Author Archives: pathto100

Utilities are planning to shift to clean energy — just not too quickly

At-a-Glance: 

CEO of electricity research group EPRI says U.S. utilities are poised to go big on solar, wind and batteries — but they aren’t ready to give up their gas and coal plants just yet.

“You will also hear every one of [these utilities] saying that if we don’t take care of affordability and reliability, that will be the biggest obstacle to go to clean energy, because if customers get upset, it will have a negative impact on the clean energy transition.” said Arshad Mansoor, CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute. Read more in Utilities are planning to shift to clean energy — just not too quickly

Key Takeaways:

  • At EPRI’s Electrification 2022 conference, leading utilities unanimously embraced cutting carbon emissions and electrifying transportation. However, they urged caution at moving too quickly.
  • Most utilities know this is the decade to invest in wind, solar and battery storage. They have determined that grids can handle levels of renewable generation that were previously unthinkable — in fact, this is already happening in many states.
  • The COVID pandemic came at the worst time, causing major delays in the supply chain and slowing the construction of renewable resources.
  • Mansoor feels it may be necessary to keep some coal plants around as backup power sources to ensure a reliable power source, because wind and solar power is not always reliable and battery technology is not yet capable of long-term duration.
  • He says clean firm resources such as small modular nuclear reactors or clean hydrogen-burning turbines could eventually take that role, as could cheap long-duration energy storage, but they’re all still years away.

Path to 100% Perspective

The Path to 100% agrees that the way to a 100% clean energy future is through increased renewable energy sources like wind and solar power while maintaining a reliable backup system. To balance the intermittent nature of these renewable power sources, engine power plants and energy storage are ideal. While we are waiting for battery storage to improve, Wartsila’s flexible power plants are already generating reliable, backup power when solar and wind are not enough. They are capable of powering up and down quickly, unlike traditional coal-powered thermal power plants which could take hours to ramp up when energy is needed.

 

 

Wärtsilä to supply Clearway with 500 MW/2 GWh of energy storage for projects in California and Hawaii

At-a-Glance: 

Wärtsilä has reached an agreement with Clearway Energy Group on a contract that will see it supply Clearway with a 500 MW/2 GWh portfolio of energy storage systems. The storage systems will be used across a series of solar and storage projects that Clearway is developing in California and Hawaii. The five-project portfolio includes 75 MWac/300 MWh located in Hawaii and 415 MW/1.7 GW in California. For more read: Wärtsilä to supply Clearway with 500 MW/2 GWh of energy storage for projects in California and Hawaii.

Key Takeaways:

  • In Hawaii, Clearway is developing the Mililani I Solar and Waiawa Solar Power facilities on the Island of Oahu and represent Wärtsilä’s first large-scale energy storage systems in the state. 
  • The addition of energy storage will help Clearway Energy Group ensure reliable delivery of sustainable energy and contribute to Hawaii’s goal of reaching 100% renewable energy generation by 2045.
  • In California, 482 MW of solar and 275 MW/1.1 GWh of energy storage are being split across the Daggett 2 and Daggett 3 projects, which are being developed in San Bernardino, California, adjacent to the site of a retired coal and natural gas plant.
  • The storage systems will deliver renewable energy during increasingly volatile peak periods and help the state reach its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045.
  • Each facility will include Wärtsilä’s GridSolv Quantum, a fully integrated, modular and compact energy storage system, as well as the GEMS Digital Energy Platform, Wärtsilä’s energy management platform for power system optimisation. 

Path to 100% Perspective

To achieve goals of both reliable and renewable energy, it is critical to think beyond solar panels and wind turbines. The addition of storage technologies is essential because both wind and solar technology is dependent on the weather. The storage system is one way to ensure there is enough power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. To take it one step further, power producers should also invest in flexible engines, capable of starting and stopping when needed to ensure a reliable energy supply.

