DEMAND FLEXIBILITY THE KEY TO ENABLING A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON GRID

The document argues that demand flexibility—shifting electricity use to match renewable supply—can increase renewable energy revenues, reduce curtailment, and lower carbon emissions more cost-effectively than investing in new gas-fired generation.

• In a simulated 2050 Texas power system, implementing demand flexibility across eight common end-use loads can increase the value of renewable generation, resulting in a 36% increase in revenues compared to a system with inflexible demand.
• Demand flexibility of the modeled magnitude can significantly improve grid stability and efficiency by reducing annual renewable curtailment by 40%, lowering peak demand net of renewables by 24%, and reducing the average magnitude of multihour net-load ramps (the "duck curve") by 56%.
• Utilizing a cost-effective portfolio of demand flexibility strategies can avoid approximately $1.9 billion in annual generator costs and reduce total annual CO2 emissions in the modeled system by 20% (approximately 6 million tons per year).
• Certain flexibility levers are more cost-effective than others; commercial space heating, plug loads, electric vehicles (EVs), and electric water heaters are identified as inexpensive opportunities to reduce peak net load and curtailment.
• The analysis identifies that residential air conditioning and residential heating are less cost-effective in the Texas geography due to limited coincidence with peak net load hours and higher capital intensity for thermal storage.
• To fully capture the value of demand flexibility, the document recommends that policymakers and grid operators incorporate it as a core resource in grid planning to avoid stranded investments in natural gas-fired generation.

APA

Goldenberg, C., Dyson, M., & Masters, H. (2018). DEMAND FLEXIBILITY THE KEY TO ENABLING A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON GRID. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/02/Insight_Brief_Demand_Flexibility_2018.pdf

Chicago

Goldenberg, Cara, Mark Dyson, and Harry Masters. DEMAND FLEXIBILITY THE KEY TO ENABLING A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON GRID. RMI, 2018. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/02/Insight_Brief_Demand_Flexibility_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Goldenberg |first1=Cara |last2=Dyson |first2=Mark |last3=Masters |first3=Harry |title=DEMAND FLEXIBILITY THE KEY TO ENABLING A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON GRID |publisher=RMI |date=February 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/02/Insight_Brief_Demand_Flexibility_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{goldenberg2018demand, author = {Goldenberg, Cara and Dyson, Mark and Masters, Harry}, title = {{DEMAND FLEXIBILITY THE KEY TO ENABLING A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON GRID}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/02/Insight_Brief_Demand_Flexibility_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }