OPPD Recommends Delaying Retirement, Conversion Of Units At Plant
July 12, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 12, 2022
Nebraska public power utility Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) in June made a recommendation at a OPPD Board of Directors meeting to delay the retirement of North Omaha Station (NOS) units 1-3 and fuel conversion of units 4 and 5 from low-sulfur coal to natural gas.
The delay is only until the utility’s new natural gas generation balancing stations are fully approved for grid interconnection service in accordance with federal law issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and administered by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), OPPD noted.
Previously, OPPD’s Board of Directors approved these changes at NOS to occur by the end of 2023, when the new natural gas generation balancing stations – Standing Bear Lake (SBLS) and Turtle Creek (TCS) were planned to come online.
However, due to unforeseen delays with grid interconnection regulatory approvals for those projects, part of the utility’s Power with Purpose (PwP) initiative, OPPD recommended maintaining current generating operations at NOS until the new natural gas balancing stations are fully available, which is estimated by 2026.
PwP will bring additional generation totaling approximately 1,200 megawatts (MW) of natural gas and solar capability online.
OPPD said that the construction of SBLS and TCS is critical to ensuring continued system reliability and resiliency. Once these stations are online, OPPD will look to retire North Omaha Station units 1-3 and refuel units 4-5 from low-sulfur coal to natural gas.
In 2016, OPPD retired North Omaha units 1-3 from coal operations. Today, these units are available to run on natural gas, serving as peaking units during times of high demand for electricity.
SBLS and TCS are under construction now. However, in accordance with federal requirements, SPP must conduct a grid interconnection study before they can be connected to the grid.
“And with a large number of new generation projects requesting to come online in our region and every other region in the country, there is a major study backlog,” OPPD noted.
In addition, the two new natural gas generation projects have experienced some siting and grading delays, as well as supply chain issues. The new solar generation projects have also experienced challenges with siting of projects and supply chain challenges, including impacts from the federal focus on solar panel imports.
“This is one of those moments where we need to slow down our present path to achieve our future goals,” said President and CEO Javier Fernandez. “The extension of North Omaha Station’s current mission supports our commitment to reliability and resiliency, something we know our customers and communities are especially mindful of following the 2021 polar vortex event.”
OPPD said its leadership team continues to work diligently on finding solutions to the challenges facing not only the utility, but utilities across the region. Current delays will not impact OPPD’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon by 2050, the utility said.
The board of directors will vote on the recommendation during its next meeting, Aug. 18.
TVA Seeks Up To 5,000 Megawatts Of Carbon-Free Energy
July 12, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 12, 2022
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on July 12 issued a request for up to 5,000 megawatts of carbon-free energy that must be operational before 2029.
Any transaction resulting from the request for proposals (RFP) will be in the form of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
TVA said that the procurement is one of the largest clean energy procurement requests in the nation.
TVA is interested in procuring carbon-free energy resources with commercial operation dates from 2023 through 2029 including: solar, wind (offshore or land based), hydro, geothermal, biomass, nuclear, green gas, battery energy storage systems (BESS) paired with the above resources, standalone BESS, “and hybrid combinations of the aforementioned resources,” the RFP said.
TVA said it reserves the right to vary from the above stated energy quantity target. The PPA will also require the transfer to TVA of all the applicable associated environmental attributes (renewable energy credits/certificates, etc.).
All resources must be located in the TVA service territory or delivered to TVA’s interface with neighboring transmission systems. If any proposal is delivered to the TVA interface, it must have all cost components included for an all-in energy price.
TVA noted that it is executing a defined strategy to reduce carbon from 2005 levels by 70% by 2030, 80% by 2035, and aspire to be net-zero by 2050.
To support its carbon-reduction efforts, the agency is exploring and accelerating carbon-free technologies and moving to bring an additional 10,000 MW of solar energy capacity online by 2035.
Proposals must be submitted by October 19, 2022, and TVA will announce selected projects in Spring 2023.
The RFP is available here.
DOE Opens Applications For $2.3 Billion Grid Modernization Formula Grant Program
July 11, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 11, 2022
The Department of Energy (DOE) last week opened the application process for a $2.3 billion grant program for states, Tribal nations, and territories designed to strengthen and modernize the power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis.
The so-called formula grant program will distribute up to $2.3 billion over five years and will provide grants based on a formula that includes, among other things, population size, land area, probability and severity of disruptive events, and a locality’s historical expenditures on mitigation efforts.
