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The POWER Interview: CleanCapital Drives Investments in Clean Energy

July 17, 2019

Investments in clean energy projects have hummed along in the past few years, with the growth of renewables worldwide continuing to increase levels of solar, wind, and other resources in the global energy mix.

Thomas Byrne has been in the middle of this energy transformation. Byrne, co-founder and CEO of CleanCapital and a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and the UCLA School of Law, leads the company’s strategy and operations. Before CleanCapital, he served as partner and general counsel at True Green Capital, a private equity firm focused on distributed solar investments. He led the financing of landmark clean energy projects including NRG’s California Valley Solar Ranch, Caithness’ Shephards Flat Wind Project, and Terra Gen’s Alta Wind Energy Center.

Thom Byrne of CleanCapital

In his role as an attorney specializing in clean energy financing, Byrne saw first-hand how inefficiency was hampering the growth of clean energy investment. He envisioned a technology-based solution, and founded CleanCapital, which looks to connect investors with opportunities in the clean energy space, with an eye toward “reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and generating attractive returns to boot.”…

Energy Insiders Say Tech, Collaboration Key to Utility Storm Prep

June 13, 2019

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Hurricane season is underway and summer heat already has arrived in many areas, which again puts the spotlight on utilities, the power grid, and disaster response plans after a series of major weather events and wildfires caused outages and other disruptions in the U.S. and Caribbean in recent years.

“We’re seeing these events occur, and regardless of where you stand on climate change, we have to ask ourselves, ‘How do we as utility deal with this?’ ” said Darrel Anderson, president and CEO of IDACORP Inc., which includes Idaho Power as a subsidiary, as he kicked off a panel discussion titled “Taming Nature’s Fury: Electric Companies and Extreme Weather Events,” on June 11 at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention in Philadelphia. The panel included Margaret Peloso, a partner with Vinson & Elkins who deals with environmental and natural resource issues; Ronald Brise, a former commissioner with the Florida Public Service Commission; and Barnie Gyant, a deputy regional forester with the U.S.…

MHPS, Magnum Will Build 1-GW Renewable Energy Storage Facility in Utah

June 3, 2019

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Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and Magnum Development, the owner of a large and geographically rare underground salt dome in Utah, have teamed to develop a massive project that could store up 1,000 MW of renewable energy year-round and provide it to variability-challenged Western power markets.

The companies this week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the $ 1 billion Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in Millard, in central Utah, MHPS CEO Paul Browning told POWER on May 30. The project has the backing of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), who lauded the project for its potential to “put Utah on the map as the epicenter of utility-scale storage for the Western U.S.”

A Rare Opportunity

ACES will comprise a series of facilities above and within the Magnum Salt Dome, a geologic formation that was tectonically developed from a bedded salt deposit, and which seismic mapping suggests measures at least one mile thick and about three miles wide.…

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. …

Sempra Energy Exits U.S. Renewables Sector

April 25, 2019

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Sempra Energy on April 22 marked its complete exit from the U.S. renewables business as it completed the sale of 724 MW of operating wind generation and battery assets to American Electric Power (AEP) for $ 1.05 billion.

The San Diego–headquartered utility holding company, which says it has the largest U.S. customer base, said the move is consistent with a strategy to pay down debt and redeploy capital to support the growth of Sempra Energy in North America.

The transaction on Monday is the latest in a series of divestitures over the past year to raise $ 2.5 billion in proceeds. As Sempra Energy CEO Jeff Martin noted in a February fourth quarter earnings call, it stems from a “deep strategic process” led by the company’s board to exit fossil-fired generation as well as renewable generation that began as early as 2014.

“[I]t’s very important to make sure we’re doing all the right things to advance the clean energy transition, but it’s also important that we’re doing that in a way which is thoughtful around price, diversity of supply in a balanced energy program,” Martin said.…

Energy Secretary Wants to Fast-Track U.S. LNG Export Projects

March 11, 2019

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Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. continue to rise, as the use of natural gas for power generation increases in countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that four U.S. LNG export facilities combined to ship 483 LNG cargoes in 2018, a whopping 84% increase from the 262 export cargoes in 2017.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, in a March 11 interview with CNBC at CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, talked about the importance of LNG as the U.S. competes globally in the energy sector. “Whether it’s our technology on the renewable side, whether it’s small modular reactors in the nuclear field, obviously the fossil fuels as well. But all of it plays a role,” Perry told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan. “America is a leader in the energy sector, all of those sectors, not just in the fossil fuel side. Obviously, that’s really changed with our ability to deliver [LNG to] 34 countries, now five continents of LNG.…