Market Reports & Videos

As solar buildout grows in ERCOT, critical grid conditions are increasingly becoming associated with sunset net load ramps. Whether wind generation falters or rises with the setting sun determines the magnitude of the daily ramp and is the key driver for ERCOT price dynamics. As a result, wind can either cause ‘superduck’ ramps or squash price volatility. In this webinar, we will provide an overview of Ascend’s latest ERCOT forecast and the outlook for market forwards, scarcity, surpluses, and clean energy economics.

As RPS targets continue to ratchet, peak demand grows, supply chains remain disrupted, and project development timelines remain long, California is struggling to obtain the resources it needs to keep the lights on while also meeting clean energy goals. This webinar will provide an overview of Ascend's latest CAISO forecast and the implications of these conditions on market prices, RA prices, and REC prices.

Learn about the ISO-NE power market and how a reliable clean energy policy outlook will drive a transition away from fossil fuels.

Learn about NY's pursuit of a clean energy mandate, expectations of economic incentives, the impact of the IRA, and the adverse effects of NYISO adoption of ELCC accreditation.

To capture the maximum project value of storage and hybrids in live operations, state-of-the-art adaptive forecasting of market conditions and continuous optimization of bid curves provide a competitive edge over traditional heuristic or fundamental trading strategies. In this webinar, we will demonstrate the performance of Ascend's proprietary algorithms across use cases for storage and renewables in ERCOT and CAISO. We will discuss overall strategy formulation, assessment, and benchmarking, as well as detailed examples of "a day in the life" of these systems to build understanding of the benefits of active SOC management and comprehensive market forecasting. We'll bring to life how storage and hybrids realize and can exceed predicted asset valuation. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

With one of the highest renewable penetrations in the country and an interconnection queue loaded with even more renewable capacity, volatility in SPP continues to growth will only be further amplified. In this webinar, we discuss Ascend's outlook on the SPP power market, identifying key spatial and structural market dynamics and opportunities for renewables and storage. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

In this webinar, we review clean energy procurement and M&A trends relevant to Corporates, CCAs, Utilities, Investors & Asset Owners.

This webinar introduces new approaches beyond PPAs to increase project value for renewables and storage.

Maximize the value of storage and hybrids and live operations with adaptive forecasting to market conditions that continuously optimize bid curves to provide a competitive edge. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

The IRA has created new geospatial dynamics for renewable and storage projects. Learn where the IRA bonus tax credits apply and where power market dynamics and tax incentives coincide for better investments. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com

With rising gas prices, stranded asset risks for thermals, and growing renewable penetrations, renewables and storage were already the most economic new resources in most markets even before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act improved their economic outlook. While Ascend already forecasted aggressive renewable buildouts, the extension of the Investment Tax Credit to standalone storage significantly improves the merchant viability in storage in marginal markets. This webinar will cover key developments since Ascend's last forecasts and estimated changes for upcoming releases. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com

As the US charts a path towards a carbon-free future and utilities are pushed to meet aggressive clean energy goals, meeting this challenge requires building large amounts of wind, solar and energy storage. This large growth in highly variable weather-driven power supply raises the stakes for rigorous analysis of resource adequacy to ensure a reliable power system. In this webinar, Ascend's resource planning experts will discuss: - Risks of load shortfalls in today's systems - Model requirements for best practices in resource adequacy analysis - Resource adequacy metrics and their use in planning - ELCC analysis of weather-driven and energy limited resources Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

Electricity prices dynamics are fundamentally changing with increasing renewable penetrations, and the days are over of average prices having great sway. Volatility is growing, negative prices are becoming increasingly frequent, geospatial patterns of supply and power prices are radically changing, and ancillary markets are transforming. Understanding the structural drivers of change and their links to market conditions in critical to making informed decisions. This presentation will cover what energy investors and developers need to understand about power markets as the energy transition progresses. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

While the energy transition has ushered in a wave of new opportunities, the focus on attention on long-term PPA's has been a relative race to the bottom, leaving significant upside for over-the-counter (OTC) hedges and tolls. This webinar will explore the relative risk and return of alternative contract mechanisms and how to shape a portfolio that leverages high market conditions for increased return on capital. Portfolio & Risk Management for the renewable and storage portfolio has significantly greater risk than thermal generation, creating a greater need to understand the principal components of risk and physical financial mechanisms to mitigate these risks. In this webinar, Ascend's portfolio risk management experts will discuss how to assemble an OTC contract structure and compare relative risk and return. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

Learn how to support project financing with strategies to derisk merchant battery storage. Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.

Renewable & Storage Procurement in CA: 2021 was a big year for renewable and storage procurement in California. Community Choice Aggregators continued to take the lead in seeking power purchase agreements for renewable energy and battery storage in CAISO, driven by internal goals for annual and 24-7 clean energy as well as state mandates following the Mid-Term Reliability (MTR) Order. In this webinar, Ascend's clean energy procurement experts will discuss their take aways from 2021 including: - What is the effect of inflation and supply chain bottlenecks on PPA prices? - What goes into an offer valuation (price vs value and qualitative assessment)? - What kinds of projects (and where) are winning in the market? - How is long-duration storage faring as a new product? - How will California utilities fulfill the 'baseload' clean energy requirements of the MTR? - Where is the market going in 2022 and beyond? Clients please email marketintelligence@ascendanalytics.com for the free full video.