NERC: Summer Grid Outlook Improved But Still Vulnerable to Extreme Weather, Demand Growth Spikes

All regions across the bulk power system (BPS) are generally prepared to meet resource adequacy criteria to meet normal peak demand this summer, but ongoing concerns about extreme weather events, rapid demand growth, and systemic vulnerabilities still pose significant risks for supply shortfalls and grid reliability, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned.

NERC’s May 15–issued 2024 Summer Reliability Assessment points to significant regional variations that could influence grid stability under more extreme conditions. Wildcard risks include variable renewable energy outputs, reduced capacity stemming from the retirement of major generators, surging demand growth, transmission and import limitations, drought complications, and other weather-related risks, including extended heat waves.

A Regional Breakdown

NERC generally expects the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region to have sufficient resources, including firm imports for normal summer peak demand. However, it suggests new solar and natural gas–fired generation and additional demand response (DR) resources are offset by generator retirements, lower firm imports, and increased reserve requirements. In particular, the region could suffer if wind generator performance flails during periods of high demand. MISO, notably, is cognizant of its reliability vulnerabilities, and it has taken concerted steps to guard against several critical challenges.

In New England, Constellation’s pending retirement of two natural gas–fired units at the 1.4-GW Mystic Generating Station in Boston on May 31 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.”

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is grappling with “vigorous growth in both loads and solar and wind resources,” NERC noted. On April 23, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas reported the grid is bracing for exponential demand growth driven by crypto mining, data centers and artificial intelligence (AI), electrification in the oil and gas industries, and potential impacts from the hydrogen economy.

The grid operator and reliability entity said it would adapt and plan differently to meet a load growth projection of about 152 GW by 2030—40 GW higher than the same forecast a year before. NERC, in its assessment, warned the region already faces risks of emergency conditions in the summer evening hours, as solar generation ramps down. But contributing to the elevated risk is a potential need, under certain grid conditions, “to limit power transfers from South Texas into the San Antonio region,” it noted. These grid conditions can occur when demand is high and wind and solar output is low in specific areas, straining the transmission system and necessitating South Texas generation curtailments and potential firm load shedding to avoid cascading outages. “Conditions could cause overloads on the lines that make up the South Texas export and import interfaces, necessitating South Texas generation curtailments and potential firm load shedding to avoid cascading outages,” it said.

In the West, California will benefit from new solar and battery resources—which have ramped up on-peak reserve margins by 47%, and the region’s hydropower resources appear healthy. However, the region is banking on new generation additions. “Probabilistic assessments performed by WECC show that the risks of load loss are similar to Summer 2023, ranging from negligible to 0.8 loss of load hours (LOLH) depending on how much of the area’s new solar and battery resources (totaling nearly 6 GW of nameplate capacity) are completed over the summer,” NERC said. Extreme demand could pose risks in the Baja (Mexico) portion. In the Southwest, where an ongoing severe drought persists, extreme conditions—surging demand or low resource output—could require additional non-firm imports from neighboring areas.

A significant drought is also posing risks for British Columbia, which has seen a dramatic upsurge of peak demand (600 MW or about 7.4%) since 2023 and contributed to a drop in the anticipated reserve margin by more than 10 percentage points. Saskatchewan, a winter-peaking area, also faces significant demand during extremely hot weather conditions. “The probability of experiencing a shortage in operating reserves during peak load periods, or EEAs, may increase if significant generation forced outages happen at the same time as planned maintenance outages during the high-demand months of June through September,” NERC said.

NERC’s 2024 Summer Reliability Assessment (SRA) finds that a large part of North America remains at risk of supply shortfalls, while other areas show reduced risk due to resource additions. Expected wide-area heat events that affect generation, wind output, or transmission systems coupled with demand growth in some areas are contributing to adequacy risks for resources and transmission. All areas are assessed to have adequate supply for normal peak load due, in large part, to a record 25 GW of additional solar capacity added since last year. However, energy risks are growing in several areas when solar, wind, and hydro output are low. Courtesy: NERC — NERC’s 2024 Summer Reliability Assessment (SRA) finds that a large part of North America remains at risk of supply shortfalls, while other areas show reduced risk due to resource additions. Expected wide-area heat events that affect generation, wind output, or transmission systems coupled with demand growth in some areas are contributing to adequacy risks for resources and transmission. All areas are assessed to have adequate supply for normal peak load due largely to a record 25 GW of additional solar capacity added since last year. However, energy risks are growing in several areas when solar, wind, and hydro output are low. Courtesy: NERC

A Complex Risk Environment

NERC’s 2024 assessment is notably less intense than the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) enterprise’s past summer evaluations, which have flagged energy shortfalls for often large swathes of the North American bulk power system.

“All of our assessment areas have adequate resources for normal peak load conditions. There’s been a lot of new resource additions, a lot of solar came on the system, and we’ve had more capacity stick around in some areas that were of concern in the past and that has helped,” Mark Olson, NERC’s manager of Reliability Assessments, said in a call with reporters on Wednesday. “There’s also been more demand-side management program enrollment in many of the assessment areas.”

