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The Regulatory Structures or Economic Opportunities that are Driving—or Hindering—Building Electrification

June 13, 2022

Although the electricity generation and transportation sectors account for a far greater share of greenhouse gas emissions than the residential and commercial building sector, policy makers are targeting building electrification as a means for making a significant contribution to economy-wide emission reductions. Federal, state, and local governments are using various policy levers toward this goal, creating risks for industries, such as natural gas distribution and real estate development, and opportunities for others, such as technology companies focused on smart homes and companies developing energy management systems, electric vehicle supply equipment, and heat pump equipment, and manufacturing and installation companies.

COMMENTARY

These initiatives include amendments to building code regulations and building performance standards, the establishment of electric vehicle infrastructure incentives, and even outright bans on new natural gas connections. Market pressures on the natural gas supply chain and increasing natural gas costs are further inducing commercial real estate developers, homeowners, and builders to embrace electrification as a cost-saving measure, which may well be far more motivating for some than the altruistic driver related to mitigation of climate disruption.…

Latest APR-1400 Reactor Now Online at South Korea’s Shin Hanul Nuclear Plant

June 11, 2022

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The first of what could be as many as four APR-1400 nuclear reactors at the Shin Hanul site in South Korea is now supplying electricity to the country’s power grid.

Unit 1 at Shin Hanul is a 1,400-MW reactor. It was connected to the grid on June 9, just more than two weeks after the pressurized water reactor reached first criticality on May 22, according to officials with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).

South Korean officials said Shin Hanul, located in Uljin on the country’s east coast, is part of the new government’s strategy to achieve energy security while also supporting environmental goals. The start-up of the reactor comes three months after the election of Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea’s new president. Suk-yeol has said he plans to reverse the strategy of former President Moon Jae-in, who wanted to phase-out nuclear power generation. Jae-in adopted that policy after he assumed office in 2017, in part citing the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan.…

DOD Picks BWXT Design for ‘Project Pele’ Prototype Nuclear Microreactor

June 9, 2022

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The Department of Defense (DOD) has picked BWX Technologies’ (BWXT’s) microreactor design for its “Project Pele” full-scale transportable prototype. The selection closes out a much-watched contest with X-energy for the contract from the DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) to build and operate what could be the nation’s first advanced microreactor.

Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT will now manufacture and deliver the prototype microreactor to Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for testing by 2024. “The prototype will be built under a cost-type contract valued at approximately $ 300 million, depending on options selected, by BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC in facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Euclid, Ohio,” the company said on June 9. “Over the next two years, BWXT expects that approximately 120 employees will work on the project, including roughly 40 skilled trades, engineers and other positions that will be hired to support this effort and other projects.”

Project Pele will comprise a high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) mobile microreactor that will be capable of producing 1 MWe to 5 MWe. …

Biden Pausing Solar Tariffs, Pushes for U.S. Production

June 7, 2022

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The White House is moving to support the solar power industry, including U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and other equipment, by pausing tariffs on imported solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. The 24-month moratorium announced June 6 will exist while U.S. officials continue to look at the practices of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that are being investigated for possibly circumventing tariff rules.

The solar power industry has decried the investigation, saying it has led to supply chain constraints that are threatening U.S. solar power projects, and industry jobs. Officials from across the U.S. energy sector on Monday applauded the move, saying it should lead to more certainty regarding equipment used for power generation, transmission, and distribution.

President Joe Biden on Monday issued plans for the two-year exemption on tariffs, noting the investigation’s impacts on the solar power industry, and its threat to the administration’s own clean energy goals. The White House said it would continue to push Congress “to pass clean energy investments and tax cuts” to spur U.S.…

Zinc Batteries Power Stationary Energy Storage

June 3, 2022

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As solar, wind and other renewable resources play a larger role on the power grid, renewables’ essential partner—energy storage—must keep pace to provide power at peak hours when the sun doesn’t shine, and the wind doesn’t blow.

Rechargeable zinc batteries offer an ideal energy storage solution; they can release power back to the grid for many hours or even days at a time. With numerous chemistries and design innovations, zinc batteries increasingly meet residential, commercial and microgrid energy storage market needs and demonstrate zinc’s capabilities and benefits in stationary storage.

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One of the well-developed zinc battery chemistries is zinc-bromine flow, which proves ideal for both small commercial uses and for medium to large grid-sized applications. The energy is stored in a zinc bromide solution, which flows continuously past the electrodes, where it reacts and generates electricity. This liquid-based battery is non-flammable, long-lasting, fully recyclable and tolerates a wide range of temperatures. The batteries also are scalable for medium or large-scale projects.…

Two Killed in Collapse of Coal Pile at Colorado Power Plant

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Two employees of a company that manages coal-handling operations for Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Colorado were killed June 2 when they were trapped in a coal pile that collapsed at the power plant.

The collapse happened Thursday morning about 8:30 a.m. Mountain time, according to officials. Rescue crews located the victims Thursday afternoon. Officials said the victims, whose names were not immediately released, were working on the 80-foot-high pile of coal. Officials said it is not known what the workers, sub-contractors from Savage Services, were doing at the time of the incident.

Comanche is a three-unit coal-fired plant. Comanche’s 857-MW Unit 3 is the largest coal-burning unit in Colorado.

Pueblo Fire Inspector and Public Information Officer Erik Duran told media, “EMS emergency services responders on site determined that [the victims] were dead on scene.” Duran said responders recovered the bodies of “two men, one in his 20s and one in his 30s. We reached the first victim at around 3 p.m.…