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COBT Podcast: Wärtsilä’s Karl Meeusen talks about the importance of reliable capacity in the energy transition

Wärtsilä’s Karl Meeusen, Director of Markets, Legislative and Regulatory Policy, recently appeared on Veritan’s Close of Business Tuesday (COBT) podcast, discussing the importance of reliable capacity as we work to meet ambitious decarbonization goals.

Those goals are great, Meeusen told C.O.B. Tuesday host Maynard Holt,  but there’s a risk if utility operators move too quickly without a plan in place to ensure power is always available.

“We don’t want to see the population turn on these targets because system operators aren’t getting the fleet of resources to operate reliably,” Meeusen said.

Meeusen works with utilities to design systems that incorporate renewables while maintaining resilience. Wind and solar energy is clean and cost-effective, but it’s also variable. What happens when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing? What system do you have in place to provide immediate backup power?

“Reliability right now is on the forefront of most regulators’ agendas,” Meeusen said.

Right now, we are seeing renewable energy sources carrying more and more of the power load in some places, like California and Texas. But Meeusen said it’s too soon to turn to these sources exclusively. Right now, other thermal resources are still needed, and that’s been a big challenge for his team to overcome.

“There’s still a view that all thermal is bad, where we come from is, there are different grades, different efficiencies, different technologies that help facilitate reliability from renewables and they happen to be thermal resources –- natural gas-fired resources. Greater efficiency and fewer running hours can help,” he said.

Meeusen said Wärtsilä. has the technology needed now to enhance the transition to a clean energy future.

“We’re the one stop shop for renewable balancing and firming,” he said. 

To learn more, listen to “Facilitating Technology That Addresses Uncertainty” Featuring Dr. Karl Meeusen, Wärtsilä”

 

In a Twist, Old Coal Plants Help Deliver Renewable Power. Here’s How.

At-a-Glance: 

Across the country, aging and defunct coal-burning power plants are getting new lives as solar, battery and other renewable energy projects, partly because they have a decades-old feature that has become increasingly valuable: They are already wired into the power grid. Read more here: In a Twist, Old Coal Plants Help Deliver Renewable Power. Here’s How.

Key Takeaways:

  • The miles of high-tension wires and towers needed to connect power plants to customers can be costly, time consuming and controversial to build from scratch. So solar and other projects are avoiding regulatory hassles, and potentially speeding up the transition to renewable energy, by plugging into the unused connections left behind.
  • Over the past two decades, more than 600 coal-burning generators totaling about 85 gigawatts of generating capacity have retired, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
  • In addition to the connectivity, reusing the old coal plants is an effort to reinvest in the communities that have lost the coal plants in the first place, though it likely would not replace all of the jobs lost.
  • Coal plants also typically sit on a sizable parcel of land, and redeveloping those sites into renewable energy projects is a way to put something productive on a piece of property that might otherwise go unused.

Path to 100% Perspective

One of the most important keys to a 100% renewable energy future is the retirement of coal-fired power plants while investing in other sources like wind and solar. This is the perfect synergy needed to advance the transition and it is very symbolic as well. Using the existing resources and connections is an effective way to overcome some of the obstacles faced by clean energy producers.

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Wärtsilä perspective on portfolio diversity’s role in the renewable energy transition featured in EnergyTech

In a recent article contributed to EnergyTech, Wärtsilä Energy’s Karl Meeusen, Director of Markets, Legislative, and Regulatory Policy, and Bhawramaett Broehm, Energy Market Analyst, outline the importance of portfolio diversity in enabling the renewable energy transition.

As noted in the article, the increase of renewable resources on the grid, like wind and solar, is a big and important step toward a sustainable grid, but it also creates significant operational challenges. It is particularly challenging when considering the increase in extreme weather conditions like droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires that threaten grid reliability.

“The grid requires flexibility and firmness from other resources to balance the real-time variability in wind and solar output,” according to the article. “When the sun sets, for example, other resources must be ready to come online quickly and ramp up to replace vanishing solar output.”