However, as in the past, NERC notes the potential for extreme temperature across much of North America. “A large part of North America could be at risk of supply shortfalls during heat waves and extreme summer conditions that can affect generation, wind output, or the transmission systems,” he said. Additionally, although the North American Drought Monitor indicates some improvement in drought conditions compared to last year, moderate to extreme drought still persists in much of Canada and the US Southwest, he noted. “Drought can affect some resource adequacy and bulk power system reliability by contributing to high temperatures in wide areas also elevates wildfire risk, which can affect transmission, and it can and of course route can affect the hydroelectric output,” he said.

This year, however, the power sector is also grappling with distinct challenges. NERC has already flagged many of these, which it suggests are contributing to a “hypercomplex risk” environment that could affect grid reliability and security.

See more: Eight Critical REliability Challenges NERC is Confronting for Grid Stability.

A Clear Signal: Demand Growth

According to Olson, a significant factor relates to growing demand. While demand growth is not uniform everywhere, “there’s a very clear signal of demand growth,” he noted. Demand growth is especially notable in ERCOT, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and British Columbia. “Drivers for demand growth in the areas vary and conclude demographic changes and economic activity, but also new data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities in some areas are contributing higher to higher demand forecasts,” he noted.

In April, NERC CEO Jim Robb honed in on this point, noting the rapid expansion of energy-intensive operations introduces variability and unpredictability into the grid, complicating demand management and planning, he said. “You know, the electric industry hasn’t grown appreciably over the last 10 to 20 years because of all the success we’ve had around energy efficiency and demand response, appliance turnover. The growth rate that we forecasted last year, and peak load growth, versus the changes in the previous 10 years is like twice—2x—what it was,” he said.

Olson, however, also noted that resource additions in many areas previously identified at risk last year now exceed rising demand forecasts. “I’ll note that in ERCOT, where some of the most data center and crypto mining development is occurring, and some of these large loads participate in demand side management programs that can help offset their impact,” he said. The Southwest Power Pool has also added significant wind capacity and can now count on more generators than it did last year, he noted. New firm transfer agreements, growth in distributed resources, and postponed generator retirements are also contributing to an overall improved resource outlook for the upcoming summer, he said.

Overall capacity additions are mounting at a record pace. For example, since last summer, 25 GW of nameplate solar capacity have been added to the BPS, up from 19 GW the year before, Olson noted. “And notice, really significant amounts of batteries were added in ERCO, California, and the California Mexico assessment area.”

Energy Risks Persist

Still, energy risks persist, NERC warned. Energy risks are potential future electricity supply shortfalls under normal as well as extreme conditions, essentially presenting a “forward-looking snapshot” of resource adequacy that is tied to industry forecasts of electricity supplies, demand, and transmission development.

Olson on Wednesday pointed to a slide depicting ERCOT’s energy risk. “As we said, all areas have adequate resources, but energy risks emerge in areas that do not have enough dispatchable generators or dispatchable resources to counter periods when solar, wind, or hydro output are low. And so what this slide is showing is the results of ERCOT’s probabilistic reserve risk model, which is part of their seasonal assessment process developed, and what this simulation shows is an elevated risk of having to declare energy emergency alerts during evening hours on the peak load day in August, which is their summer peak load month.” ERCOT’s risk can reach up to an 18% likelihood of an energy emergency alert between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. as solar generation diminishes, he said.

Other risks include unexpected tripping of inverter-based resources (IBRs). NERC has long warned about these risks and has recently set out to address them. IBRs respond differently to grid disturbances, he explained. “There’s been problems with ride-through in the past, leading to large amounts of solar to drop offline, and now that is extended—battery resources as well could be affected by that. So it’s something for operators to be aware of,” he said.

NERC said it does not foresee any problems for the upcoming summer related to the availability of natural gas. “There’s high levels of storage in the natural gas stores. What needs to be stressed with both grid and gas system operators is the importance of coordination for maintenance periods on the gas systems so that we can ensure fuel availability for gas-fired generation,” Olson said.

Finally, NERC flagged ongoing impacts from the supply chain crunch, warning that it could cause construction delays. Supply chain issues are already “delaying some new resource and transmission projects, raising concerns that some may not be completed prior to peak summer conditions,” NERC noted. Lead times for transformers, circuit breakers, transmission cables, switchgear, and insulators have “increased significantly since 2020,” it said.

Olson, however, also pointed to difficulties in procuring PV panels, warning that longer lead times could affect new project construction, existing asset upgrades, pre-seasonal maintenance, and the interconnection of new resources and customers.

Olson noted that last year, “there were quite a number of resources that were still in development to connect over the course of the summer, and really over the over the course of the year. What wound up being connected was less than what was projected by, you know, by a sizable amount. The so we’re in what we’re interested in is in areas particularly risk areas,” he explained.

Areas that could bear the brunt of supply chain delays may be focused in the Western Interconnection, where “several gigawatts of new battery resources and some solar resources are in development,” Olson added. “Those areas are planning on those [assets] being available to meet demand when summer conditions get their toughest, which is kind of late in the summer.”

NERC suggests long-term mitigation strategies should include lengthening ongoing construction timelines and ordering surplus inventory in advance. “Should project delays emerge, affected GOs and Transmission Owners (TO) must communicate changes to BAs, Transmission Operators (TOP), and RCs so that impacts are understood and steps are taken to reduce risks of capacity deficiencies or energy shortfalls,” it said.

—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).

