Unwiring the Country: The United States’ Alternatives Today

Abstract

Nonwires Alternatives (NWAs) and distributed energy resources (DERs) are the main elements of a shift in transmission and distribution planning toward a more multistakeholder-engaged paradigm. The concepts around NWA planning, evaluation, and implementation are fast evolving in the United States. Different states, stakeholders, and utilities are experimenting with implementation variations in search of improved outcomes. Goals include reducing utility capitalized rate bases or at least cutting the growth rate of capital, incentivizing additional renewable penetration, and seeking overall lower costs and better energy supply performance. They can be achieved with planning procedures that holistically incorporate grid enhancements and DERs. State initiatives vary in two significant ways. One is the different attributes of DERs that can be brought to bear on NWA options and how cost–benefit analyses are performed. The second involves the roles and responsibilities of utilities, regulators, third-party entities engaged in evaluating utility plans and NWA proposals, and DER developers and stakeholders.