Webinar: Distributed Solar on the Grid: Key Opportunities and Challenges

17 November 2016
10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time | 4:00 p.m. Central European Time

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The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with USAID and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is hosting a no-cost webinar titled Distributed Solar on the Grid: Opportunities and Challenges. This webinar is part of the GreeningTheGrid.org toolkit, a USAID and NREL collaboration designed to support countries in integrating renewable energy into the power system.

Distributed, grid-connected photovoltaic (DGPV) systems pose a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Key technical and economic challenges related to DGPV integration are shaping how we plan, operate, regulate and even conceptualize the power system. This webinar will provide a high-level overview of the USAID Distributed Generation Technical Assistance program, provide some context as to the prospective role of DGPV in developing countries, and thereafter discuss the key economic and technical challenges/opportunities associated with DGPV programs, including:

• Challenges of DGPV to the traditional utility business model and potential solutions
• Various costs and benefits of DGPV
• Ensuring that DGPV systems are "good grid citizens" through promotion of technical standards, interconnection processes, and mitigation strategies
• Challenges and opportunities for distribution system planning under increasing penetrations of DGPV

This will be followed by a discussion of key strategies that can mitigate integration costs and help balance the benefits of DGPV among consumers and electric utilities.

The webinar will be presented by Owen Zinaman and Michael Coddington from NREL. It will be followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience, moderated by Dr. Jeffery Haeni from USAID.