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World’s Largest Concrete Thermal Energy Storage Pilot Successfully Tested

Energy Storage

World's Largest Concrete Thermal Energy Storage Pilot Successfully Tested

EPRI, in collaboration with Southern Company and Storworks, has recently completed testing of a pilot concrete thermal energy storage (CTES) system at Alabama Power’s Ernest C. Gaston Electric Generating plant (Gaston) marking the largest such pilot in the world. The technology was developed by Storworks.

The 10-MW-hour-electric (MWhe) energy storage solution (Figure 1) is charged using heat from supercritical steam generated by Gaston’s Unit 5. As designed, high-pressure steam from the power plant flows through tubes, heating the concrete, which stores the thermal energy until it is returned to the power plant by converting feedwater into steam to generate electricity in response to grid demand. The project received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy under award DE-FE0031761.

*1. A 10-MWhe first-of-its-kind concrete energy storage demonstration was constructed and successfully tested at Southern Company’s Gaston coal-fired generating plant. Courtesy: Storworks*

The technology can be applied to existing or new thermal power plants, including coal, natural gas, nuclear, or concentrating solar power. The core technology can go beyond electric power to applications including decarbonizing industrial heat.

“Advancements in long-duration energy storage are key to unlocking the full potential of variable renewable energy resources on the path to net-zero,” said Neva Espinoza, EPRI vice president of Energy Supply and Low-Carbon Resources. “As the power sector navigates a highly complex transition, CTES could play an important role in efficiently delivering the reliable and affordable electricity society depends on.”

The CTES pilot system, temporarily integrated into the unit at Gaston, proved the technology’s potential to store thermal energy for conversion to electricity when combined with thermal power plants. The original goals of the project were exceeded, as steam production at several pressure levels was demonstrated. More than 80 energy charge and discharge cycles were also successfully performed over 700 hours of total operation.

“Southern Company is deeply committed to advancing the transition to a net-zero future, while ensuring the delivery of clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy,” said Dr. Mark S. Berry, Southern Company senior vice president of Research, Environment, and Sustainability. “As a leader in research and development, Southern Company is exploring the potential of CTES technology to help decarbonize electricity production. We are excited to be pioneering this groundbreaking research demonstration in collaboration with EPRI, Storworks, and our subsidiary, Alabama Power.”

“We appreciate the vision and support from our partners that made this pilot demonstration possible,” said Scott Frazer, co-founder of Storworks. “Low-cost long-duration energy storage is increasingly critical in the shift to low-cost intermittent renewable energy, and the Gaston project represents an important milestone in advancing the commercialization of our technology. With industry-leading low cost, Storworks’ modular system can be tailored to a range of applications for both power plants and industrial decarbonization solutions.”

CTES can give grid operators greater flexibility by allowing them to store energy when it is not needed and then provide it when it is most valuable. EPRI will continue to evaluate the feasibility of CTES and other long-duration energy storage options as part of the clean energy transition.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by EPRI’s Communications department.

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America Exceeds Five Million Solar Installations Nationwide

Renewables

America Exceeds Five Million Solar Installations Nationwide

The U.S. has officially exceeded five million solar installations, marking a significant achievement in the nation’s clean energy transition. This milestone comes just eight years after the U.S. reached one million installations in 2016—a milestone that took 40 years to achieve following the first grid-connected solar installation in 1973.

According to data released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie on May 16, more than half of all U.S. solar installations have come online since the start of 2020 and more than 25% have come online since the Inflation Reduction Act became law just 20 months ago. These systems are installed on homes, businesses, and in large ground-mounted arrays across the country.

“Solar is scaling by the millions because it consistently delivers on its promise to lower electricity costs, boost community resilience, and create economic opportunities,” said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Today 7% of homes in America have solar, and this number will grow to over 15% of U.S. homes by 2030. Solar is quickly becoming the dominant source of electricity on the grid, allowing communities to breathe cleaner air and lead healthier lives.”

Despite state policy changes, market trends continue to suggest significant growth in states across the country. SEIA forecasts that solar installations in the U.S. will double to 10 million by 2030 and triple to 15 million by 2034.

The residential sector accounts for 97% of all solar installations in the U.S. (Figure 1). This sector has set annual installation records for five consecutive years and 10 of the last 12 years. Residential solar is growing at a historic rate because it is a proven investment for homeowners looking to take control of their energy costs.

*1. SEIA says 7% of homes in the U.S. have solar today. It predicts this number will grow to more than 15% of U.S. homes by 2030. Source: POWER*

Today, 11 U.S. states and territories have more than 100,000 systems installed. California leads the nation with 2 million solar installations, but recent policy decisions in the state have harmed the rooftop solar market. Several other states are seeing rapid growth. Illinois was an emerging market with only 2,500 solar installations in 2017, and today, the state is home to more than 87,000 solar systems. Florida is another market experiencing substantial growth, increasing from 22,000 installations in 2017 to 235,000 installations today.

By 2030, 22 states or territories are expected to exceed 100,000 solar installations. The U.S. now has enough solar installations to cover every residential rooftop in the four corners states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by SEIA’s Communications department.

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Borehole Battery: A Promising Solution for Energy Storage

Energy Storage

Borehole Battery: A Promising Solution for Energy Storage

For more than a century, fossil fuel companies have drilled oil and gas wells to increase the production, consumption, and export of fossil fuels. These wells are often abandoned once they are no longer profitable, and are sometimes left unplugged or improperly plugged, causing local environmental hazards and contributing to global climate change. There are more than 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S. and, according to Reuters, there may be as many as 29 million oil wells abandoned globally. Abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells pose significant public health problems and threats to the environment.

