Optony Partners With Top Consultants On Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Masterplan

Optony has joined a partnership of five top Bay Area consultancies and nonprofits to create a local resource assessment and business strategy for East Bay Community Energy (EBCE). This partnership aims to provide a Distributed Energy Resources (DER) procurement strategy for more than one million customers in the County, starting in 2018.

Distributed Energy Resources are resources connected to a distributed system of energy close to the load source. A DER source could be wind, combined heat and power, a microgrid, microturbine, and diesel generators. Energy efficiency, demand response, and EVs can also be considered DERs. Often these resources are deployed individually but they can also be co-located or aggregated.

As DER deployment grows, utilities and regulators must take into account issues with interconnection, procurement, and resource planning to ensure their systems function effectively.

EBCE is a CCA (sometimes called CCE, or Community Choice Energy authority), composed of twelve member jurisdictions in Alameda County. The CCA strategy, known as the Local Development Business Plan (LDBP), will be created through the cooperative efforts of Optony, ALH Economics, EcoShift, The Offset Project, and Clean Coalition.

Optony has focused on aggregated procurement and integrated resource planning (IRP), while the full team aims to tackle a broad range of challenges and opportunities, including rate-setting, job creation, infrastructure planning, energy storage, and community solar.

Optony believes that by focusing on the business planning aspects of the development process, the local Distributed Energy Resources strategy can provide lower rates, increased reliability, and a more sustainable energy portfolio. This DER strategy will enable growth in a community-wide ecosystem of advanced energy technology business and employment opportunities.

With over a decade of experience developing Distributed Energy Resource plans such as these, Optony brings to this cooperative of consultants a strong background in planning and procurement. Optony and the partners for East Bay Community Energy hope to deliver a DER masterplan to help achieve ambition clean energy goals.