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EIA: Gas, Renewables Outpacing Coal for Power Generation

May 11, 2019

The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise.

EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only about 25% of the nation’s electricity this summer, as renewables including solar, wind, and hydropower take more market share. EIA said renewables will supply nearly a quarter of the power needed in Western states this summer.

The agency said nuclear power, which supplies about 19% of the nation’s electricity, will continue at that level at least through 2020. EIA forecasts that renewables will produce about 18% of U.S. power this year, rising to about 20% next year. The agency said it expects wind generation will surpass hydropower output this year for the first time, taking over the top spot for renewables.

The EIA report comes two weeks after the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported that data shows renewable energy—including hydro, biomass, wind, solar, and geothermal—in April for the first time generated more electricity in the U.S.…

BREAKING: Siemens Abandons Power and Gas Business

May 7, 2019

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Siemens will spin off and give up its majority stake in its lucrative Gas and Power division—comprising its conventional power generation, power transmission, oil and gas, and related services businesses—and transfer its current majority 59% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) to the new business.

The company’s supervisory board announced the spinoff on May 7 as part of its Vision 2020+ strategy concept. The board said the move would help Germany-based Siemens meet medium-term growth and profit targets by “clearly focusing its portfolio on dynamic growth markets and efficiency gains.”

The Gas and Power spinoff and transfer of SGRE stake would create a new “major player on the energy market” with a business volume of €30 billion and over 80,000 employees, Siemens said. The carveout will give the new company “complete independence and entrepreneurial freedom,” it said. Siemens said the new company will have a stock exchange listing by September 2020.

The move will create a “powerful pure play in the energy and electricity sector with a unique, integrated setup – an enterprise that encompasses the entire scope of the energy market like no other company,” explained Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens AG.…

NuScale Gains Potential Financial Backing for Worldwide SMR Deployment

May 5, 2019

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NuScale Power, the front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), has bagged another major backer that could broaden its nuclear supply chain base and expand its financial standing.

On April 29, NuScale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC), a South Korean–based engineering, procurement, and construction contractor with a wide global network, that supports deployment of NuScale’s Power Module worldwide. “The relationship includes DHIC, a member of the Doosan Group, and potential Korean financial investors, which, commensurate to final due diligence, plan to make a cash equity investment in NuScale,” NuScale said on Monday.

DHIC, which has an integrated manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Korea, that it says is “capable of raw material production to final assembly of nuclear components,” has supplied 32 nuclear reactor vessels and 114 steam generators for nuclear plants in South Korea, China, the U.S., and the United Arab Emirates.

A First-of-its-Kind Nuclear Project

Under the MOU, the companies will negotiate a strategic supplier agreement by July 2019 that would task DHIC with building a portion of the Power Module’s “most critical and complex” sub-assemblies for the plant that NuScale is developing for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), the companies said.…

EMP Threat Real but Limited, EPRI Says in Much-Anticipated Report

May 3, 2019

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Depending on the hazard field, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) resulting from detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or in space could cause significant damage to electronics on the bulk power system and even prompt a regional voltage collapse, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) says in much-anticipated findings from its three-year study on high-altitude EMPs (HEMPs).

However, the research does not support notions that a HEMP event could cause a crippling nationwide blackout that could last for many months to years, as some experts have warned for years, EPRI said.

EPRI’s April 30–released report is geared mainly toward asset owners and operators of the U.S. bulk power system, though it is also designed to inform regulators and policymakers. By furnishing the power sector with options for mitigating potential HEMP impacts that it identified, its primary aim is to help stakeholders make “more informed” decisions regarding the threat of a HEMP attack on the U.S. grid.

The findings come barely a month after President Trump signed an executive order to boost coordination for and national resilience against EMP threats—both from nuclear warfare and natural events like solar superstorms.…

Q&A With Geothermal Experts

May 1, 2019

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Geothermal energy has been around forever, used as a heating source across the world. Today it has surfaced as another renewable resource, with advancements in drilling technology bringing down costs and opening new areas to development.

In conjunction with the feature article on geothermal in the May 2019 issue of POWER, we sought opinions from a pair of leading experts in the sector: Will Pettitt, executive director of the Davis, California-based Geothermal Resources Council, and Torsten Rosenboom, a partner in the Frankfurt, Germany, office of global law firm Watson Farley & Williams LLP.

POWER recently interviewed Pettitt and Rosenboom to get their opinions about the future of geothermal energy:

What can we expect with regard to global growth in geothermal energy? Are there any regions where significant growth is expected?

Pettitt: Geothermal energy, I believe, has a really exciting and bright future. Geothermal power is a renewable energy that provides flexible baseload. It can provide the electricity grid with resiliency, reliability, and stability as we transition to more and more renewable fuels.…

POWER Notebook: Duke Energy Sells Renewable Assets in $1.25 Billion Deal

April 27, 2019

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Duke Energy this week said it has a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in part of its commercial renewable energy portfolio owned and operated by its affiliate, Duke Energy Renewables, to the John Hancock Infrastructure Fund and John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Duke in an April 24 release said the interest is valued at about $ 1.25 billion.

Duke said the deal includes 49% of 37 operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets, and 33% of 11 operating solar assets across the U.S. John Hancock’s interest will represent about 1.2 GW of power generation capacity after the deal is closed. John Hancock will also have the right to acquire a minority interest in certain additional wind and solar projects in the future, providing a potential source of future growth capital to Duke Energy.

“We look forward to working alongside John Hancock as we continue providing clean and affordable energy to our customers across the country,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. …