That needed flexibility is usually provided by thermal power plants and battery storage, though current battery storage technologies are limited to durations of about four hours. That underscores the importance of thermal power plants that can ramp up and down quickly when needed.

“Grid planners must pursue no-regrets solutions that address the reliability problems of today without compromising the decarbonization goals of tomorrow. New, fuel-flexible thermal resources that can efficiently operate on gas and hydrogen blends and are designed for future conversions to 100 percent sustainable fuels provide one such solution,” according to the article.

Read the entire article here.

For more on the importance of sustainable fuels, read here.

 

How Utah Olympic bid could bolster shift to clean energy

At-a-Glance: 

Salt Lake City is vying to host the Olympic Games in 2030 or 2034, but all host cities must meet the demands of the International Olympic Committee to “run a two-week, snow-based international sporting event and leave the climate better off than before.” It’s hoped this will catalyze the clean energy transition in Utah, where more than 60 percent of the state’s net electricity generation came from coal in 2021. For more read: How Utah Olympic bid could bolster shift to clean energy.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mario Molina, president of the climate advocacy group Protect Our Winters, said that an Olympics bid should put pressure not just on the host city, but the state and entire country, to be more aggressive about renewable energy — even with Utah’s current reliance on fossil fuels.
  • According to IOC guidance issued in 2020, organizing committees for each Olympics will be required to minimize and compensate direct and indirect carbon emissions created by the event, as well as implement “lasting zero-carbon solutions for the Olympic Games and beyond.”
  • Salt Lake City has set a goal of achieving net 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.
  • A study from the University of Waterloo found that without action to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, only one of 21 previous Winter Olympics host cities — Sapporo, Japan, which hosted in 1972 — would have the right climate conditions to hold a safe event by 2080. Even if the goals of the Paris climate accord are met, the report said, only eight of the 21 cities would have the right conditions.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Massive world events like the Olympic games can influence change. It is encouraging that the IOC is requiring future host cities to think about the environment and make it a requirement. If Salt Lake City can achieve its decarbonization goals, in cooperation with the state of Utah and other surrounding cities, it can be an example to other cities around the world.

Australia and U.S. Join Forces on the Path to Net-Zero

At-a-Glance: 

The United States and Australia signed the Australia – United States Net-Zero Technology Acceleration Partnership at the Sydney Energy Forum, a formal partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of zero emissions technology, and cooperate on critical minerals supply chains to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while supercharging economic growth. For more read: Australia and U.S. Join Forces on the Path to Net-Zero.

Key Takeaways:

  • Both countries share ambitious targets to reach net-zero by 2050.
  • The two countries will work together to unlock critical advances in long-duration storage, grid integration, clean hydrogen, direct air capture, and critical minerals and materials – providing an essential opportunity to export the innovations that will accelerate the global clean energy transition.
  • Cooperation will be practical, inclusive of industry, research and private sector to drive investment, trade, and development of commercial opportunities between our countries in low and zero emissions technologies and critical material that will drive them.
  • Initial areas for cooperation include the development of long duration energy storage technology, as well as digital electricity grids and technology to support the integration of variable renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide removal, including direct air capture.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Cooperation, not only across the world but on a smaller scale, should help accelerate the decarbonization journey for everyone. A key obstacle to achieving net zero in some countries is the lack of the local government’s understanding and acceptance that decarbonization can’t be achieved overnight but through careful planning and measured steps along the way. You can’t simply shut down coal-powered plants and switch completely to wind and solar because they aren’t always reliable. First, you need storage capabilities and a flexible power plant, capable of starting and stopping when needed, to ensure electricity is available.

Much-Watched Reciprocating Engine Hydrogen Pilot Kicks Off at Michigan Power Plant

At-a-Glance: 

A landmark project to test fuel blends of up to 25% volume of hydrogen mixed with natural gas in reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICEs) has launched at WEC Energy Group’s 56-MW A.J. Mihm power plant in Michigan. If successful, the pilot—one of the first of its kind in the U.S.—could provide key insight into how hydrogen combustion at RICE units could be replicated across the U.S. You can read more here: Much-Watched Reciprocating Engine Hydrogen Pilot Kicks Off at Michigan Power Plant.

