platform helping corporates navigate open access and cross-border clean energy procurement. ReNew addressed generation mismatch. Hybrid solar-wind-storage PPAs aligning with corporate demand, mitigating 4 million tonnes of carbon. Zeigo simplified SME access. Platform making PPA contracting accessible for mid-market companies previously locked out. Clean energy procurement is moving beyond tech giants. Digital marketplaces, standardized contracts, and hybrid PPAs are turning exclusive corporate deals into scalable infrastructure. Projects that couldn't get financed now have buyers. Companies that couldn't access clean energy now have options. Would your company sign a 10-year contract for clean energy if the price was predictable and lower than grid rates? And that's day 9, of Climtober - 31 days demystifying climate solutions, one topic at a time. Come back tomorrow for Day 10 and by November 1st, you'll understand this landscape better than most people working in it. Building climate solutions but struggling to explain why they matter? Check the pinned comment - I help founders turn complex tech into stories that drive real adoption.

Over the last decade, I’ve watched renewables projects move from pilot scale to full integration in global energy portfolios. What felt like “future projects” in 2015 are now real assets shaping hiring and investment. Here’s how the space has matured: ➤ Utility-Scale Execution – Offshore wind, solar, and hydrogen hubs are being delivered at the same scale as LNG or refining megaprojects. Practical takeaway: Project management skills from O&G (schedule, cost, contractors) are directly transferable. ➤ Financial Discipline – Early-stage projects often relied on subsidies. Today, investors demand the same return metrics as hydrocarbons. Practical takeaway: Experience in capital efficiency, AFE control, and cash flow delivery is highly marketable. ➤ Integrated Portfolios – Majors like BP, Shell, and Equinor now blend renewables with their oil & gas assets. Practical takeaway: Being able to “speak both languages” — hydrocarbons and low-carbon — makes professionals competitive. For anyone with traditional energy backgrounds, the bridge into renewables isn’t as far as it may seem. #energy #renewables #oilandgas #oilandgasindustry #sustainability #engineering

Shifting to solar energy in commercial settings is not just an economic choice but reflects a deeper commitment to future-proofing operations and aligning corporate values with global sustainability trends increasingly valued by consumers. Implementing solar power solutions in businesses requires strategic considerations, such as evaluating rooftop or land space to optimize installations and analyzing local sunlight conditions to maximize efficiency. Beyond the technical aspects, organizations often leverage financial incentives, including tax credits or government subsidies, significantly reducing upfront costs and enhancing return on investment. Integrating battery storage systems complements solar installations, enabling businesses to store excess power generated during peak sunlight hours for continuous energy supply during low production periods or outages. Adopting solar energy can thus substantially decrease operational expenses, minimize environmental impact, and strengthen brand reputation. #SolarEnergy #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy #EnergyEfficiency #DigitalTransformation

Corporate energy buyers looking to fulfill clean electricity and emissions reduction pledges are rushing to negotiate and close contracts for U.S. solar and wind development projects as the window for qualifying for related tax credits shrinks. The surge in demand pushed U.S. power purchase agreement prices up 4 percent since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, according to a special report by LevelTen Energy, which tracks transactions on a quarterly basis. The average cost of a PPA in North America was $57.04 per megawatt-hour in the first quarter, according to LevelTen’s ongoing pricing index. The Republican budget bill sunsets many renewable energy tax incentives far earlier than the rules set out by the Inflation Reduction Act. As a result, close to 70 percent of clean energy buyers feel “more urgency to act immediately” to find projects, lock in tax incentives and get ahead of electricity price increases. That jives with my recent chat with Kevin Rabinovitch at Mars, who says companies remain committed to renewable energy procurement — despite expecting higher costs under the Trump regime. The tax incentive changes will increase costs, but power purchase agreements for solar and wind projects are still a sound investment for companies seeking more price certainty. Rabinovitch told me the new playing field could affect where Mars focuses first: "At the end of the day, the climate just cares about tones" of carbon dioxide, he said. But, ultimately: "The economics of this as a strategy are pretty compelling, compared to most other decarbonization options." “What isn’t talked about enough is that even when you take away the credits, the levelized cost of energy is still lower than all of your other forms of energy, including new hydro,” said Rick Margolin director of resource optimization and renewable energy at advisory firm ENGIE Impact. Interest in emerging clean energy options such as small nuclear and geothermal is growing because they can still earn incentives. In addition, buyers are installing more energy storage alongside solar projects, since they are also treated favorably. There’s a hitch: Sustainability professionals and energy buyers should get individuals on their finance and legal teams involved early as negotiating cycles compress from months to weeks in the pre-deadline rush, experts said. More of my analysis: https://lnkd.in/eFPmMefP h/t to Rob Collier for walking me through the LevelTen data. And thanks to Rich Powell of Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), Bryen Alperin at Foss & Company, and Greg Lavigne with Sidley Austin LLP for chatting about this issue in recent weeks even if you're not directly quoted. #cleanenergy #solar #wind

