Resource Planning

Context

Integrated Resource Planning seeks to establish the most efficient balance between different types of generation and the correct balance of supply and demand, establishing tradeoffs between (for example) the implementation of energy efficiency measures and the provision of new power plant.

Today there are many types of market structure and levels of deregulation around the world, ranging from full competitive market structures, to models where some elements of the market are competitive but others are governed by regulation. Although the commercial context has largely changed from the days of centrally planned infrastructure, sustainable investment in the sector still requires the ability to understand underlying economics of the industry and translate this understanding into commercially viable business cases. In addition, the introduction of renewable technologies, which are often growing rapidly and dispersed around the network, create a host of new challenges for planners and system operators.

 

Our Key Strengths

PPA Energy's core team have extensive experience in all aspects of resource planning. We have experience of the business and technical issues involved in connecting renewable and thermal energy technologies into existing networks, whether large hydro power schemes, conventional thermal power stations, or dispersed projects such as wind farms and biomass fired plants. In addition, we have access to world leading smart-grid solutions for optimising connections and performance. Today, planning studies increasingly require consideration of social and environmental impacts, and the consideration of wider stakeholder considerations. We have a track record of managing large, complex studies and working with a range of trusted partners to deliver such multi-disciplinary projects, whether as a project leader or team member.

What we do:

• Feasibility and pre-feasibility studies for power projects
• Project appraisal for thermal, hydro and renewable energy projects.
• Electricity system planning (generation, transmission and distribution)
• Master Planning

     

• Supply/demand forecasting (including consideration of demand-side management)
• Power system operations support - Generation scheduling, Automatic Generation Control, operating reserves, Ancillary Services, frequency control, under frequency load shedding, governor control, controller / technical training, Smart Grids
• Energy investment analysis
• Utility asset planning
• Rural electrification - design of funding and tariff mechanisms and commercial arrangements