NRC to Start Technical Review of NuScale Power’s Second Standard Design Approval Application
March 20, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 20, 2023
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 17 announced that it will begin the technical review of NuScale Power’s second Standard Design Approval application.
NuScale submitted the application in late 2022, which is based on a six-module power plant configuration powered by an uprated 250-megawatt small modular reactor design.
The design reflected in this application features the same fundamental safety case and passive safety features approved by the NRC in 2020, with a focus on the power uprate and select design changes to support customers’ capacity needs and further improve economics, NuScale said.
In other recent news, NuScale on March 9 announced that at the end of 2022, as scheduled, it placed the first upper reactor pressure vessel long lead material production order with Doosan Enerbility.
The order is for materials essential to commence manufacturing of the first NuScale power modules that are scheduled to be in commercial operation at the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems’ Carbon Free Power Project as early as 2029, NuScale said.
UAMPS recently reported that participants’ governing boards in the Carbon Free Power Project are moving forward with the development and deployment of a small modular reactor project.
With the commitments, the CFPP Project Management Committee approved a new budget and plan of finance.
Lower Colorado River Authority Picks Location in Texas for New Peaker Plant
March 19, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 19, 2023
The Lower Colorado River Authority announced on March 17 that its new peaker power plant will be built in Caldwell County, Texas.
The new plant, which will provide about 190 megawatts of dispatchable power to the Texas power grid, will be built on a 51-acre-site in the Maxwell area.
Preliminary work has begun, with construction expected to begin this summer. The plant is expected to be operational in 2025.
The new natural gas-fueled peaker plant will be able to ramp up and shut down in minutes when the need for power approaches or exceeds what is available from renewable and other thermal generation.
The plant will include 10 Wartsila reciprocating engines, with each engine able to provide about 19 megawatts of power.
FERC Approves Extending Risk Management Practices to Low-Impact Cyber Systems
March 19, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 19, 2023
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on March 16 approved a new cybersecurity standard that will expand supply chain risk management practices for low-impact bulk electric system cyber systems.
The new standard, proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation in December 2022, requires entities with bulk electric system facilities whose assets are designated low impact to have methods for determining and disabling vendor remote access.
Generally, low-impact assets are generation or transmission facilities that pose a lower risk to the bulk electric system if they are compromised.
“This standard improves the reliability of the grid by expanding existing security controls to provide greater visibility into electronic communication between low-impact bulk electric system cyber systems and vendors,” FERC Said.
The security controls will allow detection and the ability to disable vendor remote access in the event of a known or suspected malicious communication, it said.
Department of Energy Announces Availability of $750 Million for Clean Hydrogen Projects
March 19, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 19, 2023
The U.S. Department of Energy on March 15 announced the availability of $750 million for research, development, and demonstration efforts to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen.
The funding launches the first tranche of implementation of two provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes $1 billion for research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen produced via electrolysis and $500 million for research, development, and demonstration of improved processes and technologies for manufacturing and recycling clean hydrogen systems and materials.
Clean hydrogen — which is produced with zero or next-to-zero carbon emissions — is set to play a key future role in reducing emissions from some of the most energy-intensive sectors of our economy, including industrial and chemical processes and heavy-duty transportation, DOE said.
Clean hydrogen can also support the expansion of variable renewable power by providing a means for long-duration energy storage and offers flexibility and multiple revenue streams for all types of clean power generation including renewables, advanced nuclear, and other technologies.
Managed by DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, projects funded through this opportunity will address underlying technical barriers to cost reduction that can’t be overcome by scale alone.
Together with regional clean hydrogen hubs, tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, and ongoing research, development, and demonstration in the DOE Hydrogen Program, these investments will help DOE achieve its Hydrogen Shot goal of being able to produce $1 per kilogram of clean hydrogen within a decade, it said.
DOE envisions granting multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements, with the period of performance being approximately two to five years. DOE encourages applicant teams that include stakeholders within academia, industry, and national laboratories across multiple technical disciplines. Teams are also encouraged to include representation from diverse entities such as minority-serving institutions, labor unions, tribal nations, community colleges, and other entities connected through Opportunity Zones.
The application process will include two phases: a Concept Paper phase and a Full Application phase. Concept papers are due on April 19, 2023, and full applications are due on July 19, 2023.
Click here for additional details about the funding opportunity.
