Meeting Peak Demand and Environmental Justice with Solar

Peak Demand occurs essentially during the hottest days of the year (or sometimes the coldest) when electricity use is at its highest and requires all available energy resources to be operating. When demand is at its highest, dirty and very expensive fossil fuel peaker plants that can be quickly ramped on or off are called to operate to meet this demand. Many of these peakers are located in more densely-populated areas and they create significant air pollution and public health problems. In addition, because these plants are very expensive to operate and are paid to be “on-call,” they add a significant cost to everyone’s electric bill, even though they only run only a few hours a year.

Fortunately, solar energy generation is also generally at its peak production during similar hours as peak demand. Therefore, if we get enough solar on the grid, it can play an important role in shaving peak demand – which can reduce the cost of energy for everyone on the grid. And, if the dirty peakers are replaced with solar and/or storage, then the communities where they are located will also benefit.

Join us as we talk with the Clean Energy Group that is piloting a project in New York City to replace fossil fuel peakers with solar plus storage.

They will also share information about the peakers in the Philadelphia metropolitan region, which is one of the top 10 regions affected by fossil fuel peakers in the country. These peakers that are an average age of 50 years old run just 100 hours a year, but spew tons of air pollution (NOx) into the neighboring communities.

We will also provide a primer on peak demand, how it works, and the economics behind meeting peak demand. The Philadelphia Energy Authority will discuss how they are expanding solar energy access to all their residents in the city, which is a start to replacing peak demand with solar.

Speakers:

• Shelley Hudson Robbins, Project Director, Clean Energy Group
• Emily Schapira, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority

Who should attend?

• elected and government officials and staff
• renewable energy owners, operators and/or investors
• solar developers
• general public and anyone interested in learning more!

General Registration is $15 for this webinar; $100 for the 10-webinar series. Free for elected officials and legislative staff.

Please don’t let financial obstacles prevent you from attending. We want you there! Special arrangements can be made for those who request it by contacting us at info@pasolarcenter.org.

Get access to the whole series of 10 webinars in the next 10 months for $100 (as well as recordings from past webinars). Your ticket supports the activities of the PA Solar Center and is 100% tax deductible as we are under the fiscal sponsorship of New Sun Rising, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Upcoming Series (Dates and speakers being confirmed):

• Guidance for Leasing Land for Large-Scale Solar Development – Join the PA Solar Center and Fair Shake Environmental Law Clinic to review their new guidance (Spring 2022)
• Municipal Zoning for Large-Scale Solar Development
• PV Reuse and Recycling
• NREL’s SolarApp – Solar Permitting for Municipalities Made Easy
• Energy Storage, Microgrids and Solar

….. and more.