Electricity

‘World’s first’ grid-scale nuclear fusion power plant to be in VA
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‘World’s first’ grid-scale nuclear fusion power plant to be in VA

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If all goes to plan, Virginia will be the site of the world’s first grid-scale nuclear fusion power plant, able to harness this futuristic clean power and generate electricity from it by the early 2030s, according to an announcement Tuesday by the startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

CFS, one of the largest and most-hyped nuclear fusion companies, will make a multibillion-dollar investment into building the facility near Richmond. When operational, the plant will be able to plug into the grid and produce 400 megawatts, enough to power around 150,000 homes, said its CEO Bob Mumgaard.

What’s with the US Electricity System in 2024

What’s with the US Electricity System in 2024

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We don’t often think of the US electricity system in this aggregated and integrated way, but it’s worth doing so. To wrap these figures all together: almost 600,000 people [who work in the industry] invest $200 billion a year [of capital investments], receive $500 billion in revenue [i.e., what people pay for electricity], and operate a $2 trillion machine [the value of the infrastructure, aka “The Grid” and all the generation plants] that provides the essential energy input of our built environment, our technology system, and increasingly, our transportation and industry systems as well.

Here is a concise overview of trends and current status.

Electric vehicle battery prices are expected to fall 50% by 2026
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Electric vehicle battery prices are expected to fall 50% by 2026

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Editor’s Note: Here’s another example of the “learning curve” bringing down the prices of CleanTech.  From a report by Goldman Sachs.

Technology advances that have allowed electric vehicle battery makers to increase energy density, combined with a drop in green metal prices, will push battery prices lower than previously expected, according to Goldman Sachs Research.

Global average battery prices declined from $153 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2022 to $149 in 2023, and they’re projected by Goldman Sachs Research to fall to $111 by the close of this year. Our researchers forecast that average battery prices could fall towards $80/kWh by 2026, amounting to a drop of almost 50% from 2023, a level at which battery electric vehicles would achieve ownership cost parity with gasoline-fueled cars in the US on an unsubsidized basis. 

6 Questions You Asked Yourself about Solar

6 Questions You Asked Yourself about Solar

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Editor’s Note:  This article presents a very intelligent analysis of solar power, including some surprising implications that will follow the likely continuation of cost reductions.  If you want to understand how solar power will influence almost all aspects of the energy transition, read Pueyo’s answers to these six questions:
U.S. Approves Billions in Aid to Restart Michigan Nuclear Plant
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U.S. Approves Billions in Aid to Restart Michigan Nuclear Plant

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  Here’s an example of a subsidy operating on the supply side of a market.  The federal guarantee on an otherwise private loan makes it less risky  … so the interest rate will be lower …. which makes the final cost of the electricity from this nuclear plant cheaper.  The direct GRANT also radically lowers the cost of using the plant to generate electricity.

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The Energy Department said on Monday that it had finalized a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to help a company restart a shuttered nuclear plant in Michigan — the latest sign of rising government support for nuclear power.

Two rural electricity providers that planned to buy power from the reactor would also receive $1.3 billion in federal grants under a program approved by Congress to help rural communities tackle climate change.

Microsoft may pay a premium in Three Mile Island power agreement
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Microsoft may pay a premium in Three Mile Island power agreement

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  Here is a great example of a “Green Premium” being paid by a company desperate for clean power a) to meet their need to power a data center and b) to meet their “net-zero by 2035” commitment:

“Jefferies estimated that Microsoft might pay Constellation about $110-$115 per megawatt hour (MWh) as part of the 20-year-long fixed price PPA.  The brokerage’s analysts said the estimated cost represents a significant premium to market expectations, which are in the low $100 per MWh for a collocated deal.”

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‘Three New York Cities’ Worth of Power: AI Is Stressing the Grid
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‘Three New York Cities’ Worth of Power: AI Is Stressing the Grid

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  When demand surges far ahead of supply, the market adjusts either by raising prices or by rationing supply, e.g, by allocations or waiting lists.. The recent surge in demand for electricity is driven by AI, EVs, data centers, etc. This article quantifies the demand and the backlogs, now stretching into the 2030s.

