Skip Navigation

Houston Company Secures Land Lease in Texas for Unique Energy Storage Project

May 15, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 15, 2023

EarthBridge Energy has acquired acreage in West Texas for an energy storage project the Houston-based company plans to develop.

The company plans to deploy its GeoBattery energy storage technology as part of a hybrid energy development that would include onsite renewable resources.

The technology uses excess electricity from wind and solar farms to pump water into and out of underground reservoirs as a means of storing energy. The process can store energy for between 10 and 1,000 hours and has the potential to bring the installed cost of long duration energy storage to below $10 per kilowatt hour, enabling the deployment of 100 percent carbon oxide free energy at scale, the company said.

To charge, the system draws water from an underground reservoir via a well. At the surface, some of the water is heated and some is chilled by an electrical heat pump. The heated and chilled water are then stored in different zones of an underground reservoir or in different reservoirs.

To discharge, the system brings the heated and chilled water back to the surface where the heat pump system is reversed and used to drive a turbine that converts the thermal energy back to electricity. The outflow water is directed back to the source well.

“Because no geothermal resource is needed, the GeoBattery is highly scalable with global applicability,” the company said via email, adding that because it does not require hot geothermal sources, it can be deployed anywhere a well can be drilled for water. Major sedimentary basins are a sweet spot, EarthBridge said.

EarthBridge said it intends to mainly monetize its technology using price arbitrage in the wholesale energy market, adding that the technology can be deployed in front of the meter, like any generating facility, or behind-the-meter through a power purchase agreement with a wind or solar farm or as an asset sale with a development fee.

There has been growing interest in using the resources and expertise of Texas’ oil and gas industry to aid the transition to a less carbon dioxide intensive energy economy.

A recent study by the University Lands Office, the International Energy Agency and researchers at Texas universities found that almost 80 percent of oil and gas entities interviewed said they already have a geothermal strategy in place or in development.

And although Texas’ subsurface geothermal energy is not as robust as resources in regions with latent volcanic activity, such as California and Nevada where geothermal energy has been used for decades to power turbines, the report noted that Texas’ oil and gas industry is well equipped to drill to tap subsurface geothermal heat that could be used in a variety of novel technologies.

The report noted that Texas has several distinct zones with varying degrees of potential heat energy. Overall, the report found that the geothermal heat beneath the surface of Texas is approximately equal to 163,000 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or roughly half a million times its annual electricity generation of 500 million megawatt hours in geothermal energy potential, though the authors cautioned the estimates are of energy content, not extractable energy.

NERC Issues Alert to Evaluate Bulk Electric System’s Winter Readiness

May 15, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 15, 2023

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has issued a Level 3 extreme cold weather alert to balancing authorities, generator owners, and transmission operators.

The alert includes eight essential actions, as well as a series of questions, that are intended to evaluate the bulk electric system’s winter readiness, and progress toward, mitigating risk for winter 2023-2024 and beyond.

“NERC registered entities should note that only entities registered as mentioned above will be able to respond to the alert in the NERC Alert System,” NERC said.

The alert has a response due date of October 6, 2023.

NERC will also be publishing a FAQ document for the level 3 alert later this week. A separate announcement will be sent to industry once it has been posted.

Research Quantifies Value of Existing Nuclear Power Plants in Push for Decarbonization

May 15, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 15, 2023

A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analysis quantifies for the first time the value of existing nuclear power plants in the U.S. in the context of meeting deep decarbonization goals.

PNNL detailed the research findings in a recent post on its website, noting that the research was led by PNNL Earth scientist Son Kim with the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI), a partnership between PNNL and the University of Maryland.

The report notes that nuclear power is currently the single largest carbon-free source of electricity in the United States.

Nuclear plants in the U.S. slated to close by 2050 “could be among the most important players in a challenge that requires all carbon-free technology solutions that are available—emerging and existing—the report finds. New nuclear technology also has a part to play, and its contributions could be boosted by driving down construction costs,” PNNL said.