A properly abandoned oil well is permanently taken out of production and is typically sealed or plugged to prevent the release of oil, gas, or other substances into the environment. The responsibility for properly abandoning a well usually lies with the well operator. An orphaned oil well is one where the original well operator is no longer in business or cannot be identified. Orphaned wells pose environmental and financial challenges because there may be no responsible party to carry out proper closure and environmental remediation. An idle oil well refers to a well that is temporarily not producing oil or gas but has the potential to be brought back into production. It might be shut down for maintenance, repairs, or due to economic factors such as fluctuating oil prices.

There is a growing discussion that idle wells could be plugged while also repurposing the existing infrastructure for social and environmental beneﬁts. Idle wells are preferred over abandoned and orphaned wells for repurposing because 80% of U.S. oil and natural gas production sites are documented as low production averaging less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Furthermore, choosing to plug and repurpose a low-producing well offers owners a strategic advantage in preparing for the “end-of-life” of thousands more wells that will soon become idle with the enforcement of costly penalties for methane emissions.

To repurpose and plug an idle oil well, Geo2Watts has developed a “Borehole Battery” comprised of a concentrating solar power (CSP) parabolic trough (Figure 1), paired with silicon dioxide (sand) packed into a borehole to plug and store thermal energy for generating dispatchable electricity from renewable sources. With this concept solar power heats sand in a closed-loop pipe extended into the borehole, storing heat at about 200C. When solar irradiance decreases during cloudy days and at night, the stored heat is released to an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant, operating optimally at 150C. This integrated plugging system for continuous heat storage and extraction can provide both baseload and dispatchable electricity, commanding premium prices.

1. The Borehole Battery uses a concentrating solar power parabolic trough to heat sand in a closed-loop pipe, which extends into an idle oil well borehole, storing heat at about 200C. Courtesy: Geo2Watts

Sand’s ability to serve both as a heat transfer and insulating material is intriguing. This dual functionality is attributed to significant variations in thermal conductivity influenced by factors such as porosity, granularity, moisture content, and mineralogy. This unique characteristic allows sand to be effectively utilized for storing heat energy in idle oil wells whereby the heat can be produced by solar energy and circulated throughout the borehole. After extracting the heat from the sand, the cooled sand can be reheated with solar energy for storage within the well until the next cycle. This creates a closed-loop system, whereby the sand is repeatedly heated and cooled for continuous energy storage and extraction.

California’s electricity grid heavily relies on solar and wind energy, posing challenges in balancing supply and demand due to their intermittent nature. The state’s ambitious renewable energy goals sometimes result in surplus solar and wind power, particularly during certain times of day or year. To address this, the demand for dispatchable long-duration energy storage (LDES) could potentially reach 52 GW by 2045, if California’s plan to retire gas generation is successful. LDES will be increasingly more in demand for grids as global clean power generation increases and thermal energy storage emerges as a key competitive option offering lower lifecycle costs, better safety, easier maintenance, and less dependence on critical raw materials. Consider that lithium-ion batteries currently supply more than 90% of the world’s battery energy storage with short-duration eight-hour capacity.

In comparison to a lithium-ion battery, the Borehole Battery emerges as a more economical and environmentally friendly LDES option for producing dispatchable electricity. Its abundance, affordability, versatility, and non-toxic favorable thermal properties position it as a sustainable energy storage solution capable of meeting the demands of an increasingly renewable energy–dependent grid.

—Phil Cruver is founder and CEO of Geo2Watts, which has developed a novel thermal energy storage technology using sand as a Borehole Battery. Geo2Watts is targeting California’s 37,000 idle oil wells for repurposing to produce dispatchable zero-emissions electricity energized by Inflation Reduction Act tax benefits.

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BESS Failures: Study Identifies Opportunities for Battery Analytics to Prevent Incidents

Energy Storage

BESS Failures: Study Identifies Opportunities for Battery Analytics to Prevent Incidents

TWAICE, a Germany-based provider of battery analytics software, along with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have published a joint study analyzing the root causes of battery energy storage system (BESS) failure incidents.

The groups have aggregated data about why battery systems have failed. The report made available publicly May 15 is designed to help guide efforts to mitigate storage incidents in the future and minimize BESS risk.

The report draws primarily from EPRI’s BESS Failure Incident Database, which the authors updated and analyzed to categorize failure incidents by cause and failed element. Of the 81 events in the database, 26 had sufficient information to establish a root cause. TWAICE engineers worked with EPRI and PNNL to classify these failure incidents, applying their expertise in battery analysis to determine causes and categorize them.

Want to learn more about battery energy storage systems (BESS), including the latest information on battery technology, and also safety concerns around BESS installations? Register now to be part of Experience POWER Week, including the Distributed Energy Conference, Oct. 9-11, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.

Their findings ultimately showed that BESS failures can be linked to the design, manufacturing, integration, and operation phases of a project, and that while codes, standards, and manufacturing expertise serve as a mitigation in design and manufacturing, there is a gap in safety practices in the integration and operation phases of a project. Opposite to popular belief, the engineers determined only three failures could be traced to defects on the cell or module, underscoring the need for tools that enable improved commissioning and operational analysis of the entire system.

