Power & Renewables

Capacity Watch - October 2009

Here is a sample of information from October 2009 CAPACITY WATCH report.

Authors: Paul Flemming and José Rotger, ESAI; Robert Stoddard and Scott Niemann, CRA

SUMMARY: In this issue of Capacity Watch, ESAI looks more closely at how new power plants will get built in the Northeast markets over the coming years. Conventional new build developers are increasingly relying on long term PPAs with LSEs to achieve their project’s economic targets. Such economic targets do not appear achievable in the merchant markets. This begs the question of whether capacity market are still relevant to the needs of the marketplace. Further, an assessment is made regarding the potential for capacity markets to evolve such that socially acceptable outcomes are achieved, providing incentives for the types of resources that are relevant to local, state and ISO goals.

This issue of Capacity Watch reflects collaboration between ESAI and Charles River Associates (CRA), under which senior CRA analysts have provided targeted contributions, high-value insight and additional input into this ESAI report. This joint effort is designed to deliver additional value to ESAI’s Northeast Power Service clients through the breadth of our combined perspectives. Please note ESAI and CRA remain unique organizations dedicated to their respective client bases.

For more information about ESAI Power & Renewables, please contact Director of Business Development Tommy Sutro at tsutro@esai.com