Rezachek & Associates'
Energy & Environmental Resources

Utility Integration of Renewables

Risk Assessment/Risk Management

Clean Air Program -- Assesment of the Safety, Health, Environmental and System Risks of Alternative Fuel Experience has shown that not all local community and regulatory groups view the use of alternative fuels as a purely positive option. Transit properties and others who propose the use of alternative fuels need to deal not only with the perceptions of fire and building code officials who grant approvals, but also with the perceptions and concerns of community and neighborhood organizations. The concerns of these groups are not limited to fleet operations, but may also include the production of the alternative fuel and the transportation of the fuel to the point of use. In view of the diversity of these safety concerns, as well as the number of possible hazards, a comprehensive and systematic program is needed to recognize and organize the existing knowledge about the health, safety, and environmental hazards of alternative fuels and to identify where additional study is needed. The objective of this report is assist the Volpe Center, FTA and DOE in providing information on these issues to the transit and fleet operator community while avoiding a commitment to or bias against any given fuel or point of view.

Financial Risk Mitigation As the energy industry moves from the monopoly, no-risk financial environment toward more competition, financial risks must be addressed. The no-fuel, modular attributes of renewable-energy technologies can mitigate many of these financial risks. Below we study some of these financial risk-management values.

Integrating Renewable Energy Technologies in the Electric Supply Industry: A Risk Management Approach The primary focus of this research is to evaluate the risk-mitigating attributes of renewable energy technologies. It identifies risks that are of concern to utilities and other power producers, including fuel prices, demand, environmental regulations, capital cost, supply, and industry structure. The research qualitatively discusses and quantitatively determines how the risk-mitigating attributes of renewable energy technologies are of value to various types of plant owners. Explicit consideration is given to the attributes of fuel costs, environmental costs, lead time, modularity, availability, initial capital costs, and investment reversibility.

Risk Assessment and Management Tenera Energy’s Risk Assessment and Management team members are recognized as industry leaders in the performance and practical application of a variety of engineering evaluations and probabilistic assessments aimed at improving the performance and safety of facilities.

Risk Assessment Plays Growing Role in Policy Making Determining the true levels of potential risk to human health and the environment has become a key consideration in the development of federal, state and local environmental policies and decisions. And while "risk assessment" has only recently become a buzzword in congressional debate on environmental laws, it is not a new concept to scientists at Argonne. As risk-based decision-making and cost-benefit analysis of environmental laws become standard procedure, Argonne's risk assessment expertise will increasingly be in demand.