Status and opportunity for distributed energy resources and microgrids in meeting the New York State energy vision

The Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) program of the New York State (NYS) outlines a strategy to reach the goal of having 50% of the electric power by renewable energy resources by the year 2030. Now realising that this date is not that far away, it seemed appropriate that an interim evaluation of the progress that has been made should be done based on the available information. The review provides a clear picture of the advancement of inverter-based PV generation in the state of New York, how the state might use inverter-based solar to power residences, and the interconnection of microgrids. In this paper we present a summary of the findings that include lists of possible challenges in areas of the program. Our review indicates that a number of distributed generation resources is growing. But a lot more work needs to be done to include new technologies to reach the goal of non-carbon-based electric power system that would be able to meet the future electrical energy needs of the New York State safely and efficiently.