GTTSi

From the Philly Voice, "Support for nuclear power has gained bipartisan momentum in recent years. The technology is touted as a vital part of the strategy to reduce carbon emissions by scaling back reliance on fossil fuels. It's also viewed as a way for the United States to solidify energy independence." https://lnkd.in/e79CxdQH.

GET IN LINE: There are several obstacles that a “clean energy project” must overcome to obtain an interconnection queue for their project. One large obstacle is the GIQ (generator interconnection queue). Today, almost every regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) has a significant backlog in their GIQs. In fact, about 70% of the “clean energy” projects submitted are ultimately withdrawn due to the long wait times (years for some RTOs or ISOs), high cost for new transmission lines, and other upgrades that may be required to handle the increased capacity that their specific project will place on the grid. This has created a significant barrier to deploying renewable energy projects, which in turn has stymied the nation’s green energy plans. Read more energy news in the July GTTSi Monthly Newsletter on the GTTSi website at: https://lnkd.in/gq7m2uYb #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #cleanenergy

NUCLEAR POWER FACILITY PROPOSED IN NORTHEASTERN COUNTY OF NORWAY The Norwegian energy supplier company, Norsk Kjernekraft, has submitted a proposal to the Norway Ministry of Energy for an assessment to construct multiple SMR’s (small modular reactors) in the northeastern county of Finnmark, where a research reactor once operated. The nuclear power plant proposed would have a capacity of up to 600 MWe and an annual output of up 5 Twh (terawatt hours) - enough to triple the current power available in Finnmark. Currently, the electricity generated in Finnmark comes from hydro plants and wind turbines. During periods of low wind, Finnmark is dependent on power being supplied from other parts of Norway and Finland. A nuclear power plant would be able to provide electricity, independent of weather conditions, which in turn would be a significant improvement in the reliability of power throughout northern Scandinavia. The scope of the proposal is limited to assessing what effects construction, operation, and decommissioning of the power plant would have for society and the environment. Assuming approval of the proposal by the Ministry of Energy, an environmental impact assessment would begin. Norsk Kjernekraft said it intends to utilize a significant part of the excess heat from the plant "as an input factor for industrial companies, food production, district heating and others". It said the power plant can enable the establishment of local industry, for example, within data centers, hydrogen production, mineral extraction, green shipping, and food production. Norsk Kjernekraft has plans to establish multiple SMR facilities in various parts of Norway. In addition to Finnmark, they have submitted proposals for power plants in the municipalities of Aure and Heim. These plants are expected to contribute significantly to Norway's power production, with each plant potentially increasing the country's electricity output by about 8%. #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables  

GW versus GWh Excellent analogy to describe the fundamental illiteracy by many renewable energy advocates: "The first [mistake] was including energy storage in the comparison with nuclear. Of course, storage doesn’t generate anything — it just stores energy — so should be ignored when considering how much electricity we need to meet our needs every year. The second mistake was using gigawatts (GW) instead of gigawatt-hours (GWh). These cause a great deal of confusion in the energy debate, but they can be understood by using water as an analogy for energy. Gigawatts tell you the size of a pipe carrying water from a source, but not how much it carries each day, month, or year. If the source depends on the weather like the gutters in a roof do, then the pipe might be empty most days when it’s dry, but fill with water when it rains. Instead, gigawatt-hours is how you should measure energy needs, in the same way that the right way to measure ‘water needs’ is gigalitres. If you want to know how much water comes off your roof each year, you wouldn’t measure the width of your downpipes. In the energy debate, whenever you read GW, look for an ‘h’ at the end. Otherwise, you might be sold a pipeline with 80% of its capacity closed off." Courtesy of Zoe Hilton Link to article in comments.

THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY - JULY 2024, by Sid Crouch, GTTSi Chief Technical Consultant Our electric companies use similar methods to generate electricity, but each models their services based on the unique needs of their customer base. Where you live determines your electricity rate. Whether your state is regulated or deregulated, your electricity costs are affected by many variables including fuel prices, availability, usage patterns, regulatory policy, and infrastructure investment costs. In addition, electric companies typically cannot recover costs when they are incurred (e.g., after a hurricane, tornado, flooding, ice storm). Instead, they are required to present their case to their respective regulatory agency. Usually, the agency will require them to spread out these costs over the physical life of the investment, sometimes as long as 70 years (see NV Energy story). While food inflation has eased over the past several months, electric rates have not, rising 5% from last year and about 30% since 2021. Much of this increase can be attributed to investments in our aging infrastructure – modernizing the grid to accommodate transition to renewables, replacing equipment to handle extreme weather, and preparing for the increase in generation capacity anticipated for AI. According to the Edison Electric Institute, total spending by investor-owned electric utilities from 2022 through 2024 is projected to jump by 11% to $167 billion (about $510 per person in the US). The average cost of electricity is 16.68 ¢/kw-hr. Hawaii has the highest at 45.25 ¢/kw-hr. North Dakota has the lowest at 10.44 ¢/kw-hr. Electricity in the US is still a bargain when compared to Europe where it is 28 ¢/kw-hr (France) to 63.73 ¢/ kw-hr (Italy). I welcome your comments or questions - sid.crouch@gttsi.com #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #electricgrid 

ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME NOVA EXPLOSION EVENT TO OCCUR IN SEPTEMBER In September, a once in a lifetime explosion will occur in the galaxy 3000 light-years away. It is expected to light up our night sky and be visible with the naked eye. This nova explosion is expected to occur when a white dwarf and a red giant star interact. The white dwarf is an incredibly dense remnant of a larger star which is about the size of Earth but has more mass than our Sun. The red giant star is in the final years of its existence and is slowly being stripped of its hydrogen due to the gravitational pull of the white dwarf star. This process is called “star cannibalism” and it results in a tremendous buildup of pressure and heat, which eventually causes a thermonuclear explosion. This explosion does not destroy the stars and so this “nova explosion event” can occur many times and the interval between events can last for hundreds or thousands of years. this nova explosion event seems to occur about every 80 years – thus a once in a lifetime event. Astronomers believe this same event was observed in December 1787 and October 1217. Although this nova explosion will blast away star matter in a blinding light, it won't look like a star explosion that you may have seen in the movies. Instead, to the naked eye, it will look like a new star has appeared in the sky. People with high-powered telescopes will be able to see the nova's brightly colored luminosity in some detail. It will be visible for several days in the area called the Northern Crown. The Northern Crown is a horse-shoe shaped curve of stars west of the Hercules constellation. To find the Northern Crown, locate the two brightest stars (Arcturus and Vega) in the Northern Hemisphere. Tracing a line between these two stars will lead you to the Northern Crown. Exactly when this will occur is unknown, but all signs point to this “nova explosion event” sometime in September. #energy #spacefacts #novaexplosion Photo: Illustration of a White Dwarf and Red Giant Interaction Photo Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss

Eastern U.S. electric loads peaking with the heat as natural gas/coal/nuclear are carrying the load at 83% of the generation while solar and wind combined carrying 7% and hydro/imports from Canada and gas based imports from the South carrying most of the rest at 4 pm EDT as pictured below. These regions (PJM, NYISO, ISO-NE, MISO and SPP) covers from Virginia north to Maine out the Dakotas, Nebraska, down to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana and everywhere in between covering 160 million people. Got to wonder how if we affordably and reliably serve load and at the same time follow the EPA GHG rules and close the coal units carrying 24% right now and essentially eliminate new natural gas generation that is 44% currently, all while its is hot and calm in the Plains. We cannot run a world class economy and provide affordable energy for all using mostly intermittent wind and solar resources nor can we produce and afford enough batteries to back-up the grid when the wind does blow and/or the sun does not shine. Having energy balance with significant amounts of affordable, reliable and dispatchable fossil and nuclear generation is critical if you what the quality of life all are used to in the U.S. to continue. This lines up with our mission at Florida Municipal Power Agency, to provide low cost, reliable power for everyone while continuing reduce emissions.