“Understanding the reasons behind battery storage failures is critical for preventing them, which is why we’re pleased to help create this new framework for classifying failure incidents,” said Ryan Franks of TWAICE. “The report emphasizes the importance of battery analytics, with most of the failures traced to the integration and operation stages. We believe this new resource will help guide further development of analytics software that can ensure BESS safety. We’re honored to support EPRI in the publication of this report and thankful for the collaboration of their engineers and those from PNNL.”

In underscoring the importance of battery analytics and its future development, the report lays the foundation for a more resilient and secure energy storage infrastructure. The analysis of failure incidents demonstrates that, while manufacturing defects do contribute to some failures, operators must pay equal attention to potential errors during the design, integration, and operation of BESS units. Analytics software is ideally suited to detect these incidents before they lead to a system failure, and the publication of this report should help guide the development of mitigation strategies, which include the deployment of battery analytics.

The groups are presenting a summary of the report at the Energy Storage Safety and Reliability Forum at PNNL this week.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by a public relations firm representing TWAICE.

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Clean Energy Group Receives Financing for New York Community Solar Project

Renewables

Clean Energy Group Receives Financing for New York Community Solar Project

A company that supports solar power and battery energy storage systems (BESS) is part of a project that will support a portfolio of community solar projects across the state of New York.

Houston, Texas-headquartered Catalyze, which finances, builds, owns, and operates solar and BESS installations, on May 15 said it had secured $100 million in financing from NY Green Bank, a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to support a 79-MW portfolio of community distributed generation (CDG) solar projects. The installations will be designed to provide renewable energy to disadvantaged communities, and also are part of New York’s strategy to meet the state’s decarbonization goals.

“We are excited to leverage our extensive community solar expertise to ensure the success of NY Green Bank’s term loan supporting a community distributed generation (CDG) portfolio,” said Jared Haines, CEO of Catalyze. “CDG is one of the most effective means of making solar energy more accessible to low-to-moderate income communities, and we look forward to how this partnership will support both the goals of NY Green Bank and New York State.”

Want to learn more about community solar and how it is improving access to renewable energy? Register now to be part of Experience POWER Week, including the Distributed Energy Conference, Oct. 9-11, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.

The transaction announced Wednesday advances NY Green Bank’s commitment to an equitable energy transition by requiring that a significant percentage of solar project subscribers benefit disadvantaged communities. The deal will advance New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of installing 6 GW of distributed solar by 2025, on the path to 10 GW by 2030.

“NY Green Bank is pleased to support Catalyze, which is increasingly focused on New York State-based CDG solar projects and equitable energy solutions,” said Andrew Kessler, president of NY Green Bank. “As our first term loan using a sale-leaseback structure for a CDG portfolio, coupled with a minimum 65% subscriber commitment benefiting historically disadvantaged communities, this transaction underscores NY Green Bank’s unique ability to provide innovative financing solutions that support the equitable distribution of clean energy.”

This loan continues Catalyze’s growing presence in New York State, having recently announced projects reaching operation in Lancaster and Amherst. The company is leveraging its proprietary suite of technology to bring innovative solar development practices to the region.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by a public relations firm representing Catalyze.

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PG&E Recognized for Remote Grid Program

Sustainability

PG&E Recognized for Remote Grid Program

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and its remote grid program received an honorable mention in the Energy category of Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards. Winners were announced on May 14, highlighting fresh sustainability initiatives, cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) developments, and other creative projects that are helping mold the world.

PG&E is one of the first energy companies in North America to deploy standalone power systems as an alternative customer service offering to electricity provided through traditional grid infrastructure. Throughout PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile Northern and Central California service area, pockets of remote customers are served via long electric distribution lines that in many cases traverse high-fire-risk areas. Replacing these overhead powerlines with a reliable and low-carbon local energy source is an innovative option that, in many cases, is preferred for serving customers at the edges of the grid. Remote grids operate independently from the larger electric grid that delivers energy throughout the state, and they allow PG&E to remove overhead powerlines, significantly reducing wildfire risk and service interruptions.

World Changing Ideas

This year’s World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 50 winners, 127 finalists, and 172 honorable mentions—with health, education, energy, and AI among the most popular categories. A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners from a pool of more than 1,300 entries from across the globe, including the Republic of Korea, Brazil, and Madagascar.

“Recognition of PG&E’s remote grid program as a Fast Company 2024 World Changing Idea validates our commitment to deploy energy innovations at greater speed and deliver the best possible customer experiences,” said Mike Delaney, vice president, Utility Partnerships and Innovation, PG&E. “PG&E is where innovation goes to scale and where innovators come to grow, and I want to thank our program collaborators, our regulators and state agencies, our customers, and our co-workers who made the idea of widely deployed remote grids a reality through breakthrough thinking and swift execution.”

“I was struck this year by the global sweep of the honorees,” Fast Company Editor-in-Chief Brendan Vaughan said. “It’s endlessly inspiring to see how the world is coming together to devise inventive solutions to our most challenging problems. We need ideas from everywhere, and this year’s World Changing Ideas Awards are an extraordinary encapsulation of the innovation and creativity that is so abundant around the globe.”

