BGE Renewable Energy & Sustainability 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: BGE's Peak Rewards program asks customers to pre-authorize the utility to do what during high-demand events?
- Shut off power entirely for 1 hour
- Cycle their central air conditioning or heat pump off briefly (Correct answer)
- Increase their billing rate automatically
- Switch them to a backup generator
Correct answer: Cycle their central air conditioning or heat pump off briefly
Peak Rewards briefly cycles participating customers' central A/C or heat pump off during peak demand events in exchange for bill credits.
Question 2: What is the purpose of a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) in the electricity market?
- It certifies that an electrician is qualified to install solar panels
- It represents proof that 1 MWh of electricity was generated from a renewable source (Correct answer)
- It is a permit required to connect solar panels to the grid
- It guarantees a fixed price for electricity sold back to the utility
Correct answer: It represents proof that 1 MWh of electricity was generated from a renewable source
A REC (Renewable Energy Certificate) represents the environmental attributes of 1 MWh of renewable electricity generation and can be bought and sold separately from the electricity itself.
Question 3: What energy storage technology is most commonly paired with residential solar installations in Maryland?
- Pumped hydro storage
- Lithium-ion battery systems (Correct answer)
- Compressed air energy storage
- Flywheel energy storage
Correct answer: Lithium-ion battery systems
Lithium-ion battery systems (such as Tesla Powerwall) are the dominant residential storage technology paired with home solar installations.
Question 4: Under BGE's SmartEnergy Rewards program, customers earn credits by reducing usage compared to what baseline?
- Their usage from the same hour last year
- Their average usage during similar weather days (Correct answer)
- A fixed statewide consumption benchmark
- Their lowest recorded daily usage
Correct answer: Their average usage during similar weather days
SmartEnergy Rewards calculates savings by comparing a customer's actual usage during an event to their predicted usage based on similar weather days.
Question 5: Which type of renewable energy resource is Maryland's offshore wind project designed to harness?
- Tidal energy from the Chesapeake Bay
- Offshore wind from the Atlantic Ocean (Correct answer)
- Wave energy from coastal waters
- Geothermal energy from undersea vents
Correct answer: Offshore wind from the Atlantic Ocean
Maryland's offshore wind projects, including US Wind and Ørsted's projects, harness wind energy from the Atlantic Ocean off Maryland's coast.
Question 6: What does 'time-of-use' (TOU) pricing encourage customers to do to support grid sustainability?
- Use more electricity to lower per-unit costs
- Shift energy consumption to off-peak hours when renewable supply is higher (Correct answer)
- Install time-controlled appliances that shut off automatically
- Sign long-term contracts for fixed energy prices
Correct answer: Shift energy consumption to off-peak hours when renewable supply is higher
TOU pricing charges higher rates during peak demand periods and lower rates off-peak, incentivizing customers to shift usage to times when grid stress and carbon intensity are lower.
Question 7: What is the 'solar canopy' concept being piloted in some BGE service territory parking lots?
- Reflective roof coverings that reduce building heat gain
- Overhead solar panel structures built over parking spaces that generate electricity (Correct answer)
- Shade structures made from recycled solar panel materials
- Protective covers for electric vehicle charging stations only
Correct answer: Overhead solar panel structures built over parking spaces that generate electricity
Solar canopies are elevated solar panel arrays installed over parking lots that generate electricity while also providing shade for parked vehicles.
BGE Renewable Energy & Sustainability 3
BGE's Peak Rewards program asks customers to pre-authorize the utility to do what during high-demand events?