The worldwide market for power generation is undergoing a
tremendous transformation due to restructuring of the electric power sector in
many countries. This is resulting in intense competition, as well as price
increases and capacity shortages. At the same time new, cost-effective
distributed generation technologies are increasingly becoming commercialized.
Finally, near-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are coming, and combined
heat and power promises to be a key measure for fighting climate change.
Current trends, both in the U.S. and international markets, favor distributed
generation technologies for some key applications.
RDC has provided consulting advice on small-scale power
generation for more than two decades. Clients include project developers,
equipment manufacturers, utilities, end-users, trade associations and financial
institutions. Our work began in the early 1980s with cogeneration feasibility
studies and market assessments. In the 1990s, we helped many U.S. companies
assess and act on distributed generation business opportunities. Projects
typically quantify the market for distributed generation technologies as well
as develop effective business strategies.
During 2000-2013 we have significantly contributed to development of the
IEEE 1547-series of interconnection standards, and to several State
interconnection standards, and continue to provide consulting services to a
variety of clients on distributed generation issues.
For more information on distributed generation technologies and applications, visit www.distributed-generation.com
Leading Solutions
To help clients understand distributed generation
technologies and markets, we offer several services, including:
Evaluation of
distributed generation opportunities in end-use markets
Identifying key
sectors, geographic areas, and applications where distributed generation has the most potential to be installed.
Strategic planning
for the distributed generation marketplace
Developing successful business
strategies used by our clients to enter into new markets.
Assessments of
distributed generation technologies
Developing key insights about the
feasibility and commercial potential of distributed generation technologies.
Identification of potential
sites for distributed generation applications
Performing in-depth studies
to identify and evaluate sites with the technical, economic, and institutional
potential for distributed generation.
Feasibility studies
for distributed generation projects
Determining the technical and
economic feasibility of distributed generation at specific sites and for
specific applications.
Facilitation of
standards and Rulemaking
Help clients develop technical standards and
rules pertaining to distributed generation, interconnection, and net metering.
Recent Accomplishments
Helped develop
distributed generation interconnection standards and rules, such as the
District of Columbia Small Generator Interconnection Rule and documents in the
IEEE 1547 series of standards.
Reviewed emerging
combined heat and power technologies to determine potential markets for new
technologies.
Developed white papers
on emerging distributed generation interconnection and smart grid issues for
the Regulatory Assistance Project.
RDC
developed regional market potential estimates of CHP applications for the
entire U. S. for Cummins. RDC modeled
natural gas pricing, utility rates and cost and performance of CHP units in the
Cummins product line. The results were
provided for the entire U. S. market, as well as regional breakdowns using
census regions. Other key facets of the
market were revealed by the analysis, including a breakdown of landfill and
municipal wastewater segments. Regional
results highlighted the top utilities for each region and the number of
potential applications and potential megawatts that was found to be economic.
RDC
conducted a study for ORNL and DOE that identified many waste products that
could be used for onsite power generation, including CHP applications. These “opportunity
fuels” include landfill gas, anaerobic digester gas, biomass, and many others.
For each state, the study identified the key opportunity fuels and the most
likely applications in the industrial and commercial sectors, determining the
economically-achievable market potential for these applications. Follow-on
efforts assessed state renewable portfolio standards and how they could impact
demand for opportunity-fueled projects. RDC has presented this information to
many audiences, including a group of landfill and wastewater treatment
operators in Utah and a group of CHP application centers nationwide.
We
contributed to a study conducted for the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, entitled Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future (CEF). The
principal goal was to produce fully documented scenarios that assess how
energy-efficient and clean energy technologies, including those using
alternative fuels, can address key energy and environmental challenges. We
defined policies to accelerate the development and deployment of CHP systems,
and assessed their impact on the CHP marketplace and on U.S. carbon emissions.
