Argonne Lab Researchers Hope AI Can Lower Nuclear Plant Operating Costs
August 18, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 18, 2022
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are midway through a $1 million, three-year project to explore how artificial intelligence could lower the operating costs of nuclear power.
The premise of Argonne’s project to develop smart, computerized systems for nuclear plants is that their costs will have to come down if they are to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy by providing large amounts of clean electricity.
Nuclear plants are expensive, in part, because they demand constant monitoring and maintenance to ensure consistent power flow and safety, according to the Argonne researchers. The expense of running nuclear plants has made it difficult for them to stay open, they said.
“Operation and maintenance costs are quite relevant for nuclear units, which currently require large site crews and extensive upkeep,” Roberto Ponciroli, a principal nuclear engineer at Argonne, said in a statement. “We think that autonomous operation can help to improve their profitability and also benefit the deployment of advanced reactor concepts.”
The project, funded by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies program, aims to create a computer architecture that could detect problems early and recommend appropriate actions to human operators.
“In a world where decisions are made according to data, it’s important to know that you can trust your data,” Ponciroli said. “Sensors, like any other component, can degrade. Knowing that your sensors are functioning is crucial.”
A typical nuclear plant has hundreds of sensors. The job of inspecting each sensor — and the performance of system components such as valves, pumps, heat exchangers — currently rests with staff who walk the plant floor. Instead, Argonne is exploring the potential for algorithms that could verify data by learning how a normal sensor functions and looking for anomalies. Once a sensor’s data is validated, an artificial intelligence system would then interpret signals from the sensor and recommend specific actions.
The technology could save the nuclear industry more than $500 million a year, Ponciroli and his colleagues estimate.
An artificial intelligence method called reinforcement learning replicates judgments humans make all the time by teaching the system to make decisions by evaluating potential outcomes.
At a nuclear plant, computers could detect problems and flag them to plant operators as early as possible, helping optimize controls and also avert more expensive repairs, as well as cutting back on maintenance on equipment that doesn’t need it, the Argonne researchers said.
In partnership with industry partners Argonne engineers have built a computer simulation, or “digital twin,” of an advanced nuclear reactor that can also be adapted to existing nuclear plants.
The Argonne team is validating its artificial intelligence concept on the simulated reactor and has completed systems to control and diagnose its virtual parts. The remainder of the project will focus on the system’s decision-making ability — what it does with the diagnostic data.
“The lower-level tasks that people do now can be handed off to algorithms,” Richard Vilim, an Argonne senior nuclear engineer, said in a statement. “We’re trying to elevate humans to a higher degree of situational awareness so that they are observers making decisions.”
SMUD Unveils New Managed Electric Vehicle Charging Pilot With Automakers
August 18, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 18, 2022
California public power utility SMUD on Aug. 15 announced a new managed electric vehicle (EV) charging pilot with BMW of North America, Ford and General Motors, which SMUD said will help EV customers align their charging needs to the time of day when it is most affordable.
Building on earlier EV incentives, SMUD is now working with the three automakers to test how it can help Sacramento-area customers charge their electric vehicles at times of day that promote optimal energy load management. The pilot program supports SMUD’s goal to eliminate carbon emissions from the power supply by 2030 and accelerates the use of renewable energy for more sustainable communities, the utility said.
Customers have already begun receiving communication from SMUD about the pilot and its potential financial, sustainability and grid-supporting benefits.
As part of the agreement, SMUD and participating automakers will allow for secure remote home charging management by conveniently integrating on-board communications and smart phone apps.
Automakers will create customized charge requests for EV owners to provide an ideal charging schedule which can help ensure that a customer’s vehicle is ready when they need it and is charging at optimal times, SMUD said.
Customers with EVs from participating automakers will receive incentives for enrolling, and quarterly incentives for participating in the pilot program.
The pilot program is one of several initiatives that SMUD is working on as part of its sustainability vision to support Sacramento’s goal of getting 75,000 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2025. Smart charging efforts will be an essential element of the state’s executive order to end sales of internal combustion passenger vehicles by 2035, it said.
Colorado Springs Utilities Becomes Active Participant In SPP Energy Imbalance Service Market
August 18, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 18, 2022
Public power utility Colorado Springs Utilities became an active participant in Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market at midnight on Aug. 1, which took place after more than a year of preparation.
Colorado Springs Utilities joins eight other western utilities already participating in the market, with three others scheduled to join in April 2023: Xcel Energy-Colorado, Platte River Power Authority and Black Hills Colorado Electric LLC.
“Participation in the Western Energy Imbalance Service Market is a significant step in our pursuit of clean energy goals and sends a strong signal that we’re doing everything possible to secure a reliable electric grid and reduce energy-related costs for our customers,” said Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Aram Benyamin in a statement.