This problem does create some good news though: first, businesses will press for permitting reform to speed up access to more electricity. Second, creditworthy corporations like Microsoft and Google are entering into power purchase agreements to help new clean energy generators get financed and built, even paying a “Green Premium” e.g., Microsoft reopening Three Mile Island and Google backing Fervo’s geothermal plant in northern Nevada.

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What Will We Do With Our Free Power?
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What Will We Do With Our Free Power?

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  Here is another great example of how humans cannot easily grok how prices declining owing to the “learning curve” create astonishing, geometric growth. “In 2023, the world installed 444 gigawatts of new solar photovoltaic capacity, an 80 percent year-on-year jump and more than was cumulatively installed between the invention of the solar cell in 1954 and 2017. Although solar power still provides just under 6 percent of global electricity, its share has nearly quadrupled since 2018, an exponential curve that is expected to continue for some time.”

The Economist magazine observes ‘The next tenfold increase [in solar capacity] will be equivalent to multiplying the world’s entire fleet of nuclear reactors by eight in less than the time it typically takes to build just a single one of them.’ By the 2030s — not very long from now — solar power will most likely be the largest source of electricity on the planet.”

The knock-on implications of cheap solar are staggering — from high-volumne desalination, to making green cement, to electrolyzing hydrogen from water,  and even to powering Casey Handmer’s dream of making synthetic fuels solely from the air!

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Google funds clean energy with upfront capital and “offtake agreements.”
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Google funds clean energy with upfront capital and “offtake agreements.”

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  Here’s an example of a corporation meeting its commitment to using only “carbon free energy” by supporting new CleanTech generation facilities with upfront investment and an “offtake agreement” — which is a long term contract to buy the electricity created at a pre-set price that allows the investment to be profitable.  #Green_Premium #learning_curve

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In order to help overcome these challenges, and deliver 24/7 carbon-free energy onto the grid where these data centers operate, we’ve worked with Energix Renewables on an investment framework that allows us to invest in, and buy power from, a 1.5 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of new solar projects throughout the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) grid over the next three years. By providing both investment capital and energy offtake, these projects have a clearer path to construction, bringing the planned construction start of 150 MW of queue backlog from 2025 ahead to 2024.

Nevada utility awarded over $80M to create new solar plant in Pahrump

Nevada utility awarded over $80M to create new solar plant in Pahrump

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A Southern Nevada utility has been awarded $80.3 million to build a new solar generating and storage plant in Pahrump.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, announced in a joint statement that Valley Electric Association will receive the grant.

Funding from the U.S. Agriculture Department will go toward installing a 37-megawatt solar power generation and storage system serving Pahrump and the Fish Lake Valley Region.

Exowatt Unveils Pioneering Modular Energy Platform

Exowatt Unveils Pioneering Modular Energy Platform

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EcoTech Note:  New solar-thermal modular system fits in a standard 40′ container, and operates without much maintenance for 4 cents/kwh.  Just raised $20m from leading VCs.

Exowatt has a backlog of demand of over 1.2 gigawatts for data centers across the U.S. and plans to begin deployments later this year.   The Exowatt P3 modules can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively on both small and large commercial and industrial projects. As the technology scales, Exowatt says it expects to be able to offer electricity for as low as $0.01 per kilowatt-hour, making it more affordable than fossil fuels and other renewable energy alternatives.

[Notice that no mention is made of the upfront capital cost yet; it’s probably pretty high.]

rooftop solar

Rooftop Solar Costs Decline as Efficiency Improves

ByAdmin

EcoTech Note:  “OK, let’s rise above principle, now, and talk about money,” my teacher once presciently said.  “That explains more.”   I think of that whenever I read this newsletter, which gets into the nitty gritty – like these points:

  • Lawrence Berkeley Lab published its annual “Tracking the Sun” report on customer-owned solar. The report shows continued growth of panel efficiency, a drop in prices and an increase in solar systems that are paired with battery storage.
  • The report is based on a sample of 3.7 million customer-owned solar systems, about three-quarters of the total installed in the United States.  Installed cost/watt is $4.20 nationally, with wide variation by state, mostly driven by “soft costs” like labor, financing and permits.  (Nevada is  at $3.40/watt and Utah is at $5.20.)