Grant priority will be given to “projects that generate the greatest community benefit providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy to everyone, everywhere, anytime,” the DOE said.
Grid resilience activities that qualify under the program include:
- Utility pole upkeep and removal of trees and other vegetation affecting grid performance,
- Undergrounding electrical equipment,
- Relocating or reconductoring powerlines,
- Improvements to make the grid resistant to extreme weather,
- Increasing fire resistant components,
- Implementing monitoring, controls, and advanced modeling for real-time situational awareness, and
- Integrating distributed energy resources like microgrids and energy storage.
The DOE said it would give priority to projects that aim to generate the greatest community benefit in reducing the likelihood and consequences of blackouts and power shutdowns because of extreme weather or other disruptive events like cyberattacks. Projects should also seek to create “good-paying union jobs with a focus on high labor standards and the free and fair chance for workers to join a union,” the DOE said.
The DOE also noted that applicants will be asked to describe the concrete outcomes they intend to seek, and commit to specific progress metrics, such as reducing or shortening outages from severe events or reducing risks to health and safety from such outages.
The application deadline is Sept. 30.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established the Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid program, which is administered through DOE’s Building a Better Grid Initiative. The program aims to move the nation closer to the Biden Administration’s goal of a national grid run on 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.
Newton, N.C., Electric Department Recognized For Safety Efforts
July 11, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 11, 2022
The Newton Electric Department in Newton, N.C., was recently honored with the North Carolina Association of Municipal Electric Systems Safety Award for 2021.
The award recognizes the staff of the Newton Electric Department for providing affordable, reliable electric service to Newton’s nearly 5,000 electric customers without sustaining any lost-time injuries in 2021. The award was presented at the association’s recent annual meeting.
Newton Electric Division Manager Doug Wesson has developed his team’s safety programs over the course of his career, and Electric Division Supervisor Jeff Cochrane has assumed a growing role in continuous improvement of safety programs in recent years.
The City of Newton is a public power community with an electric system that dates to 1896 and today serves 4,710 customers.
The Newton Electric Department staff includes one manager, one supervisor, six lineman, two tree trimmers, one generator technician, and one meter technician. The team has more than 100 years of combined experience in electric distribution.
Newton Electric Department staff were recognized for their accomplishments at the Newton City Council meeting on June 21.
Grid Operators Respond To High Temperatures, Soaring Power Demand
July 11, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 11, 2022
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the PJM Interconnection took steps to respond to hot weather this week and the expected increases in power demand.
ERCOT on July 10 asked Texas residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity, Monday, July 11 between 2-8 p.m. as extreme hot weather created record power demand across Texas.
Along with the conservation appeal, ERCOT also issued a watch for a projected reserve capacity shortage from 2-8 p.m. on July 11. As of July 10, no system-wide outages were expected.
The grid operator noted that conservation is a reliability tool ERCOT has deployed more than four dozen times since 2008 to successfully manage grid operations.
The notification is issued when projected reserves may fall below 2,300 megawatts (MW) for 30 minutes or more.
In a recent episode of the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Now podcast, Woody Rickerson, Vice President of System Planning and Weatherization at ERCOT, detailed ongoing efforts by the grid operator to bolster reliability in the state.
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) reported that it set a peak load record on July 11 as region-wide electricity use reached 51,377 MW. This surpassed SPP’s previous record of 51,090 MW set July 5, 2022.
Meanwhile, PJM on July 11 said it issued a Hot Weather Alert for its Mid-Atlantic region for July 12 in anticipation of 90-degree temperatures.
A Hot Weather Alert helps to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for extreme heat and/or humidity that may cause capacity problems on the grid. Temperatures were expected to go above 90 degrees.
The Mid-Atlantic region is made up of the Atlantic City Electric, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Delmarva Power & Light, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Penelec, PECO Energy, Pepco, PPL Electric Utilities, PSE&G, and Orange & Rockland (Rockland Electric Company) transmission zones.
PJM said it was prepared to serve a forecasted summer peak demand for electricity of approximately 149,000 MW but has performed reliability studies at even higher loads — in excess of 157,000 MW.
PJM has approximately 185,000 MW of installed generating capacity available to meet customer needs, with sufficient resources available in reserve to cover generation that is unexpectedly unavailable or for other unanticipated changes in demand, it said.