“Our existing nuclear power plants are aging and with their current 60-year lifetimes, nearly all of them will be gone by 2050. It’s ironic. We have a net zero goal to reach by 2050, yet our single largest source of carbon-free electricity is at risk of closure,“ said Kim.

Kim used the Global Change Analysis Model developed at PNNL to model multiple scenarios of extending the lifetime of the existing nuclear fleet into 2100.

Kim’s research, which was published in Nuclear Technology, put a value on lifetime license extensions from 40 to 100 years at $330 billion to $500 billion in mitigation cost savings under a scenario that limits global temperature to 2°C.

Mitigation cost savings, or the carbon value, are amounts of dollars saved in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Legacy nuclear reactors alone have a carbon value of $500 billion if operational for 100 years, PNNL noted. Every gigawatt of energy, or one nuclear power reactor, translates to $5 billion later saved. Because that gigawatt was produced without any carbon emitted into Earth’s atmosphere, no money would need to be spent to mitigate its effects, PNNL said.

Kim determined that lifetime extensions of existing nuclear power reactors from 60 to 80 years, without adding new nuclear capacity, contributed to a reduction of approximately 0.4 gigatons of carbon emissions per year by 2050.

The total cumulative difference in CO2 emissions between 2020 and 2100, in a scenario with lifetime extensions and future deployment of nuclear power plants (as compared to a scenario with a moratorium on new nuclear power plants), amounts to as much as 57 gigatons of carbon.

Construction Starts on Community Solar Project for Frankfort Plant Board

May 12, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 12, 2023

Solar Energy Solutions on May 1 started construction on the first installation phase of a multi-phase Community Solar project installation for Kentucky public power utility Frankfort Plant Board.

In this project phase, Solar Energy Solutions will install a grid-tied 187 kW ground-mounted solar array that will generate more than 235,000 kWh in the first year. This means that in that time, the system will generate nearly 6,500,000 kWh of electricity.

SES provided additional design work and will complete site work for future phases, including vegetation clearing and fencing. 

Frankfort Plant Board is pursuing this multiphase solar PV project to offer its customers an alternative to rooftop solar installation and reduce costs and barriers to entry for solar ownership.

The system will also provide low- and moderate-income customers with renewable energy options and savings.

The project will also help to make progress toward the community and Board’s renewable energy goals and will support local solar businesses, jobs, and workforce development. 

“The Frankfort Plant Board is working to make renewable energy options more accessible to all of our customers through numerous efforts,” said FPB General Manager Gary Zheng, “from our net metering policy and value of solar tariff to offering renewable energy credits and investing in a large-scale solar facility in Lyon County. This local community solar project with Solar Energy Solutions is special because it is tangible to our customers. They can see it right here in our community and can choose to be a part of it.”

Construction Starts on 48-MW Power Generating Unit in Lodi, California

May 12, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 12, 2023

Enchanted Rock LLC recently began construction of a 48-megawatt power generating unit adjacent to the City of Lodi Water Treatment Plant in Lodi, Calif. The power plant is scheduled to be operational by the end of summer 2023.

This effort is being led and fully funded by the California Department of Water Resources as part of California’s Strategic Reliability Reserve Program, an effort to safeguard the state’s energy system in the face of drought, wildfires, and heat waves that are impacting California’s energy grid.     

The new power plant will only be used in extreme peak demand events to provide temporary power generation to stabilize and supplement existing grid-tied power supplies to avoid grid failures both statewide and locally. 

Lodi Electric Utility staff will be installing the necessary electrical infrastructure to support these efforts, the cost of which will be fully reimbursed by DWR.  

“The City of Lodi is dedicated to providing the community with affordable, reliable energy and this project will help mitigate power import constraints in Lodi during extreme weather events and local emergencies until upgrades are completed to Lodi’s transmission intertie with PG&E as part of the Northern San Joaquin 230 kV Transmission Project,” the public power city said.