From #PPAs to Balancing: Where Can You Market Renewables? The days of simply securing a long-term PPA and calling it a day are over. With increasing renewable penetration, the importance of short-term markets and capacity-related mechanisms is rising. 🔹 Long-term: PPAs & Toll markets play a key role in securing investment. Next to auctions or other support mechanisms (like tax credits) 🔹 Medium-term: Forward markets help to hedge and adjust, but require active management. 🔹 Short-term: Day-ahead, intraday, and balancing markets are now critical for optimizing revenue. With such a diverse set of markets to navigate, securing and optimizing revenue has never been more complex—or more fascinating (if you’re a power geek). ⚡ I adapted this framework from an IEA power market report to highlight where renewables can be marketed along the timeline. The landscape is always a bit shifting (and looks different from market to market).

🌐 Aggregators & Virtual Power Plants: Shaping the Future of Renewable Energy 🌱 🔋 What is an Aggregator? Aggregators are critical players in modern energy systems. They act as intermediaries, grouping consumers, producers, and prosumers into one single entity to engage in power markets 🏬⚡. By aggregating Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), these companies operate a Virtual Power Plant (VPP)—an innovative solution that allows smaller energy sources to contribute meaningfully to the grid. 📊 VPP Operation: A VPP uses centralized IT systems to manage data from diverse sources: weather forecasts ☁️, wholesale electricity prices 💹, and power supply-demand trends. These insights help optimize dispatchable DERs, mimicking traditional power plants’ operational standards like capacity adjustments and ramp rates. 🔄 Flexibility for Renewable Integration Aggregators enable a smoother integration of renewables by providing demand- and supply-side flexibility to the grid. Demand-side flexibility is achieved through demand-response resources and energy storage, which react to grid requirements ⚙️. Meanwhile, supply-side flexibility leverages adaptable generation from CHP plants and biogas plants 🔥, along with energy storage, to maintain a balanced supply. 🌍 Building a Renewable-Powered Future with IRENA This approach aligns with the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) vision of a renewable-powered future, where diverse innovations work in harmony to address the challenges posed by Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) integration. This includes enabling technologies, business models, market design, and system operation 💼💡. 🔑 Driving Innovation IRENA’s project “Innovation landscape for a renewable-powered future” explores 30 key innovations across these dimensions, revealing the synergies that make high renewable penetration achievable. By adopting such transformative strategies, we can enhance the adoption of solar 🌞 and wind 💨, pushing for a cleaner, more resilient energy landscape. #RenewableEnergy #VirtualPowerPlant #EnergyTransition #Sustainability #Innovation #DERs #SmartGrid #IRENA

🚀 Reforming Australia’s energy markets: A $19 billion DER opportunity 💰 My submission to the National Electricity Market (#NEM) Wholesale Market Review, prepared for Solar Citizens, outlines how outdated rules and market design are stifling $19 billion in net benefits from distributed energy resources (#DER) by 2040. As pv magazine Australia highlights, this isn’t just about rooftop solar—it’s about redesigning markets to prioritise DER as critical infrastructure for affordability, reliability, and decarbonisation. DER—including solar, batteries, EVs, and flexible demand—could deliver: $11 billion in avoided network costs (poles, wires, substations), and $8 billion in reduced large-scale generation/storage needs. 20% of contingency FCAS raise is already provided by aggregated DER today. Yet current market rules and network revenue regulation: * Impose 1MW bid minimums, reducing competition * Lock households and SMEs out of the wholesale demand response mechanism * Let networks prioritise costly infrastructure over DER solutions * Include no minimum demand equivalent of the RERT (emergency peak supply), and * Are not designed for a majority renewable electricity system. See my submission for the details of this series of principles to support the participation of aggregated DER in markets: * Market design should be prepared from first principles * Value resilience to extreme weather events in reliability * Consider how greater deployment of SAPS and microgrids could be facilitated * Ensure fair and non-discriminatory access for all forms of aggregation to all markets and regulatory procurement * Ensure equitable, fair compensation * Facilitate robust competition, especially through the lowest reasonable minimum bid sizes *Establish the best way to manage minimum demand * Enable value stacking to maximise benefits Ensuring fair and inclusive consumer participation: * Voluntary consumer participation * Tiered participation options * Ensure appropriate consumer protections, including transparency about benefit splits Technical and regulatory enablers of #ADER: * Create open data and open communication protocols, use open-source software, make detailed network data available and allow third party access to real-time smart meter data with consumers’ permission * Implement Dynamic Operating Envelopes * Upgrade Market Systems #EnergyPolicy #RooftopSolar #NEMReform #aggregatedDER Integrate To Zero, IEEFA Australia, The Superpower Institute, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub, Blunomy, Tim Nelson, Paula Conboy, NACD.DC GAICD