Colorado Springs Utilities is also part of an SPP-coordinated effort by several utilities to evaluate membership in the SPP regional transmission organization (RTO).
While SPP administers the WEIS market on a contract basis to nonmembers, it provides RTO members a suite of services including market administration, transmission planning, reliability coordination and more.
A 2021 SPP-Brattle study estimated the WEIS participants’ move to RTO membership would produce $49 million in benefits and those would grow with additional western members. The western utilities’ evaluation of membership is expected to conclude later this year, with the terms and start dates of interested parties’ membership agreements to be announced then.
SPP is also working with numerous interested parties to develop a service offering called Markets, which it said is “a bundle of services that could centralize day-ahead and real-time unit commitment and dispatch, provide hurdle-free transmission service across its footprint and pave the way for the reliable integration of a rapidly growing fleet of renewable generation.”
For utilities that see value in these services but are not ready to pursue full membership in a RTO at this time, Markets+ provides a voluntary, incremental opportunity to realize significant benefits, SPP said.
SPP is finalizing a proposed market design for this service and will publish it for interested parties’ consideration in fall 2022.
APPA Releases Guide For Public Power Utilities Interested In Community Solar
August 17, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 17, 2022
The American Public Power Association (APPA) recently released the Municipal Utility Community Solar Workbook, a free how-to guide for utilities interested in exploring community solar.
The workbook is a culmination of expert advice, resources, and best practices from the Municipal Utility Community Solar Working Group, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
From identifying community interest to selecting an appropriate site, determining budgeting and pricing models, working with vendors, and enrolling customers in the program, this guidebook walks utilities through the processes, materials, and considerations for exploring community solar projects from a public power perspective.
Utilities can also review the additional considerations necessary for establishing community solar programs that reach or support customers with low to moderate incomes and prioritize equity.
The guide is available for download here.
DOE and APPA will be hosting a release webinar for the workbook on September 1 at 2:00 PM EDST. Register for the webinar at this link.
President Biden Signs Bill That Provides Public Power With Direct Access To Energy Tax Credits
August 16, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 16, 2022
President Biden on Aug. 16 signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will extend and expand various energy tax incentives and give public power utilities direct access to such credits through a refundable direct payment tax credit.
The U.S. House on Aug. 12 passed the IRA after the U.S. Senate passed the bill earlier this month.
The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the value of energy-related tax incentives to be worth $25 billion in 2022 alone. However, because public power utilities are exempt from tax, they have not been able to take advantage of these incentives for projects they own. Rural electric cooperatives face a similar challenge. As a result, using the tax code to incentivize energy investments has excluded utilities serving nearly 30 percent of all retail utility customers in the United States.
Instead, to take advantage of these energy tax incentives, tax-exempt, community-owned utilities have had to enter power purchase agreements with third party developers — who often themselves would enlist a tax equity partner to monetize energy tax credits.
The result has been profound, the American Public Power Association (APPA) recently noted. For example, recent surveys of public power utilities showed they own just two percent of the non-hydropower renewable energy used to serve their customers: the remaining 98 percent had to be secured through power purchase agreements.
The IRA corrects this by allowing tax-exempt entities to claim energy tax credits directly. APPA has long supported this approach, which will lead to lower costs, local jobs, and more equitable energy service for all customers.
DOE Says It Does Not Plan To Issue Waiver Tied To Transformers At This Time
August 16, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 16, 2022
In a recent letter to the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), a Department of Energy (DOE) official said that DOE is “not planning to issue an industry-wide waiver of enforcement with respect to energy conservation standards for distribution transformers at this time.”
The letter from Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE, responded to a request made in May by APPA and NRECA. The groups asked for DOE to institute a temporary waiver of DOE’s distribution transformer efficiency standard in an effort to alleviate the acute shortage of distribution transformers.
DOE recognizes “that supply chain impacts will vary by company, by product, and possibly even by model,” wrote Speakes-Backman. “In exercising enforcement discretion, we take into account the full range of these circumstances and their potential impacts.”
She also acknowledged APPA’s participation in the “Tiger Team” formed under the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) to further identify and address supply chain problems.
APPA continues to work through the ESCC and other forums to find solutions to alleviate the supply chain shortages, specifically with regards to distribution transformers. APPA has taken a number of actions to address ongoing supply chain challenges. APPA recently rolled out an additional feature to its eReliability Tracker that is available to all public power utilities and allows for voluntary equipment sharing by matching systems with the same distribution voltages. APPA also recently finalized a new supply chain issue brief. APPA members can download the issue brief here.