Last year’s peak demand was approximately 149,000 MW.
New York DEC Denies Air Permit Renewal To Cryptocurrency Mining Power Plant
July 8, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 8, 2022
New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has denied renewal of an air permit to a 107-megawatt (MW) power plant in Yates County that is used to power computer operations for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining.
In denying a Title V air permit renewal for Greenidge Generation in the town of Torrey, the DEC cited the dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the facility since the passage of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act driven by “the change in the primary purpose of its operations.”
The power plant originally was fired by coal. The previous owners relinquished their Title V permit in 2021. When it bought the plant and switched fuel primarily to natural gas, Greenidge obtained a five-year Title V permit in September 2016.
The DEC noted that in its original permit application, Greenidge said the generating plant would be used as a peaking plant to sell electricity on a limited basis into the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) market. “At that time, Greenidge did not indicate that it intended to utilize a significant amount of the energy generated by the Facility behind-the-meter for its own purposes,” The DEC said in its letter denying the permit renewal.
In the letter, the DEC goes on to document that between 2017 and 2018 Greenidge did not provide any energy to cryptocurrency mining operations and virtually all energy was used for NYISO peaking purposes. However, that output profile changed over the years, rising to about 10 percent of output for cryptocurrency operations in 2019 to nearly 55 percent in 2021. Meanwhile the overall energy generated by the plant also increased during that period.
In addition, the DEC said that plant’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose “drastically” over the years to almost tripling in 2020 from its 2017-2019 emissions output.
In its denial, the DEC said the plant’s continued operation would be inconsistent with the statewide statutory limits in GHG emissions because actual GHG emissions from the facility have increased; the rise in GHG emissions is primarily the result of Greenidge’s change in the primary purpose of the plant, and renewal of the permit would allow Greenidge to continue to increase its GHG emissions.
New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, establishes economy-wide requirements to reduce statewide GHG emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
In a statement, Greenidge said it would continue to operate the plant under its existing Title V permit “for as long as it takes to successfully challenge this arbitrary and capricious decision.”
Greenidge also noted that on March 25 its proposed reducing the facility’s permitted GHG emissions by an additional 40 percent by 2025, five years before the 2030 first emissions reduction target date. Greenidge also proposed to be a zero-carbon emitting facility by 2035, five years before the statewide target.
Greenidge further said in its statement that the DEC “never once engaged Greenidge since March 25th to finalize a Permit that would dramatically reduce GHG emissions and preserve upstate jobs.”
In its letter, the DEC acknowledged that Greenidge proposed “limited GHG mitigation measures” and “vague assurances” in its March 25 submission, which was filed after the close of the public comment period, and said those measures “are also insufficient, adding, “They would only provide minimal GHG mitigation and not fully account for the substantial increase in GHG emissions due to the Facility’s change in its primary purpose of operation.”
APPA Urges EPA To Withdraw Proposed Ozone Federal Implementation Plan
July 8, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 8, 2022
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should withdraw a proposed Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) addressing regional ozone transport for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the American Public Power Association (APPA) said in recent comments.
The proposed FIP provides for ozone season NOx reductions from electric generating units and industrial stationary sources. For EGUs, EPA proposed unprecedented NOx reductions due to effective retirements due to costly selective catalytic reduction (SCR) installation requirements and timeframes in addition to reduced capacity factors. The proposed FIP also introduces stringent new concepts such as a daily NOx rate, dynamic budgeting, and routine allowance bank recalibrations.
APPA’s June 21 comments recommend EPA publish a supplemental proposed rule that would correct many of the errors and assumptions under which the proposal is basedEPA published the proposed FIP in April 2022.
In the proposed rule, EPA claims to adhere closely to the four-step Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) framework that it has used in recent interstate transport rules to address interstate transport for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).
At the same time, EPA outlined changes to reflect “lessons learned from the performance of regulatory programs established by previous interstate transport rulemakings” and to incorporate “recent information on the nature of ozone transport and emissions reductions opportunities.”
“This is a vast understatement of the magnitude of the Proposed Rule’s deviations from EPA’s CSAPR framework,” APPA said.
EPA’s proposed changes to the electric generating unit trading program – including “dynamic budgets” and other proposed “enhancements” — exceed EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act, APPA asserted.
