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PrefaceThis study was funded by a variety of industry and foundation sources with the goal of understanding the impacts of a low-carbon grid in California. These organizations put together a Steering Committee to assemble the study team and guide the study process. The Low Carbon Grid Study (LCGS) put out three reports: 1) this one on grid operations, 2) an analysis by GE Energy on reliability impacts of the LCGS scenarios (Miller 2015), and 3) a capital cost analysis by JBS Energy of the LCGS scenarios (Marcus 2015).As experts on renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment in California, the Steering Committee also helped produce the portfolio of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that were used as the basis for this study. The study team also assembled a Technical Review Committee, which met throughout the study to review assumptions, methodologies, results, and conclusions. The authors would like to thank the Steering Committee for their support and the Technical Review Committee for lending their time and expertise to improve this study. Although the members of the Steering Committee and Technical Review Committee helped prepare and review this report, this report may not reflect the specific views or interpretations of any member of either committee. Jim Caldwell led the Steering Committee, and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies was the fiscal sponsor. Executive SummaryThe California 2030 Low Carbon Grid Study (LCGS) analyzes the grid impacts of a variety of scenarios that achieve 50% carbon emission reductions from California's electric power sector. Impacts are characterized based on several key operational and economic metrics, including production costs, emissions, curtailment, and impacts on the operation of gas generation and imports. We used the PLEXOS model to simulate the unit commitment and dispatch of the generating fleet in the western United States for 23 different scenarios, which included a variety of assumptions regarding the generator portfolios, energy efficiency, storage, and grid flexibility. A focus of the study is the impacts of electric system flexibility measures on key operational and economic metrics. The LCGS study comprises three reports: 1) this NREL report on the operational impacts of a low-carbon grid, 2) a report by JBS Energy on the capital costs of the scenarios (Marcus 2015), and 3) a report by GE Energy on the dynamic grid issues caused by high renewable penetrations (Miller 2015).vi This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. Table ES-1. Conventional vs Enhanced Flexibility Assumptions Conventional FlexibilityEnhanced Flexibility 70% of out-of-state (CA-entitled 2 ) renewable, nuclear, and hydro generation must be imported Only physical limitations on imports and exports 25% of generation in California balancing authorities must come from local fossil-fueled and hydro sources No minimum local generation requirements 1.5 GW battery storage to meet CA ...

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