In a speech in June at APPA’s National Conference in Nashville, Tenn., APPA President and CEO Joy Ditto urged member utilities to share their supply chain challenges with APPA so that the trade group can relay details on these challenges to federal partners and discuss how critical burdens on the sector can be alleviated.
In May, APPA convened a supply chain summit that included participation from public power utility officials who discussed their supply chain challenges and mitigation strategies.
Solar Power Installations Slow Because Of Supply Chain, Other Issues: EIA
August 15, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 15, 2022
Solar power installations are running about 20 percent behind schedule due to supply chain and other issues, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Developers had planned to install 17.8 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) generating capacity in 2022, according to the EIA’s June 2022 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. However, over the first six months of the year, only 4.2 GW of capacity came online, less than half of what the industry had planned to install, a 20 percent shortfall.
“Our preliminary data from January through June 2022 show that PV solar installations were delayed by an average of 4.4 GW each month, compared with average monthly delays of 2.6 GW during the same period last year,” according to the EIA. In most cases, the reported delays are for six months or less, the EIA added.
Most of the projects that are due to come online in the next 18 months are already under construction, the EIA noted.
About 1.9 GW of solar installations under construction have been delayed but are still scheduled to come online in 2022, and 1.7 GW of projects under construction have been delayed to 2023, the EIA said.
Various factors could cause delays, the EIA noted, including broad economic factors, such as supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and high prices of components, as well as factors specific to electric generation projects, such as obtaining permits or testing equipment.
In particular, the EIA noted that in February, the Bush administration eased but did not end tariffs on imported crystalline silicon solar products from China, raising the tariff-rate quota, or threshold for imposing higher tariffs, from 2.5 GW to 5.0 GW and excluding bifacial panels from the extended tariffs.
In April, the Department of Commerce announced an anti-dumping circumvention investigation of solar cells and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that allegedly use parts made in China that otherwise would be subject to tariffs.
In a June executive action, President Joseph Biden sought to advance the deployment of the U.S. solar panel industry by authorizing the easing of import duties for 24 months for solar cells and modules imported from the countries under investigation. Biden also invoked the Defense Production Act to expand domestic production of solar modules.
California Energy Commission Sets Preliminary 25 GW By 2045 Offshore Wind Goal
August 15, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 15, 2022
The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently adopted a report establishing offshore wind goals, bringing the state one step closer to developing its coastal resources.
Preliminary findings of the report set planning goals of 2,000 to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045.
The report is the first of four that the CEC has been directed to produce by AB 525 by no later than June 30, 2023. Under the legislation, the CEC, in coordination with federal, state, and local agencies and a wide variety of stakeholders, must develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments off the California coast in federal waters and submit it to the California Natural Resources Agency and the state’s Legislature.
Among other conclusions, the CEC said that for 2030 it would be “prudent” to have the AB 525 strategic plan evaluate at least the current adopted 2032 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) amount of offshore wind of 1,700 MW, potentially up to nearly 5,000 MW, which is what can be accommodated on existing transmission.
Offshore wind capacity beyond that amount “appears infeasible from a transmission perspective by 2030, the report found. For 2045, “there is greater possibility of achieving some or all of the transmission upgrades examined by the state’s ISO [independent system operator],” the report said, concluding that “this suggests the CEC may consider establishing a MW planning goal for 2045 of at least 10 GW to 14.3 GW for 2045.”
The authors of the report also recommended that the complementary nature of offshore wind to solar power outputs, both daily and in the winter, suggests that the CEC should establish offshore wind planning goals that are “reasonably higher” than the current adopted amount of offshore wind in the state’s IRP.
The report’s authors cautioned, however, “the recommended MW planning goals do not consider potential impacts to ocean use and environmental considerations.” They added, “the assessment of potential impacts and the strategies for addressing those impacts that are identified for the strategic plan will inform and may potentially limit the amount of maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind and the MW planning goals that are ultimately identified in the strategic plan.”
CEC staff will next study the economic benefits of offshore wind in relation to seaport investments and workforce development needs. The staff will also create a roadmap to develop a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure. The entire plan must be submitted to the Legislature by June 2023.
Plans for renovations to prepare for offshore wind activities are already under way at the Port of Humboldt Bay with $10.5 million in funding approved by the CEC earlier this year. Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022–23 budget proposes an additional $45 million for other needed upgrades at waterfront facilities.
Leaders Of FERC And NERC Urge NAESB To Convene Forum To Address Reliability Challenges
August 15, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 15, 2022
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Rich Glick and Jim Robb, President and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), recently encouraged the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) to convene a forum that would identify solutions to reliability challenges facing the nation’s natural gas system and bulk electric system.