To the extent EPA moves forward with its proposal, APPA offered a set of recommendations to improve implementation.
It said that EPA should undertake full notice-and-comment rulemaking if the agency adjusts state emission budgets from year to year and where state emission budgets are subject to year-over-year change, EPA should conduct an overcontrol analysis in those years.
EPA should also correct its air quality modeling in urban coastal areas to account for the unique characteristics of ozone formation in those areas. EPA must also conduct a new overcontrol analysis of these coastal areas using corrected modeling, APPA said.
EPA should increase compliance flexibility in the Groups 2 and 3 trading programs, it added.
And EPA should update its Reference Case analysis, NOx control technology modeling, cost projections, and equipment installation timelines, APPA said.
Reliability Concerns
Other industry stakeholders such as regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO) commenters raised concerns with EPA’s proposed FIP, pointing to energy reliability concerns due to the forecasted and rapid loss of fossil-fuel-fired generation by 2026.
In a joint set of comments filed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.; Midcontinental Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO); PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM); and Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) the RTOs/ISOs observe that the proposed FIP could cause reliability challenges because:
• RTOs/ISOs are currently experiencing declining reserves when higher reserve margins are needed to address “extreme weather, high load conditions and generator retirements;”
• Time is needed to construct new generation and build transmission facilities;
• Thermal generators provide essential reliability services;
• The SCR installation date in 2026 presents a potential grid reliability concern due to likely retirements; and
• The Proposed Rule may cause non-retiring assets to operate at lower levels.
The RTOs/ISOs advocated for a “Reliability Safety Valve.” The Safety Valve concept was floated as part of the Clean Power Plan, as well. Here, the specifics of a safety valve are not defined in the Joint comments, but the RTOs/ISOs stated that it would not be a “blanket exemption” from compliance. Rather, a safety valve would be “tools and processes” tailored to address reliability issues.
Now that the comment period is closed EPA will be working to review the comments and draft a final rule which is expected next March.
PNNL Creates Model For Integrating Grid-Forming Inverters Into The Grid
July 6, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 6, 2022
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a model for a device that could improve how well renewable power sources can be integrated into the bulk power system.
The device, a grid-forming inverter, converts direct current (DC) electricity produced by sources such as solar, wind or batteries, to alternating current (AC).
The model devised by PNNL engineers is designed to allow utility operators to test how to safely add new power sources to the grid in a way that increases power system resiliency and stability.
PNNL’s grid-forming inverter modeling work started in the development of microgrids. With support from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Microgrid Program, PNNL led and participated in multiple grid-forming inverter modeling projects for microgrid studies. That research showed it is possible to run a 100 percent inverter-based microgrid using grid-forming inverters, which can operate on their own without the reliance on conventional synchronous power generators.
Building on that work, Wei Du, a PNNL senior researcher, and his team have been investigating how grid-forming inverters affect large-scale transmission and distribution systems.
The PNNL researchers developed the generic droop-controlled, grid-forming inverter model for transmission system studies. That model specification was recently approved by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s Modeling and Validation Subcommittee, making it available to be integrated into commercially available grid simulation tools used by thousands of utilities in North America and other parts of the world.
“Grid-forming inverters will become more and more important to power systems in the future,” Song Wang, who chairs the WECC Modeling and Validation Subcommittee, said in a statement. “The existing inverter models in the WECC model library are all grid-following-based and cannot represent grid-forming inverters. The new model developed by PNNL enables WECC to study how grid-forming inverters will impact power grids at the transmission level. Our preliminary simulation studies based on the model show that grid-forming inverters can impact power system stability in a very positive way. We believe the work done by PNNL will greatly help the utility industry better understand grid-forming inverters and their potential impacts on power systems.”
PNNL’s research into the grid-forming inverter model was internally funded with further support from the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO).
SETO and WETO recently awarded $25 million to the Universal Interoperability for Grid-Forming Inverters (UNIFI) Consortium to further investigate grid-forming technologies.
UNIFI is a multi-year effort to create an ecosystem for grid-forming inverters that is led by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Washington, and the Electric Power Research Institute.
The PNNL researchers’ goal is to work with UNIFI to unify the models of various grid-forming technologies and their diverse applications in power systems.
“To achieve the national targets of clean electricity and decarbonized economy, inverter-based renewable generation will be an essential part of the future energy mix,” Henry Huang, a PNNL fellow, said in a statement. “The inverters will fundamentally change power system dynamics and thus require new approaches to model and simulate such a system.”
