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Enverus Expands Renewables Arm, Acquires Spanish Solar Power Group

September 15, 2022

A Texas-based company involved with data analytics for the energy industry is acquiring a Spanish group as part of a continuing effort to expand its offerings in the power generation sector.

Enverus, formerly known as DrillingInfo and a longtime player in the oil and gas industry, on Sept. 14 said it is acquiring RatedPower, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company based in Madrid. Enverus on Wednesday said the addition of RatedPower expands the company’s global footprint and strengthens its offerings for the solar power market.

The deal is part of a quick ramp-up of companies expanding their presence in solar power as the industry rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic, with governments worldwide providing incentives to increase clean energy deployment. Reliance Industries, an India-based multinational group with holdings in energy and other sectors, earlier this month said it has acquired a majority stake in California-based SenseHawk, an early-stage developer of software-based management tools for the solar power industry.

VG-Shipping Oy, the parent company of Finnish marine logistics company Meriaura Oy, in late August announced it will become a majority owner of European solar thermal systems provider Savosolar Oyj.…

Researchers at Sandia Lab Successfully Test New Power Generation Technology

September 13, 2022

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Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico announced they completed a successful test of a new power-generating technology, delivering electricity to the local grid using an energy conversion system that they say could drive a major increase in efficiency for power plants across the U.S. and perhaps the world.

The researchers, in a news release from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy, said they developed a simple recuperated closed-loop Brayton cycle that uses supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the working fluid. The lab said the gas runs through a continuous loop of being pressurized, heated, and expanded through a turbine to generate electricity. After the fluid exits the turbine, it is cooled in a recuperator before returning to a compressor to complete the cycle.

Want to learn more about supercritical CO₂? Read this POWER Interview with a program director from the Gas Technology Institute. And go here to read a library of articles about supercritical CO₂ published by POWER in recent years.…

California Declares Stage 3 Emergency Alert, Warns Rotating Outages Possible

September 7, 2022

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California’s grid operator issued a Stage 3 energy emergency alert (EEA) at 5:17 p.m. PST on Sept. 6, warning it would order rotating power outages to lower soaring power demand and stabilize its grid if necessary.

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) cautiously raised the emergency alert from Stage 2, which it had declared earlier on Tuesday, based on forecasts that the state faced energy deficiency with all available resources in use until 8 p.m. PST. While the EEA 2 alert signaled to grid participants to bid more energy into the market and opened emergency demand response options, the grid operator on Tuesday evening warned that a historic heat wave was compounding tight supply conditions.

An EEA 3 alert means that the ISO is unable to meet minimum contingency reserve requirements. “Maximum conservation efforts are urged,” CAISO said in its EEA 3 notice. “During this time, participating customers will be directed by utilities to use generators approved for emergencies, or to reduce load following the protocols of each utility program.”…

Another Major Leadership Shuffle: PSEG Gets New CEO

September 4, 2022

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PSEG CEO Ralph LaRossa (left) and PSEG’s previous CEO Ralph Izzo (right). Courtesy: PSEG

In another high-profile leadership shuffle at a major U.S. power generating company, PSEG’s longtime president and CEO Ralph Izzo on Sept. 1 passed leadership of the regulated infrastructure company to Ralph LaRossa, who was previously PSEG’s chief operating officer (COO).

Izzo, who will continue to serve as executive chair of the PSEG board until December 2022, will also pass that role to LaRossa. LaRossa will become chair of the PSEG Board on Jan. 1, 2023, when he will also join the executive committee of the PSEG board.

The leadership milestone at PSEG follows several notable leadership changes across the industry in recent months. In August, Entergy Corp. Chairman and CEO Leo P. Denault announced he would retire in 2023, ending a decade-long role as the head of the New Orleans–headquartered power generating giant. Denault will be succeeded by Andrew “Drew” Marsh, Entergy’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer.…

Solar Project Forges a Bright Future for Colorado Steel Mill

August 31, 2022

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The Bighorn Solar farm has been called the future of renewable energy. It’s a project dedicated to providing cleaner power for a major industrial facility, while also investing in the community and preserving local jobs.

When the United Nations and other organizations began discussing how to make industrial processes more sustainable and environmentally friendly, the groups knew it would take buy-in from utilities, businesses, and communities to bring projects to life. Today, the “Greening of Industry” is moving forward, with a shift toward sustainable business practices more prevalent than ever. The transition to a low-carbon economy is being embraced in many sectors, even those traditionally reliant on fossil fuels.

The Bighorn Solar project in Colorado is an example. Bighorn Solar is a 300-MW photovoltaic solar farm, developed by Lightsource bp to power the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain steel mill in Pueblo. Bighorn is at present the largest onsite solar power plant for a U.S. industrial facility, and also the first such facility in the country to be dedicated to a steel mill.…

Pilot Advanced Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing Facility Opens

August 29, 2022

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Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. has opened a pilot fuel manufacturing facility that will produce TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) coated fuel particles and the company’s proprietary fuel for use in its high-temperature gas reactor (HTGR).

The Pilot Fuel Manufacturing (PFM) facility, located at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is one of the first U.S. private sector manufacturing facilities dedicated to developing advanced reactor fuel. It is now ready to process feedstock uranium powder into TRISO fuel particles and subsequently produce Ultra Safe Nuclear’s patented fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel in multiple kilogram quantities, the company said on Aug. 18 as it declared the facility officially open.

The company plans to produce, test, and qualify the fuel at the facility for use in its Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) Energy System, which is a fourth-generation 5-MWe (15-MWth) HTGR, and other advanced terrestrial and space energy systems that it is also developing. Pivotally, the PFM will allow the company to test equipment and processes that could be scaled into larger fuel manufacturing facilities.…