Key Takeaways:

  • A consortium comprising Finnish technology giant Wärtsilä, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Burns & McDonnell on May 30 unveiled a contract with Milwaukee-based WEC Energy’s subsidiary Upper Michigan Energy Resources for the fuel testing pilot.
  • One of the plant’s three18.8-MW Wärtsilä W18V50SG natural gas-fired engines wil be used in the testing and will continue to supply power to the grid as the hydrogen share in its fuel mix is gradually increased to a maximum of 25% by volume.
  • Wärtsilä has researched hydrogen as a fuel for 20 years as part of its strategy to “future-proof its engine technology in line with the global trend towards decarbonization of the energy and marine markets.”
  • The project could help establish RICEs as a future-proof technology, allowing for the flexibility needed to incorporate more renewable energy sources onto the grid. Its ability to provide incremental electricity quickly—starting up even when the grid has no power—and operating at partial loads, give it a key advantage over more traditional power plants.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Both flexibility and reliability will be crucial as we transition to a clean energy future. Just adding wind and solar generated power will not be enough. Those renewable sources, while powerful and cost-efficient, are also dependent on the weather conditions. RICE, along with adequate storage solutions, appears to offer the ideal solution to ensure stability to the grid. 

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U.S. Dept. Of Energy Joins New Federal–State Partnership To Grow Domestic Offshore Wind Supply Chain

At-a-Glance: 

The first of its kind forum between 11 East Coast Governors and Administration officials will enable collaboration to build a strong, U.S.-based supply chain for offshore wind, grow a skilled U.S. workforce, and accelerate work to address important regional matters. The partnership will advance the industry’s rapid development and provide more affordable clean energy to all Americans. Read more: U.S. Dept. Of Energy Joins New Federal–State Partnership To Grow Domestic Offshore Wind Supply Chain

Key Takeaways:

  • State and federal collaboration will help achieve the U.S. goal of 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. Achieving this goal will result in an expected $12 billion in annual investment in offshore wind projects, which in turn can lead to the construction of up to 10 manufacturing plants for offshore wind turbine components and new ships to install the turbines.
  • The partnership will advance the industry’s rapid development and provide more affordable clean energy to all Americans, helping accelerate President Biden’s goal of 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 100% clean electricity by 2035.
  • A report from the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium forecasts the need for an offshore wind workforce averaging between 12,300 and 49,000 full time workers annually.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Renewable energy resources, like wind and solar, are the key to decarbonization around the world. This investment is a huge step for the United States towards that goal. It is also important to remember that these renewable energy sources are also variable. If the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, power operators need to have a reliable backup. Energy storage and power plants that can be started quickly when needed will be important to reliable energy generation in the future.

Hydrogen Risks Being The Great Missed Opportunity Of The Energy Transition

At-a-Glance: 

Hydrogen is required to decarbonizing industries that cannot be easily electrified, like deep sea shipping, aviation, and high heat industrial processes. Yet, Forbes’ recent forecast Hydrogen Future to 2050 finds that hydrogen uptake will be far too slow. To meet the Paris Agreement goals, by 2050 hydrogen should meet approximately 15% of energy demand, but our findings show it will reach just 0.5% by 2030 and 5% by mid-century. Read more: Hydrogen Risks Being The Great Missed Opportunity Of The Energy Transition.  

Key Takeaways:

  • Even if hydrogen production is forecast to fall short of what it needs to be, huge investment opportunities exist. 
  • Electricity-based green hydrogen – produced by splitting hydrogen from water using electrolyzers – will be the dominant form of production by the middle of the century, accounting for 72% of output.
  • Hydrogen will be transported by pipelines up to medium distances within and between countries, but almost never between continents. Ammonia – a derivative of hydrogen – is safer and more convenient to transport and is more suitable for long distance seaborne trade. 
  • Cost considerations will lead to more than 50% of hydrogen pipelines globally being repurposed from natural gas pipelines, rising to as high as 80% in some regions
  • Hydrogen derivatives like ammonia, methanol and e-kerosene will play a key role in decarbonizing the heavy transport sectors (aviation, maritime, and parts of trucking). We do not foresee hydrogen uptake in passenger vehicles, and only limited uptake in power generation. 