In their July 25 joint letter to NAESB, Glick and Robb recommended that NAESB convene the forum, as outlined in one of the key recommendations from the FERC-NERC report on the February 2021 freeze in Texas and the South Central U.S. caused by Winter Storm Uri.
The report, issued in November 2021, recommended that FERC consider establishing a forum to identify actions that would improve the reliability of the natural gas infrastructure system as necessary to support the bulk power system, and to address recurring challenges stemming from natural gas-electric infrastructure interdependency.
NAESB, an American National Standards Institute-accredited convener of both the gas and electric markets with representation from all segments of the supply chain, “is uniquely positioned to provide support in addressing the report recommendation,” Glick and Robb wrote.
“NAESB’s long history with the industry demonstrates its ability to analyze challenging issues concerning market coordination while delivering balanced, consensus-based solutions that lead to improved operations in both markets,” they said in the letter.
Robb and Glick encouraged NAESB to take steps to expeditiously convene the forum discussed in the November 2021 report and others like it.
“We also encourage NAESB to coordinate with FERC and NERC staff, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, who all have BES [bulk electric system] regulatory and reliability expertise and experience with gas-electric cooperation,” they wrote.
The letter is available here.
In response to the letter, NAESB staff announced its intention to reconvene the NAESB Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum, with an initial organizational virtual meeting scheduled for August 30, 2022, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Central. This will be an open meeting and all interested parties are welcome to attend. Meeting registration is available here.
House Passes Bill That Provides Public Power With Direct Access To Energy Tax Credits
August 13, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 13, 2022
The U.S. House on Aug. 12 passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which would extend and expand various energy tax incentives and give public power utilities direct access to such credits through a refundable direct payment tax credit.
The bill, which now goes to the White House for President Biden’s signature, also includes additional funding through various programs for renewables development and deployment, transmission projects, and federal permitting staff.
The American Public Power Association (APPA) applauded House passage of the IRA.
“In addition to extending and expanding a variety of critical energy tax incentives, this piece of legislation will ensure that all utilities can benefit from these incentives, which encourage the critical energy investments they need to continue to use cleaner generating technologies,” said APPA President and CEO Joy Ditto. “In the end, this makes these incentives fairer and more effective.”
The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the value of energy-related tax incentives to be worth $25 billion in 2022 alone. However, because public power utilities are exempt from tax, they have not been able to take advantage of these incentives for projects they own. Rural electric cooperatives face a similar challenge. As a result, using the tax code to incentivize energy investments has excluded utilities serving nearly 30 percent of all retail utility customers in the United States.
Instead, to take advantage of these energy tax incentives, tax-exempt, community-owned utilities have had to enter power purchase agreements with third party developers — who often themselves would enlist a tax equity partner to monetize energy tax credits.
The result has been profound, APPA said. For example, recent surveys of public power utilities showed they own just two percent of the non-hydropower renewable energy used to serve their customers: the remaining 98 percent had to be secured through power purchase agreements.
The IRA corrects this by allowing tax-exempt entities to claim energy tax credits directly. APPA has long supported this approach, which will lead to lower costs, local jobs, and more equitable energy service for all customers.
Power purchase agreements will continue to be useful tools and many public power utilities will continue to use them to secure access to energy facilities, APPA said. “But having the option to own and operate their own facilities means public power utilities can make the best choices on behalf of the more than 49 million Americans and thousands of businesses they directly serve,” APPA said.
Efforts to ensure that community-owned utilities can benefit from energy tax incentives have enjoyed bipartisan and bicameral support from many Members of Congress, “and we greatly appreciate the work of all the Members and staff with whom we have worked on this issue for years,” APPA said.
APPA said it is particularly appreciative of the efforts of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, Select Revenue Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Michael Bennett. Finance Committee Member Maria Cantwell and Ways and Means Committee Member Earl Blumenauer were also steadfast champions, APPA said.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin’s “understanding of the positive energy policy implications of creating this comparable incentive for public power and rural electric cooperatives was critical to passage of this provision,” APPA said.
Manchin “also championed important work toward legislation to speed up siting and permitting of energy infrastructure, which is much needed given the need to maintain reliable and affordable electricity as we continue our evolution to cleaner technologies,” the trade group noted.
The likely date of enactment for the IRA remains uncertain, though some time this week seems possible. The date of enactment is of importance to public power because while much of the bill will take effect gradually over time a tax credit requirement for final assembly in North America for electric vehicles takes effect upon the date of enactment.
Also uncertain is the timing of a follow-on energy permitting and siting bill that Congressional leaders agreed to take up as part of a compromise that allowed the IRA to proceed in the Senate.
Such a bill could be added to a “continuing resolution” bill that Congress will have to take up before the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, but no schedule has been announced.