U.S. Energy Storage Market Installed a Record 4.8 GW in 2022
March 19, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 19, 2023
Across all segments of the industry, the U.S. energy storage market installed 4.8 gigawatts of capacity in 2022, nearly equal to the combined 2020 and 2021 installed capacity of 5 GW, becoming a record year for battery storage, according to a new report from the American Clean Power Association and Wood Mackenzie.
According to the latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report, the market added 1,067 megawatts across all segments in the fourth quarter of 2022, making the quarter only the fifth highest for installations – 33% lower than Q4 of 2021, which is the highest on record.
The new report’s findings show that the U.S. grid-scale segment installed a total of 848 MW in Q4 2022, which was a decline from more than 1 GW of installations in both Q2 and Q3 of this year. Decreased installed capacity was largely caused by supply chain and interconnection constraints. These headwinds continued to affect the project pipeline, with over 3 GW of projects scheduled to come online in Q4 delayed or cancelled.
However, the residential storage segment increased by 11% over Q3 and broke another record with 171 MW installed, ousting Q3 2022 by 17 MW. Capacity installations increased for this segment every quarter in 2022, confirming sustained demand for residential back-up power and resiliency.
Deployment in the community, commercial, and industrial storage segment recovered from a significant drop in Q3 2022 with 48 MW installed in Q4, an increase of 78%. States traditionally strong in the CCI segment, such as New York, bounced back to higher deployment levels which boosted Q4 numbers.
“Despite a slow fourth quarter, total 2022 installations were still 44% over 2021. Grid-scale installations increased by 7% year-over-year, CCI by 3%, and residential experienced the strongest growth with installations up 36%. Looking ahead, we expect the U.S. storage market to install almost 75 GW between 2023 and 2027. Grid-scale installations account for approximately 60 GW, 81% of the new capacity added,” said Vanessa Witte, senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage team.
Forecasted capacity for the grid-scale and CCI segments will more than double in 2023, partly due to robust storage demand and to projects that were delayed from 2022 coming online. Wood Mackenzie also expects residential capacity to increase by approximately 88% in 2023 – with four times more residential storage to be installed in 2027 compared to 2022 volumes.
“California continues to hold the largest market share of residential installations through 2027 at 47%, which dwarfs any other state by far. Puerto Rico remains the second largest through 2027 with an 11% share,” Witte said.
Project volume in the interconnection queue from 2023 to 2028 declined by approximately 10% from the last quarter; a result of independent system operators filtering through applications and developers withdrawing applications now that the rush to secure queue positions has somewhat subsided.
According to the report, 7 GW of projects with an original 2022 Commercial Operation Date have been pushed into later years or cancelled outright, likely due to increased costs or developers’ inability to procure equipment within the timeframe needed.
Price relief for batteries is on the horizon, as commodity prices have begun to decline after prices for battery precursors, such as lithium carbonate, peaked in Q4. System cost declines are anticipated in 2023 though other issues remain, such as supply delays and an increasingly tight labor market.
Tennessee Governor, U.S. Lawmaker Visit TVA Nuclear Site
March 19, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 19, 2023
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., recently visited a Tennessee Valley Authority site that has been designated as the location for a TVA small modular reactor. Lee and Fleischmann were accompanied on the tour by Jeffrey Lyash, CEO of TVA.
TVA in 2022 entered a two-party agreement with GE Hitachi to support TVA’s planning and preliminary licensing for a potential deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the Clinch River Nuclear site and provide additional information needed as TVA continues to analyze the viability of SMRs, subject to future TVA board approval.
At the site, Lee said that the location is “going to be the future of America’s energy production – or certainly a model for the way America produces clean, reliable, low-cost energy for Americans in the future.” He said that “Tennessee is very fortunate to have TVA as a leader in that field of development and production and generation of power.”
In a March 11 tweet, Fleischmann said that East Tennessee “is already a leader in nuclear power, and we will lead the next generation of small modular reactors.”
In his recent State of the State speech, Lee proposed $50 million in a Nuclear Fast Track fund “to recruit companies to our state that will specifically establish a nuclear development and manufacturing ecosystem built for the future of Tennessee.”
EPA Issues Final Rule Aimed at Cutting Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Plants, Industrial Sources
March 17, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 17, 2023
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on March 15 issued a final rule that seeks to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants and industrial sources that contribute to problems attaining and maintain EPA’s 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards in downwind states.
The initial NOX reductions will begin in the 2023 ozone season (May 1 – September 30) prior to the August 3, 2024, attainment date for areas classified as moderate nonattainment. Additional reductions will be phased in at the beginning of the 2026 ozone season to align with the August 3, 2027, attainment date for serious nonattainment areas.