Scaling Remote Grids: From Briceburg to Pepperwood and Beyond

PG&E deployed its first remote grid in 2021 in Briceburg, California, near Yosemite National Park. The Briceburg remote grid has been a testament to resilience, maintaining superior power reliability with almost no downtime for the five customers it has served since June 2021. The standalone power system, which replaced 1.3 miles of overhead distribution lines, has generated more than 90% of its power from solar energy. Backup generators support redundancy and power generation during winter months when solar generation is lower due to shorter days and cloudier weather. The Briceburg system has remained operational throughout several severe weather events over the last few years when nearby customers lost power during fires and winter storms.

In November 2023, PG&E deployed its fifth—and first fully renewable—remote grid at Pepperwood Preserve outside Santa Rosa, California. The Pepperwood system is comprised of solar and battery energy storage, and includes energy efficiency upgrades to the property it serves to keep from draining the batteries during periods of no or low solar generation, minimizing the likelihood of a power outage. The new system replaces 0.7 miles of overhead distribution line, eliminating the associated wildfire risk, and complementing Pepperwood’s own initiatives in wildfire resilience.

Today, PG&E celebrates the continued expansion of its remote grid program, with a half dozen new systems being built in 2024, allowing PG&E to remove an additional six miles of overhead power lines while enabling six customers to continue receiving safe, reliable, affordable, low-carbon, and wireless energy.

PG&E has worked with Potelco Inc. and Grass Valley, California–based BoxPower to design and build its growing remote grid fleet. Richmond, California–based New Sun Road provides the remote monitoring and control platform for managing PG&E’s remote grids. These companies represent a growing ecosystem of microgrid vendors working alongside PG&E to design, deploy, and scale standalone power systems as a service offering.

Including the new systems to be deployed in the coming months, PG&E will soon reach up to 12 total remote grids powering 18 customers while removing nearly 13 miles of overhead electric distribution lines at the grid edge in high-fire-threat areas. PG&E has identified many additional locations where remote grids may be the most effective way of reducing wildfire risk and improving electric reliability, with additional sites either in development or being assessed in Butte, Glenn, and Tehama counties, among others.

Remote grids are primarily identified, designed, and deployed as part of PG&E’s system hardening work, which prioritizes hardening powerlines based on elevated wildfire risk and geographic considerations. In addition to remote grids, PG&E’s system hardening efforts include undergrounding, installing stronger and more resilient poles, and replacing bare powerlines with larger, covered lines.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by a public relations firm representing PG&E.

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Siemens Collaborating With Kontrolmatik, Pomega on Battery Engineering

Electrification

Siemens Collaborating With Kontrolmatik, Pomega on Battery Engineering

The market for customizable, scalable, turnkey energy storage solutions continues to evolve, as companies look at providing systems that will work from an individual application level all the way to grid and utility-scale deployment.

Kontrolmatik, an Istanbul, Turkey-headquartered systems integrator and global engineering, procurement, and construction leader in power generation, transmission, and distribution, and its U.S.-based subsidiary Pomega Energy, a battery manufacturer, on May 14 announced an engineering alliance with Siemens. The global collaboration is focused on building a sustainable battery ecosystem to enable the transition to a decarbonized energy system, as Pomega Energy Storage Technologies USA and Kontrolmatik USA ramp up their energy storage operations in North America.

“The collaboration with Siemens provides Kontrolmatik the opportunity to establish our two companies as engineering, integration, and software collaborators. In return, Kontrolmatik and Pomega have offered to help standardize Siemens automation equipment and software solutions. Kontrolmatik and Pomega continuously look for opportunities to stay at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, and working with Siemens is to our continued success,” said Saim Hacıağaoğlu, deputy general manager with Pomega Energy Storage Technologies.

The collaboration will expand the global reach of all three companies and further their efforts in sustainable energy storage. As Siemens continues to help companies ramp up battery manufacturing in the U.S. with their end-to-end technology, from supply chain to recycling to reuse, they look forward to collaborating with strong industry partners. Kontrolmatik and Pomega will standardize the use of Siemens solutions with full ongoing support and optimization, particularly for Pomega’s first lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery factory in Turkey.

“I am thrilled to express my enthusiasm and optimism about the exciting collaboration between Siemens, Kontrolmatik, and Pomega,” said Jefi Bardavit, account manager at Siemens Digital Industries.“The prospect of forging a global alliance is truly inspiring and marks a significant milestone in our partnership, symbolizing a commitment to innovation, efficiency, and cutting-edge technology.”

Bardavit added, “The synergy between Siemens, Kontrolmatik, and Pomega is poised to redefine industry standards and create transformative solutions. Together, we are paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in the fields we serve. This alliance aligns with our shared values and goals and reinforces our dedication to delivering unparalleled value to our clients worldwide. I am eager to witness our positive impact and look forward to a future of continued success and growth.”

The three companies also have an alliance with the University of South Carolina (USC), focused on education, workforce, and research. Pomega is building a pilot battery production line in South Carolina featuring Siemens’ automation and software solutions, scheduled for completion at the end of this year. Through Siemens’ collaboration with academia, they have donated much of the software at USC.

William E. Mustain, Ph.D., associate dean for Research and professor of Chemical Engineering at the school, said, “USC is in the middle of a significant expansion of its battery pilot manufacturing and testing capabilities—built on 30 years of investment and research in batteries. Realizing a facility that we are designing requires partners who share your vision and bring their unique skills to the project, we believe we have found the right partners for success with Siemens, Kontrolmatik, and Pomega.”