EPA Issues Rules to Limit Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants

May 12, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 12, 2023

The Environmental Protection Agency on May 11 issued its long-awaited proposed rules to limit carbon dioxide emissions from the new, existing, modified, and reconstructed power plants. The rules would regulate new gas-fired combustion turbines, existing coal plants and certain large and base-loaded existing gas plants.

EPA is proposing to update and establish more stringent new source performance standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbine electric generating units that are based on highly efficient generation, hydrogen cofiring, and carbon capture and sequestration.

EPA is also proposing to establish new emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam-generating EGUs that reflect the application of CCS and the availability of natural gas co-firing.

At the same time, EPA proposes repealing the Affordable Clean Energy rule because the emissions guidelines established in ACE do not reflect the best emissions reduction system for steam generating EGUs and are inconsistent with further aspects of section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

To address GHG emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines, EPA is proposing emissions guidelines for large and frequently used existing stationary combustion turbines.

EPA is also soliciting comments on how the agency should approach its legal obligation to establish emissions guidelines for the remaining existing fossil fuel-fired combustion turbines not covered by this proposal, including smaller, frequently used, and less frequently used, combustion turbines.

Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. EPA will host two webinars on the proposal on June 6 and June 7.

In addition, EPA will host a virtual public hearing and provide more details about registering for the hearing once the rule is published in the Federal Register.

The pre-publication version of the proposal, information on the webinars, fact sheet, and regulatory impact analysis is available on EPA’s website.

On May 23, 2023, from 2:00-3:30 pm ET, APPA will host a webinar briefing on the proposed rulemaking package. APPA regular members may register to participate in the Zoom webinar.

Santee Cooper Board Approves 2023 Integrated Resource Plan

May 12, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 12, 2023

The Santee Cooper Board of Directors on May 9 approved the utility’s 2023 integrated resource plan, including a preferred energy portfolio that significantly reduces Santee Cooper’s carbon footprint and prioritizes flexibility, reliability and affordability in meeting customers’ future power needs.

The board also approved submitting the IRP to the South Carolina Public Service Commission on May 15 for the Commission to begin its review process. 

The IRP summarizes 18 months of detailed analysis of various resource options and combinations to develop the preferred portfolio.

Key components of that portfolio, envisioned to be implemented by the mid-2030s, include:

The preferred portfolio includes flexibility to allow for a joint build with Dominion Energy South Carolina of a new natural gas unit, which the two utilities are exploring for potential economies of scale and other efficiencies.

The preferred portfolio also can adjust as necessary to include dispatch of customer-provided resources, in particular power purchase agreements proposed by Central Electric Power Cooperative, Santee Cooper’s largest customer, Santee Cooper said.

The 2023 IRP reflects input by customers and other stakeholders gathered during five public meetings, held from March 2022 to April 2023, and hundreds of comments and questions offered throughout the public input process. Additional technical meetings were also held as requested by stakeholder groups. 

Santee Cooper and its consultants analyzed several resource portfolios, including a lowest-cost option, a no-new-carbon option, an option that retired all coal units by 2033, and a net-zero-by-2050 option.

The preferred portfolio aligns closely with the lowest-cost portfolio but includes more battery storage, accelerated implementation of solar resources, and fewer gas-fired combustion turbines.

More information about Santee Cooper’s 2023 IRP is available at www.santeecooper.com/IRP, and that site will be updated once the final version is filed May 15 and throughout the regulatory review process.

APPA Voices Appreciation for Treasury Department’s Proposed Domestic Content Rule

May 12, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 12, 2023

The American Public Power Association on May 12 said it appreciates the Treasury Department’s release of guidance on domestic content rules for energy tax credits as modified under the Inflation Reduction Act.

“APPA continues to review the guidance with a particular eye to ensuring that cost of compliance is not overly burdensome. However, we believe this is a step toward the clear and reliable rules that will be needed to ensure that the legislation works as intended while allowing projects to get underway,” it said.

APPA noted that the IRA was important to public power because, in addition to extending and expanding a variety of critical energy tax incentives, it created a refundable direct pay mechanism to ensure that all utilities can benefit from these incentives.