EPA estimates that the final “Good Neighbor Plan” will reduce ozone forming NOX emissions from the 23 significantly contributing upwind states by approximately 70,000 tons during the 2026 ozone season compared to a business-as-usual scenario.
According to EPA, about 25,000 tons will come from the power sector. EPA estimates that the net present value of this rule from 2023 to 2042, after taking into account compliance costs, is $200 billion.
EPA’s updated air quality modeling determines that 23 states must achieve additional NOx reductions to resolve their outstanding obligations for the 2025 Ozone NAAQS. EPA is expanding the Group 3 NOx allowance trading program to include the following states and Indian country with the boarders of the states: Alabama, Arkansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Click here for a map of the covered 23 states.
EPA’s modeling removed Delaware from the program, as the state is not significantly contributing to downwind air quality problems. EPA is deferring action on including Tennessee and Wyoming pending further review of updated air quality modeling and contribution modeling and analysis.
Beginning in the 2023 ozone season the final rule will include 22 states in a revised Group 3 NOX allowance trading program. The initial control stringency of the program is based on operation of existing NOX controls installed at power plants.
In 2024, the budget will reflect the reduction from low NOX burners on certain units. In 2026, EPA will be folding in reduction from selective catalytic reduction and selective noncatalytic reduction for units in 19 states without those controls.
EPA has made changes to timing and phasing in the NOX trading program “enhancements” (i.e., dynamic budgeting, daily back stop NOX emission rate and allowance bank re-calibration) in response to comments from grid operators and power sector stakeholders. According to EPA this change will support grid operators and utilities’ ability to continue to deliver reliable electricity by providing greater flexibility and predictability of the program.
EPA plans to issue a supplemental rulemaking to seek input on an allowance market liquidity and potential impacts on electric reliability.
Backstop Daily NOx Emission Rate
EPA is finalizing its backstop daily NOx emission rate for coal fired EUGs greater than 100 MW. Starting in 2024, a 3 -for-1 allowance surrender ratio will be applied for EGUs with existing SCR controls that exceed the daily back stop rate of 0.14 lb/mmBTu by more than 50 tons of emissions. However, for uncontrol units the backstop rate will take effect beginning in 2027, but no later than 2030. EPA is not applying the backstop daily NOX emission rate to large gas-fired EGUs.
This change is directly in response to comments regarding situation during startup, shutdown when even well controlled units couldn’t meet the daily NOX emission rate. EPA believe this change provides an additional degree of flexibility with regards to the implementation of the daily back stop rate.
Allowance bank
The final rule, beginning in 2023 through 2029 EPA will establish a preset limit on the size of the emission bank at 21 percent of the overall state budget. In 2030 and beyond the overall bank will adjust to 10.5 percent. EPA believes that these revisions to the budget setting process will improve the ability of emission budgets to keep pace with changes in the EGU fleet.
California Utility Regulators Open Public Inquiry on High Winter Natural Gas Prices
March 17, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 17, 2023
The California Public Utilities Commission on March 16 launched a proceeding to investigate the causes and impacts of the winter 2022- 2023 natural gas price spikes and the potential for recurrence and the impact of the price spikes on natural gas and electric prices and customer bills.
The proceeding will also look at the potential threats to natural gas and electric reliability and price volatility in summer 2023 and beyond, and potential mitigations and utility communications to customers to determine whether they were sufficient or require modifications.
The wholesale price of natural gas in California, and throughout the Western U.S., has been extraordinarily high this winter, starting in late November 2022.
In February 2023, natural gas prices trended downward but are still high compared to February 2022. As a result, customers have seen higher bills from their utility company, which pass on the cost they pay for natural gas directly to the customer without a mark-up, the PUC said.
The examination in the proceeding opened March 16 will include whether factors beyond normal market forces were at play, determine whether action by the CPUC may prevent or mitigate future price spikes, and consider whether other entities have jurisdiction to mitigate high natural gas prices.
The proposal voted on is available here.
Rochelle Municipal Utilities Utilizes Trailer to Demonstrate Electrical Safety to Community
March 16, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 16, 2023
The electric department for Illinois public power utility Rochelle Municipal Utilities is utilizing a 7,970-volt trailer to demonstrate electric safety to the community of Rochelle, Ill.
