Markets
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Markets
Despite COVID-19, ERCOT Expects Record Summer Demand; Retired Coal Plant May Resume Service
Despite uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) again expects to shatter its peak demand record this summer. Factoring in changes to its generation profile, extreme weather, and low wind output, the grid operator expects energy alerts are still possible. ERCOT’s forward-looking projections for capacity, demand, and reserves are murkier, […]
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Geothermal
Is Geothermal Power on the Brink of a Boom?
After several years of stagnancy, prospects for the geothermal power industry are heating up. Over the past year, it has seen a flurry of legislative boosts, an uptick of power purchase agreements, and
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Finance
THE BIG PICTURE (Infographic): Capital Costs
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in February 2020 published capital costs and performance characteristic estimates for 25 new electric power generating technologies. These estimates come from global engineering and design firm Sargent & Lundy (S&L), which the EIA commissioned to help accurately reflect the changing cost of new power generation technologies for the Annual Energy […]
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News
POWER Digest [May 2020]
OPG Reaches First Criticality at Darlington 2, Delays Work at Unit 3. Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) Darlington Unit 2 reactor, the first of four reactors the company is overhauling at the Darlington
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News
A Protocol for Making Renewable Energy Sizing and Selection Decisions
Much has been written about renewable energy, but few stories have focused on the complexity of determining the optimal mix of solar and wind generation, and the kind and amount of energy storage, that
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Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicle Fleets and Load Demand: Are You Ready for the Surge?
Electric vehicle adoption is expected to continue growing, especially in delivery and service company fleets. That means load demand could surge, particularly around charging depots, and utilities must plan
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Gas
Benefits of Battery Storage-Based Black-Start Capability
Maintaining grid reliability and stability is increasingly challenging as renewable energy resources are added to the power mix. Combining battery storage systems with gas turbine units can improve overall
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Supply Chains
What’s the Cheapest New-Build Power Technology?
Onshore wind and photovoltaic (PV) solar power are the cheapest forms of new-build power generation for at least two-thirds of the world’s population, according to analysis published by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). Meanwhile, battery storage has become the lowest-cost new-build technology for peaking purposes in gas-importing regions, such as Europe, China, and Japan. BNEF reported […]
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Renewables
Smart Technology Needs Smart Policy: How Market Structures Cripple Climate Solutions
Here’s the good news: humanity knows how to solve climate change. Wind, solar, energy storage, and efficiency technologies are cost-competitive, fully mature solutions that are ready to be deployed everywhere. Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of new energy to build and continue to get cheaper. COMMENTARY Now the bad news: market inertia […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Fuel Working Group Outlines How U.S. Could Regain Global Leadership
The U.S. will attempt to regain its international standing as a world leader in nuclear energy through a three-pronged strategy that will essentially seek to strengthen the full domestic nuclear fuel cycle, possibly deny imports of nuclear fuel fabricated in Russia or China, and promote advanced reactor technologies. The strategy is outlined in the White […]