Path to 100% Perspective:

Hydrogen is the biggest buzz word these days when it comes to decarbonization, and for good reason. It’s carbon-free, can easily be created from and used to store renewable energy sources, and can be used in gas turbines to increase power system flexibility and reduce carbon emissions. Wartsila is currently participating in hydrogen fuel testing at a power plant in Michigan.

While it’s likely that hydrogen and its derivatives will likely be one of the sustainable fuels of the future, it is not certain. The key for power producers is to invest in flexibility now with engines capable of running on natural gas/hydrogen blends that can be easily converted to operate on whatever fuel becomes the most available in the future.

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The US needs to build a bigger, stronger grid. FERC has a plan for that

At-a-Glance: 

A new federal proposal would task grid operators, states and utilities with planning a grid that can support clean energy over the long term — and fairly share the costs of building it. For more, read The US needs to build a bigger, stronger grid. FERC has a plan for that.

Key Takeaways:

  • The U.S. has abundant clean energy sources but the grid does not reliably connect those sources with population centers that need it the most.
  • The proposal, approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC), would require all regulated transmission providers to undertake planning in a ​“sufficiently long-term, forward-looking basis to meet transmission needs driven by changes in the resource mix and demand.
  • Providers would also need to consider a number of factors in determining the benefits of regional transmission plans to be weighed against the costs of building them. For example, converting to clean energy sources may be more expensive in the short term but would pay off in the long run.
  • The proposal is not final. Stakeholders — including transmission grid operators, state utility and energy regulators, transmission-owning utilities, independent transmission and energy developers — will have months to comment on the proposal before FERC votes on a final rule, potentially before the end of this year. 

Path to 100% Perspective:

The Path to 100% will vary across the world, however the transition must include more clean energy sources, like wind and solar, while reducing the use of fossil fuels like coal. To get there, energy producers must be willing to invest and prepare for future technologies and fuel sources. In addition, governments at all levels must be willing to work with providers by passing laws and regulations that will allow for innovation and progress, even if the benefits are not seen immediately. This FERC proposal is encouraging because it appears to pave the way for that cooperation.

A 100% Renewable Energy Future Is Possible, & We Need It

At-a-Glance: 

A transition to renewable energy is not just one of the most consequential tools at our fingertips to act on climate, but also represents a great opportunity to increase control over our energy choices, improve the health of our communities and the planet, create jobs and wealth, and much more. For more read A 100% Renewable Energy Future Is Possible, & We Need It.

Key Takeaways:

  • A new study called On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables examined how two dozen state members of the U.S. Climate Alliance (USCA) can meet all of their electricity needs with renewable energy — while decarbonizing other sectors of the economy and ensuring equitable benefits to all communities.
  • Using the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) electricity model from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the study found that coal generation in member states essentially disappears by 2040 in USCA states as solar and wind generation grows exponentially.
  • The model found that the US would be about 73% renewable by 2040 because fossil fuel plants will still exist in other states and the power grid is so interconnected that generation is shared across state lines.

Path to 100% Perspective:

The Path to 100% is working to identify the fastest, most cost-effective, most reliable ways to decarbonize electricity — not just city by city, but across entire states and nations. As the article states, increasing the reliance on renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, will be critical to success. We must also determine a plan to realistically phase out fossil fuel plants which provide more consistent, reliable power around the clock. Renewable sources can be intermittent, so battery technology will need to improve and we will need to build flexible power plants that can run on sustainable fuels like hydrogen. The path will not be the same everywhere and the timeline may vary, but a 100% renewable energy future in the United States is possible by 2050 if everyone works together.

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