WARING: A VULNERABLE GRID FOR SUMMER   The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is warning that the summer grid outlook for the U.S., is vulnerable.  Significant regional variations could influence grid stability this summer for a number of reasons including: -Variable renewable energy outputs -Reduced capacity resulting from the retirement of major generators -Surging demand -Transmission and import limitations -Weather-related risks such as drought complications and extended heat waves NERC generally expects the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region to have sufficient resources but could suffer if wind generator performance falls during periods of high demand. New England could be vulnerable due to pending natural gas-fired retirements of 1.4 gigawatts at Constellation’s Mystic Generating Station in Boston. This could push ISO New England (ISO-NE) to “resort to operating procedures for obtaining resources or non-firm supplies from neighboring areas during periods of above-normal peak demand or low-resource conditions.” According to POWER, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is grappling with “vigorous growth in both loads and solar and wind resources,” NERC noted. ERCOT’s CEO Pablo Vegas reported in April that their grid is bracing for exponential demand growth driven by crypto mining, data centers and artificial intelligence, electrification in the oil and gas industries, and potential impacts from the hydrogen economy. NERC warned that the region already faces risks of emergency conditions in the summer evening hours, as solar generation diminishes. Grid conditions in South Texas are most vulnerable when the demand is high and wind and solar generation is low, straining the transmission system which in turn necessitates generation curtailments to prevent overloading the transmission lines to avoid cascading outages. POWER also noted that in the West, California will benefit from new solar and battery resources and their current hydro resources. However, the region is banking on the completion of new generation from solar and battery (totaling nearly 6 GW of nameplate capacity). Based on a “probabilistic assessment” performed by WECC (Western Electricity Coordinating Council) the risks of load loss are like last summer.  Therefore, the outlook is dependent on just how much of the area’s new solar and battery resources will be completed over the summer. Added to everything else, summer brings the need for more air conditioning, especially with extended heat waves. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms can disrupt transmission. Addressing these pressures involves coordinated efforts in infrastructure investment, policy reform, technological innovation, and enhanced cybersecurity measures is the only way to keep our grid from being vulnerable. #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #electricgrid photo credit: cw39.com

REASON TO BEWARE? ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE ENERGY SECTOR Now that Artificial Intelligence is creeping into our energy sector, experts agree that we need passage of new legislation to safeguard Americans from data breaches made possible by AI. AI energy products rely on an extensive amount of consumer data such as when homeowners turn on their lights, what products are being charged, or what products stay plugged in for immediate access.  We need to restrict access to this type of sensitive personal data, and we don’t have a specific federal privacy law that does that. Products like ChatGPT — a free language processing tool that produces human-like responses to random questions — present both positive and negative concerns to the energy industry.  While it could streamline electricity distribution and cut emissions, it could also be used to disrupt or damage our electrical infrastructure. Therefore, protecting the energy sector is a vital concern. We already know that our electric grid is vulnerable to data breaches, and intrusions by AI software tied to the grid — malign or otherwise — could lead to the unwanted disclosure of sensitive personal data like electricity billing records, home addresses and phone numbers, and energy use patterns that reflect when a person is home. All that information could be used for phishing attempts or physical break-ins. At oil and gas operations where AI is also being deployed, breaches could reveal confidential business information and grind electricity production to a halt. The AI debate is a delicate one. The technology isn’t just one thing.  It describes a sweeping set of products that learn data and generate novel content, in some cases even refining and improving results over time. It’s already used across the health care and entertainment sectors. With energy, there are a range of applications. AI software can be used to optimize electricity distribution based on supply and demand trends. At oil and gas operations, similar software can be used to sift through reams of data to identify and rectify a disruption. AI-powered drones can quickly assess whether damaged power lines should be replaced after storms, and the technology can analyze seismic data to determine optimal spots for oil and gas drilling. The rapid emergence of AI also comes amid a regulatory vacuum that needs to be filled. “There are risks especially within the energy space,” said Brandon Pugh, policy director for Cybersecurity and emerging threats at the R Street Institute, a free market think tank. “ “We will explore why a national data privacy standard is foundational to both protecting people’s data privacy and promoting innovation,” said E&C (Energy & Commerce) Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers last week in a statement. “It’s how America ... leads the future on artificial intelligence.” #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #ai