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Study Recommendations To Yield Lower Bills
July 6, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 6, 2022
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) on July 5 announced the completion of a two-year independent power rates study for its renewable electricity service programs, CleanPowerSF and Hetch Hetchy Power.
The recommendations from the study “pave the way for new customer savings, including decreased monthly electricity bills for the vast majority of CleanPowerSF residential and commercial customers,” the SFPUC sad.
The study prioritizes affordable rates for both CleanPowerSF and Hetch Hetchy Power customers, it said.
Effective July 1, CleanPowerSF generation rates will decrease by about 3% for an average residential customer and about 5% for an average small commercial customer for the next year. For average Hetch Hetchy Power residential customers, their bills will be 30% cheaper compared to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), while most municipal and commercial customers will also continue to see savings compared to the investor-owned utility.
The SFPUC said that the rate study also promotes stability for customers and greater independence from PG&E. The SFPUC said it is committed to only updating power rates once per year to promote predictable rates for customers.
In line with the other recommendations from the study, the SFPUC will also set its own rates and no longer follow PG&E. Since January 2021, PG&E has changed in generation rates four times.
The adopted rates support the city’s climate goals and electrification by offering new electric vehicle rates for Hetch Hetchy Power customers, expanding electricity rates for residential customers transitioning to all-electric buildings, and further enabling CleanPowerSF customers to transition to 100% renewable energy by lowering SuperGreen premiums for all commercial customers. At the same time, there will be funding for investments in new renewable generation and storage, and renewal of the Hetchy Water & Power power facilities.
The power rates study and subsequent recommendations were the result of a process that began in November 2020.
The study, which is the first such analysis since CleanPowerSF’s inception and is required every 5 years, prioritized several key areas: revenue sufficiency for SFPUC operations and investments, customer equity, environmental sustainability, affordability, predictability, and simplicity.
The rates study included stakeholder input from the Rate Fairness Board, customers, and other partners before it was presented to the SFPUC Commission and Board of Supervisors.
CleanPowerSF began serving customers in 2016. Today, CleanPowerSF serves about 385,000 customer accounts in San Francisco and offers 50% and 100% renewable electricity service options.
Along with CleanPowerSF, the SFPUC operates Hetch Hetchy Power, which generates and delivers energy to more than 4,000 customer accounts, including municipal buildings and facilities, such as City Hall, San Francisco International Airport, schools, libraries and the Muni transit system. Hetch Hetchy Power also provides electricity to some commercial and residential developments, including affordable housing sites.
Collectively, the two programs meet over 70 percent of the electricity demand in San Francisco.
Click here for additional details about the SFPUC.
New York Public Power Community Hosts Smart Grid Chip Pilot Project
July 5, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 5, 2022
The public power community of Lake Placid, N.Y., is hosting a smart grid chip pilot project involving Utilidata and NVIDIA.
The demonstration project in Lake Placid involves first generation meter adapters installed at customer locations along the circuit that serves the Olympic bobsled complex. The complex uses a lot of power, providing the opportunity to test out the product. Lake Placid hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics.
The smart grid chip captures and analyzes high resolution voltage and current waveform data to provide insights unique to the device’s location on the grid.
Once the meter adapter is installed, data will begin streaming immediately, a video providing details on the project notes. Devices can be moved throughout the project to various areas of interest.
The chips come preconfigured with core services for each pilot partner’s needs, leveraging waveform data, real-time communications and machine learning.
Chris Fadden, Meter Serviceman for the Village of Lake Placid, assisted with the installation of the inline units that Utilidata supplied.
“It was really just pulling the meter, installing the inline unit and then replacing the meter — about the same as installing a voltage recorder or any other piece of equipment,” he noted in an email.
Patrick Wells, Technical Coordinator for the Village of Lake Placid, said his role was to help pick out the locations for each of the devices. “Every now and then they send me some sample data that I can look at and give recommendations on what format would be best for us. The data they send is interesting and with more I am sure we could do a lot with it.”
The project remains ongoing, he said, and the devices are still operating.
In April 2022, Utilidata, a grid edge software company, announced that it was launching an advisory board with NVIDIA to guide the development and deployment of grid edge software solutions, including its recently announced smart grid chip.