Mustain added, “This team’s combined business, science, and technology experience creates something where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, forming a strong foundation to drive a sustainable education, innovation, and business model for our state. Siemens strongly supports students here at USC and has demonstrated their commitment to education. The resources they provide related to digital design and operation allow our students to be ready on day one after graduation to contribute to the energy community.”

The market for batteries and sustainable energy solutions is growing rapidly, as there is a need for the decarbonization of transportation and energy systems enabled through a highly sustainable value chain for batteries. Siemens and Kontrolmatik plan to work together to expand the U.S. battery energy storage industry with customized end-to-end solutions made in the U.S. Pomega’s PΩCenter in South Carolina will be one of the first facilities in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to LFP solutions for utility and residential battery storage.

—POWER edited this content, which was contributed by a public relations firm representing Kontrolmatik.

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The POWER Interview: Pumped Storage Project Brings Renewable Energy to Former Coal Mining Site

Interview

The POWER Interview: Pumped Storage Project Brings Renewable Energy to Former Coal Mining Site

A pumped storage project in Kentucky is being touted as a model example of how land that once was the site of a coal mine can be repurposed for a renewable energy installation.

The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, a closed-loop, 287-MW hydropower facility, is being constructed at a site where coal was mined beginning in the 1950s, according to local records. The location in Bell County, near the town of Pineville, is on private land primarily owned by Asher Land and Mineral.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) recently announced that Rye Development, which is overseeing the project, will receive $81 million to support the $1.3 billion installation. Officials said the project is among several pumped storage hydro (PSH) facilities in development in the U.S., while saying Lewis Ridge is notable for being built on land that once housed a coal mining operation. Energy analysts have told POWER pumped storage facilities offer a resilient source of electricity, particularly during extreme weather, which makes them a better investment as such events become more commonplace.

*This land near Pineville, Kentucky, formerly the site of a coal mine, will be repurposed as the location of a pumped storage hydropower facility. Source: Rye Development*

The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations has announced financial support for a handful of projects, associated with different technologies, on former mining land across the U.S.

The DOE in its “U.S. Hydropower Market Report 2023 Edition” said 96 PSH projects were in development at the end of 2022; there were 67 in development at the end of 2019. The DOE said the development pipeline has 91 GW of generation capacity.

The agency said more than 80% of the proposed PSH projects have closed-loop configurations, which means their reservoirs are not continuously connected to a naturally flowing water feature. That allows for more siting flexibility, and usually lower environmental impacts on aquatic and terrestrial resources than open-loop facilities. The proposed storage durations are generally for eight to 12 hours, with Lewis Ridge in the eight-hour range.

*This is a rendering of the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, a hydropower facility being built on the site of a former coal mining operation. Source: Rye Development*

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, at an event earlier this year to celebrate the project, said, “Congratulations to Rye Development and thank you to [Energy] Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the Department of Energy for supporting Kentucky as we continue to meet America’s energy needs. We are so proud to support a project that builds on the region’s strong energy-producing history while creating those 1,530 good jobs that will help power the next generation.”

“President Biden believes that the communities that have powered our nation for the past 100 years should power our nation for the next 100 years,” said Granholm. “Thanks to the president’s Investing in America agenda, DOE is helping deploy clean energy solutions on current and former mine land across the country—supporting jobs and economic development in the areas hit hardest by our evolving energy landscape.”

“This project is not only a significant investment in Kentucky; it’s an investment in strengthening our national electricity grid, helping to secure our energy future,” Paul Jacob, CEO of Rye Development. “The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project will protect against blackouts and brownouts, while transforming a former mining site into a long-term economic engine for the region.”

Sandy Slayton, vice president of Rye Development, provided POWER with insight about the project, which is being built in a state long dependent on coal-fired power. Kentucky ranks seventh among U.S. states in terms of coal production, according to 2023 state data, and coal provides 76% of Kentucky’s energy. That’s the highest percentage of any state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

POWER: What makes the Lewis Ridge project different from other U.S.-based pumped storage projects?

Slayton: The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project showcases the important role former mining lands have in strengthening our national electricity grid. When complete, it would be the first pumped storage hydropower facility in the U.S. built on former mining lands. With the capacity to store electricity for up to eight hours and generate enough electricity to power 67,000 homes, it will help ensure a continuous supply of power even during extreme weather events.

POWER: The project information says 1,500 construction jobs will be created; how many permanent jobs will be created for the facility when it enters commercial operation?

Slayton: The project will create dozens of direct and indirect operational sustainable-wage jobs, including hydropower operators and site maintenance technicians.

POWER: What was the name of the mine that was located at the site?

Slayton: The project site is located in Bell County, Kentucky near the town of Pineville. The entire project boundary is on private lands primarily owned by Asher Land and Mineral. Five coal seams intersect the project area. The first records of coal mining are from the 1950s. Since that time, many mining operations have stopped and started; however, coal extraction has stopped within the project area.

POWER: How much political support has there been for the project, in an area where coal mining has long been a part of the local economy, and in a state where some lawmakers have pushed to keep coal-fired power plants operating even as utilities oppose those efforts?

