DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE NEW STRATEGY
IRP-Local
SERVICES
IRP-Local is a new concept that has its own Trade Mark. Utility clients can have a complete Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by adding a Local reconnaissance of power resources. We provide the expertise to rank local renewable, conservation and other projects against the utility's wholesale power market choices. These services can be applied directly to large commercial buildings and other retail loads to reduce billable "Net Load" on their electric utility with Distributed Energy Resources and Demand Response especially if they have their own Green Power goals.
PROJECTS
"Local" projects include renewable energy resources developed by the utility such as solar, wind, bio-mass and especially small hydropower. We look at the utility can do to encourage its customers to reduce their load through aggressive conservation, solar & wind power, Combined Heat and Power projects, Demand Response and micro-grids to reduce the utility's wholesale power costs and provide resilience to the utility. Commercial Building owners, water districts and other retail loads with Green power goals can benefit from IRP-Local reconnaissance
CLIENTS
The focus is to market "IRP-Local" to the Pacific Northwest electric power utilities, especially the 130+ retail utilities that receive wholesale power and services from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). Other potential utility clients include utilities nation-wide who want a fresh look on how to do an IRP properly by first focusing in their own service territories and power needs. Commercial building owners and other large retail loads are another set of potential clients to lower their electric bills, especially if their utility has Time-of-Use monthly billings.
"IRP-Local"
The IRP-Local concept was developed in 2018 and received its own Trade Mark on May 28, 2019. The concept was developed by Larry E. Felton, owner of LEF-Engineering, PLLC of Richland, Washington. Prior to starting the PLLC, the owner worked for 45 years primarily for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and public power utilities of the City of Idaho Falls, Idaho and Okanogan Public Utility District (PUD) in North Central Washington State. (For more on the owner's background, look at his LinkedIn profile using the link below.) Having worked for BPA as an 8,000 MWa wholesale power supplier and two of its ~100 MW public power customers, Mr. Felton has unique skills to look locally first before purchasing from its wholesale power provider. As a power planning professional engineer, developing IRP's was part of the job. His specialty is small hydropower development which is the most reliable and predicable of "local" renewables.
Mr. Felton received a Trademark in 2019 for his "IRP-Local" is a math formula: Net Load from external power sources = Standard "IRP" less (-) "Local" cost-effective projects developed in a local power utility's own back yard service territory. IRP-Local provides the retail utility more control to shape its "Net Load" and by co-locating its own local generation with its power loads within its service territory. Mr. Felton received a Trademark in May 2019 for his "IRP-Local" concept.
Why is IRP-Local important? Because wholesale power suppliers shouldn't be concerned with the total real-time load of retail power utilities they serve. They should only be concerned with the hourly "Net Load" they are expected to serve their retail utility customers on a day-head basis. These "Net Load" customers can predict as accurately as possible the day-ahead hourly power requirements and share that information with their wholesale power supplier.
"Net Load" concept should lead to lower costs for their wholesale supplier to plan ahead for their "Balancing Authority" with better knowledge of Local utilities short term planning. This paradigm shift from top-down to more local control opens the door for the local utility becoming its own "Local Balancing Authority" to develop its own resources as it sees fit.
The first step is to have LEF-Engineering provide the utility a complete IRP-Local reconnaissance survey with a suite of services. These services include cost effective studies of local resources like conservation, renewables, distributed storage, demand response, micro-grids, batteries (including electric vehicles) and Combined Heat & Power projects to shape its load into lower cost demand and energy hourly profiles to take full advantage of its wholesale power supplier's rates.
CONTACT US
Larry E. Felton
LEF Engineering, PLLC
2557 Tilden CT, Richland, WA 99354
richlandlarry.wixsite.com/irp-local
Tel: 509-392-2470