Without such a mechanism, public power utilities and electric cooperative utilities — which are non-profit, tax-exempt entities — would be effectively blocked from owning tax creditable energy projects.

These utilities collectively serve nearly 30 percent of U.S. customers, so allowing them to benefit from energy tax provisions for projects they own makes these tax incentives more effective, while also ensuring that no communities are left behind, APPA said.

The IRA also included provisions to incentivize the use of domestic content in these projects. These provisions are the focus of Treasury’s guidance.

Generally, any project meeting the domestic content requirements receives a bonus credit for a project that would otherwise qualify for an energy tax credit. Conversely, these domestic content requirements must be met for any project for which refundable direct payment is sought.

“As such, getting these rules right is important for projects relying on the bonus credit, but they are existential for projects relying on direct payment,” APPA said.

Since the IRA’s enactment, APPA has asked that implementing guidance be clear, simple, and certain. As with past guidance, Treasury’ domestic content guidance “provides a measure of certainty by allowing owners to rely on this guidance until otherwise modified by a notice of proposed rulemaking or final rules.”

Likewise, owners can begin to assess how and whether they will meet the domestic content requirements by including today guidance identifying and categorizing components common to wind, solar, and battery storage projects.

“These are steps in the right direction, which APPA appreciates.”

APPA said it will continue to review the guidance released on May 12 “and look forward to continuing to work with the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Energy to ensure that these provisions work as intended.”

Microsoft Agrees to Buy Energy from Nuclear Fusion Plant

May 11, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
May 11, 2023

Privately held Helion Energy recently announced an agreement to provide Microsoft with electricity from a nuclear fusion power plant the company hopes to have online by 2028.

Constellation will serve as the power marketer and will manage transmission for the project. The fusion plant will be sited at a yet-to-be-determined location in Washington State, the company said.

When it comes online, Helion said its fusion plant would target power generation of 50 megawatts or greater after a one year ramp up period. The planned operational date for this first of its kind facility is significantly sooner than typical projections for deployment of commercial fusion power, Helion said.

Since the 1940s, researchers and engineers have sought come up with a viable nuclear fusion plant as an alternative to the nuclear fission process used in all nuclear power plants worldwide. Unlike fission, nuclear fusion does not produce long-lived radioactive nuclear waste. Only in recent years, however, have scientists been able to maintain a sustained fusion reaction.

And only last year was fusion ignition achieved when scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in which more energy was produced from fusion than the laser energy used to drive the reaction.

Everett, Wash., based Helion has built six working prototypes of its fusion reactor and says it was the first private fusion company to reach 100-million-degree plasma temperatures with its sixth fusion prototype. The company is currently building its seventh prototype, with which it expects to demonstrate the ability to produce electricity in 2024.

Last March, Constellation announced a collaboration with Microsoft on the development of an around the clock energy matching technology that aims to match a customer’s power needs with local carbon dioxide free energy sources, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Gainesville Regional Utilities Moves Transformer With a Little Help from Palmolive Dish Soap

May 11, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
May 11, 2023

Florida public power utility Gainesville Regional Utilities and Rountree Transport & Rigging recently teamed up to move a 114,000-pound transformer at the utility’s Sugarfoot Substation.

This upgrade is a part of our ongoing seven-year project to enhance substations with higher-capacity, more efficient units, improving reliability and accommodating system growth, GRU noted.

“Thanks to innovative techniques, including the use of hydraulics, steel rails, and a secret ingredient (orange Palmolive dish soap),” GRU noted in a Facebook post. The Palmolive soap was “used to lubricate the rails they slide the transformer on. They discovered that orange works best,” noted David Warm, GRU spokesman.

Tom Boyer, substation principal engineer at GRU, said on May 8 that “We have replaced four transformers so far since starting this program.” 

The fifth transformer was delivered “about a week ago but won’t be in service until later this month or early next month. We have two more transformers scheduled to be delivered at the end of this year,” he said.