Slayton: Rye Development is very grateful for the extensive support we’ve received from both Democrats and Republicans for the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project.

POWER: Are there other coal mining sites in Kentucky that could be (or are being) converted to renewable energy installations?

Slayton: Currently, the Lewis Ridge Project is the only pumped storage facility in the U.S. being proposed on former mining lands. Rye Development is excited to bring pumped storage—the largest, most proven energy storage technology—to Kentucky, which has a long legacy of powering the nation.

POWER: Who are some of the companies, such as contractors and equipment suppliers, involved with the Lewis Ridge project?

Slayton: We have been working with many great partners to move the Lewis Ridge project forward. We are collaborating with Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) to attract and train a local workforce for what will be one of the largest infrastructure projects this region has seen in many years. Other key partners during this phase of the project include Kleinschmidt Associates, AECOM, Schnabel Engineering, RESPEC, and Argonne National Lab.

—Darrell Proctor is a senior associate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).

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How Regulatory Burdens and Misguided Incentives Are Degrading Power System Reliability

Legal & Regulatory

How Regulatory Burdens and Misguided Incentives Are Degrading Power System Reliability

It’s no secret that the U.S. electric power system has undergone a remarkable transition that continues today. Coal-fired generation, which was the leading source of power generation during the 20th century, often providing more than half of the country’s electricity supply, fell to about 16.2% of the mix in 2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. solar market installed 32.4 GWdc of electricity-generation capacity last year, a 51% increase from 2022, and the industry’s biggest year by far, exceeding the 30-GWdc threshold for the first time. Solar accounted for 53% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2023, far greater than natural gas and wind, which were second and third on the list, accounting for 18% and 13% of new additions, respectively.

But, how is the shift in resources affecting power system reliability? Some experts say it’s not good. “We’ve got a lot of warning lights that appear to be flashing today,” Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “I say that not just from our perspective, but from NERC [the North American Electric Reliability Corp.]—the reliability coordinator—or from FERC [the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission], who has also expressed concerns, and all of the grid operators around the country have raised concerns about the pace of the energy transition.”

EPSA is the national trade association representing America’s competitive power suppliers. It believes strongly in the value of competition and the benefits competitive markets provide to power customers. “Our members have every incentive to be the least-cost, most-reliable option that’s available, because if you are that resource, you’re going to be the resource that’s selected to run,” said Snitchler.

Yet, not all markets are providing a level playing field, according to Snitchler. “The challenge we’re seeing is that there are a number of resources that are either having regulatory burdens that are placed on them that make them less competitive in comparison to resources that are not facing the same challenges, or there are resources that are highly subsidized, and as a result of those subsidies, it creates an economic disadvantage to unsubsidized resources, and that puts economic pressure on units that would otherwise be able to run and would earn a sufficient amount of revenue to remain on the system,” he explained.

“We’re also seeing a pretty significant acceleration in retirements off of the system of dispatchable resources,” Snitchler continued. “What does that mean? So, of course, it means the coal plants that have been on the system for decades, as a result of economics and environmental policies, are retiring and moving off of the system. You’re seeing some of the older gas units experience the same kind of financial and regulatory pressures, and that is forcing some of them off of the system. And we’re seeing a large penetration of new renewable resources come onto the system that, frankly, are good energy resources, but don’t have the same performance characteristics that the dispatchable resources have.

“And so, we’re having to fill a gap, or as I call it, the delta between aspirational policy goals and operational realities of the system, because too much retirement of dispatchable resources without sufficient resources that can replicate or deliver the same types of services that those dispatchable resources can provide, creates reliability concerns,” said Snitchler.

EPSA is encouraging lawmakers to act. “There’s a clear need for permitting and siting reform,” Snitchler said. “I say that because you’re going to need to be able to accelerate deployment of all types of resources, whether it’s renewable resources and the transmission infrastructure that is needed to move the electrons from where they’re generated to where they’re going to be needed. As well as on the other side of the equation, there’s a need for more pipeline infrastructure to address gas-electric coordination issues.

“As well as the fact that even in a highly renewable penetration scenario, there is still going to be a substantial need for natural gas–fired or other dispatchable generation that can respond quickly and fill the gaps when we don’t have the access to the energy provided by wind and solar, because perhaps the wind isn’t blowing or the sun’s not shining or you have a peak demand event and you really need every electron you can get. You’re going to need those dispatchable resources in order to ensure system reliability,” he said.

Still, Snitchler said solving the problem does not just come down to adding wires and pipes, or getting certain projects approved; it means taking an all-of-the-above approach to keep the system reliable and affordable. He also said it requires acknowledging reality. “It’s going to mean the retention of and addition of new dispatchable resources—primarily gas because of its performance characteristics—in order to ensure that that can happen in a way that is reliable,” he said.

To hear the full interview with Snitchler, which contains more about EPSA, energy policy, load growth, impacts of environmental regulations, the benefits of competitive markets, work EPSA is doing in collaboration with natural gas associations, and more, listen to The POWER Podcast. Click on the SoundCloud player below to listen in your browser now or use the following links to reach the show page on your favorite podcast platform:

The POWER Podcast · 161. How Regulatory Burdens and Misguided Incentives Are Degrading Power System Reliability

For more power podcasts, visit The POWER Podcast archives.

—Aaron Larson is POWER’s executive editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine).

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