Key Takeaways for me:

• Grid operators agree on short-term gas benefits, but say it shouldn't limit renewables growth
• "We have some very, very plentiful hydro assets, some good performing nuclear assets, but very frequently, natural gas is what's on the margin and what is the balancing resource for most of the renewables that have been added over the system," Richard Dewey, president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO)
• PJM Interconnection President and CEO Manu Asthana warned against prescribing too many issues to renewables so early in the game. "If we get to 100%, we're gonna have to solve some of these really, really challenging problems, but I think that compared to where we are today, we shouldn't let the great be the enemy of the good,
• states across the U.S. have begun to set increasingly ambitious clean energy goals for their power systems, sometimes coming into conflict with grid operator policies they see as a hindrance to bringing on high levels of renewable energy at once.
• And unlike the California and New York ISOs, some grid operators have more than one legislature to keep in mind, noted Asthana. (each State with their own energy targets and objectives, which must be considered [RJB])
• "We're not trying to … favor particular fuel, but the policy discussions that we're seeing are significantly trending in the direction of decarbonization ... and so it's interesting to think about what is the art of the possible?" Asthana said
• "So imagine what is going to happen with increased renewable penetration over time," he said. "I think gas will continue to be an important part of the mix, particularly in the near term, because the dispatchable generation is essential to ensure reliability. But in the longer term, you know, a lot of it depends on the penetration of renewables and the penetration of batteries."  ( my own research concurs with this view [RJB])
• By 2045, California expects less than 5% of energy production to come from gas, likely from some form of renewable gas or hydrogen gas. But in the short term, the fuel will continue to play an essential role, Rothleder said. And the key to higher renewable energy penetration will be to think about how those resources can provide the same benefits, namely, local reliability in constrained areas with limited transmission, a source for evening peaks, resiliency for multi-day weather events, and voltage support, frequency response capability and other reliability services.  ( my own research concurs with this view [RJB])
• "The difference between 100% decarbonization and 90% decarbonization is actually not that big a difference in terms of carbon. But in terms of the ability to solve a lot of these other issues. I think it's a huge difference," he said. "There's so much room for decarbonization from here."