In an interview with Public Power Current, Blake Toliver, Superintendent of Electric Operations and Generation at Rochelle Municipal Utilities, noted that the trailer has three poles on it, as well as an ASCR conductor and two 5-kVa transformers on each end.
“We have a contactor that’s controlled by one of the linemen while the demonstrations are going on,” Toliver said. The demonstration includes a backfeed as the contactor is closed and it energizes the conductor with full primary voltage.
“We use that to show the community what would happen if you were to put an aluminum ladder against a primary line,” he said.
“We also show what the linemen have to protect themselves from the voltage,” Toliver said. In addition, the trailer demonstration shows “what the linemen do on a day-to-day basis with glove inspections and sleeve inspections, making sure their tools are cleaned and waxed, and things along those lines.”
A key goal of the trailer demonstration is making sure that “people have a respect for the amount of energy that’s out there on the primary line.”
The trailer was completed in 2022. So far, the trailer has been used with a citizens’ academy and, more recently, with the city’s fire department.
During the fire department training, “We talked a lot about what to do in a scenario of a fire because they’ve always questioned whether they should be the ones removing the meters or whether they should call us.” The utility “would prefer that they call us anytime and we will come out and disconnect the power and guarantee that their safe in the house that they’re working in.”
RMU staff also showed that their hoses can conduct electricity and talked about keeping aerial firefighting apparatuses away from power lines.
“The other thing that we talked to them about was pole top rescue and bucket rescue because the firefighters had no idea that our linemen are actually trained to rescue each other,” Toliver noted.
“I’m hoping to get it in front of the schools and do some more community engagement,” he said.
In high school demonstrations, not only will the utility be able to share important safety lessons, but it will also be able to expose students to possible utility careers, Toliver said.
“Linemen are getting harder and harder to come by,” he pointed out.
“We’re a proud public power community,” said Rochelle City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh. “I truly admire the way our staff jumps in to give back to our community with their unique knowledge.”
As for the ways in which RMU emphasizes the need for safety with its own staff, Toliver noted that the utility has a safety committee where officials from various RMU departments can discuss various issues.
“We’re doing anything that we can to make” the jobs of RMU personnel as safe as possible.
In addition, RMU utilizes the American Public Power Association’s Safety Manual. “We actually have all new copies sitting in my administrative assistant’s office to distribute to the linemen,” he said.
APPA released the 17th edition of its Safety Manual in February.
Heartland Energy Says it is Well Positioned to Help Minn. Cities Comply With New Carbon-Free Law
March 16, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 16, 2023
Heartland Energy, which provides wholesale electric power to six cities in Minnesota, recently said that it is well positioned to meet new climate standards in Minnesota on behalf of the municipal utilities it serves in the state.
Officials with Heartland Energy say its diverse power supply portfolio, which includes the output from a 51-megawatt wind farm, will help Minnesota customers meet the carbon requirements.
Electric utilities in Minnesota are facing new climate standards under a law recently signed by Governor Tim Walz. By the year 2040, utilities must meet a goal of having 100% of their electricity come from carbon-free sources.
Opponents of the mandate said it will be costly for smaller, rural utilities that may be unable to meet the requirements.
In addition to the carbon-free deadline, the new law requires utilities to show 55% of their energy sales come from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by the year 2035.
Utilities that rely on other sources for the majority of their power supply do have options to meet this goal. They can instead pay for renewable energy credits, or RECs, which are proof that electricity was generated by a renewable energy source and delivered to the electric grid.
Each time one megawatt-hour of electricity is generated from a qualifying resource, such as wind or solar, one REC is created. If you own the resource, you own the REC generated. Once a REC is created, it may be sold or claimed and retired. Retiring a REC allows a utility to officially validate the amount of renewable energy supplied to customers.
Heartland Energy’s qualifying resource is the Wessington Springs Wind Energy Center located in Jerauld County, South Dakota. Heartland Energy purchases the full output of the 34-turbine wind farm through a long-term purchase power agreement with NextEra Energy.
Heartland Energy already retires the appropriate number of RECs supplied by the WSW Energy Center to meet Minnesota’s current renewable standard of 25% by the year 2025.
Heartland Energy Chief Operations Officer Nate Jones said the WSW Energy Center produces enough RECs to meet Minnesota’s new mandate as well.
“We are well-prepared to adequately supply our customers in Minnesota with renewable energy to meet the new standard of 100% by 2040 and beyond,” said Jones.
Based in Madison, SD, Heartland Energy also provides a suite of customer service programs including economic development, energy efficiency, cybersecurity and more.