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The Energy Conundrum: Decarbonizing the Power Supply While Maintaining Reliable and Affordable Electricity

September 21, 2022

Countries throughout the world have set carbon emission reduction targets in an effort to limit the effects of climate change. Many are striving to achieve net zero in coming decades. Yet, governments also want to maintain, or even improve, living standards for their citizens, which means keeping power affordable and reliable. This poses some potentially conflicting priorities.

“I think one of the most important topics we’re dealing with right now is how fast can we decarbonize the power generation and the electricity generation in the societies around us,” Karim Amin, executive board member with Siemens Energy, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “But on the other hand side, we also see the importance of security of supply. I mean, the world needs reliable electricity. It’s very important not only for the economic development, but for the very same life that we have.”

Amin acknowledged that adding more renewable energy is important. “There is no doubt that we need more and more and faster deployment of renewables,” he said.…

Enverus Expands Renewables Arm, Acquires Spanish Solar Power Group

September 15, 2022

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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.…

The POWER Interview: Fluence Exec Offers Insight on Energy Storage

August 23, 2022

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There’s global growth in energy storage. The latest evidence is a report that BlackRock, the New York-based asset manager and a major player in energy sector, is ready to buy Akyasha Energy, an Australian company that specializes in battery storage and renewable energy projects.

BlackRock in an Aug. 16 news release said it would commit about $ 700 million to develop more than 1 GW of battery energy storage. The group said it would at a future date expand Akyaysha projects across Taiwan and Japan.

Virginia-based Fluence, a battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator launched in 2018 by Siemens and AES, and with offices worldwide, has become a global leader in the development of energy storage products and services, and also is active in the Australian market—along with helping drive U.S. adoption of storage. The company, part of some of the largest U.S. BESS installations, earlier this month said it is setting up a new contract manufacturing facility in Utah to serve the U.S.…

Chicago Announces Plan to Power City with 100% Renewable Energy

August 9, 2022

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Chicago’s public buildings could all be powered by renewable energy under a plan announced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Aug. 8.

The mayor, along with Illinois Gov JB Pritzker, on Monday said the city has an agreement with Chicago utility Constellation Energy, along with Massachusetts-based Swift Current Energy, a renewable energy developer. The two spoke at a news conference at the Chicago Urban League. The deal would make Chicago one of the world’s largest cities to commit to using 100% renewable energy.

“I am incredibly proud to advance this commitment to transitioning all city operations to 100% renewable energy by 2025,” Lightfoot said. “The signing of this agreement demonstrates that the City of Chicago is leading by example and driving high-impact climate action, building the clean energy workforce of the future and equitably distributing meaningful benefits to foster the local clean energy economy for all.”

Climate Action Plan

Construction of projects related to the plan is set to begin by year-end.…

Group: EPA’s Coordinated Regulatory Assault on Coal Power Could Push Retirements Beyond 86 GW by 2030

August 5, 2022

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is readying a regulatory sweep targeting more stringent limits on traditional pollutants that could accelerate coal power plant closures. A coal trade group estimates that even without new rules, 86 GW of coal generation is slated to retire by 2030.

While the U.S. Supreme Court in June curtailed the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, the EPA is working on other rules in “an integrated and coordinated approach” that will allow the agency to tackle “threats” posed by power plants to clean air, safe water, and healthy land, EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said.

The EPA chief recently told Reuters the agency remains undeterred by the Supreme Court’s constraints. “We want to present the industry with a suite of regulations so that they can make the best long-term investments possible,” the news agency quoted Regan as saying on July 29. “The power sector will … look at the cost benefit of complying with those and more than likely stay with the conclusion that … clean energy is more cost effective for them and for their customers,” he reportedly said.…