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November 5, 2024

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MISO: Wisconsin Coal Plant to Stay Online as SSR Unless Stakeholders Offer Solutions

MISO said unless stakeholders come up with an alternative it hasn’t explored, it will have to renew its sole system support resource — Manitowoc Public Utilities’ Lakefront 9 coal unit — for another year.

At a Nov. 5 technical study task force meeting, MISO’s Huaitao Zhang said the RTO continues to find steady state thermal violations during the summer months that require mitigation.

He said MISO didn’t land on any transmission reconfiguration options, operating guide substitutions or demand-side solutions that can negate the need for Lakefront 9 staying online to sustain reliability. MISO uses system support resource (SSR) agreements to keep generation operating past planned retirement dates for the sake of system reliability.

Further, Zhang said MISO has ruled out redispatch as a solution because there are limited resources in that area of Wisconsin. Local transmission owner American Transmission Co. (ATC) also discourages manual load shed as a viable mitigation, he said.

If no stakeholders come forward with an alternative that hasn’t occurred to MISO, Zhang said MISO must begin a new SSR term with the municipal utility on Feb. 1. Zhang asked stakeholders to offer their ideas over the next two weeks.

Lakefront 9 has been operating as an SSR since February 2023, after MISO discovered that thermal overloading could occur on several nearby constraints if the plant was permitted to suspend operations as scheduled. Manitowoc Public Utilities originally sought to idle the 63-MW Lakefront 9 until 2026 and to convert it to a renewable fuel source. (See FERC Again Questions MISO Reliability Payments to Wisconsin Coal Plant.)

MISO has said ATC’s planned, 138/69-kV transmission upgrades for the area, which would improve system performance and allow it to lift the SSR agreement, won’t be completed until mid-2028.

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State Funds Support Microgrids on California’s Tribal Lands

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Energy projects designed to accelerate decarbonization and strengthen reliability in vulnerable communities are receiving significant investment thanks to the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program.

“This summer has been the hottest summer in recorded history in California and the hottest summer recorded globally,” David Hochschild, chair of the CEC, said at the Oct. 28 EPIC Symposium. “Yet another sign that we know the great challenge of our generation is climate change, and the solutions for that, the seed planting, is here in our state in California and in particular, this program.”

Tribal leaders, entrepreneurs, grid operators and energy officials convened to discuss the benefits and challenges of the EPIC program, which invests more than $130 million annually in clean energy research and development. The program aims to expand renewable energy, advance electrification, enable a more decentralized electric grid, support local economies and improve the affordability and health of local communities.

The California Public Utilities Commission established EPIC in 2012, and the ratepayer funded program has invested $1.2 billion into clean energy research, development and commercialization.

Hochschild highlighted many of California’s climate successes thus far, including reaching 61% clean energy on the grid, 26% of new vehicle sales being electric, and building 13 GW of energy storage in the past five years and 27 GW of clean energy capacity since 2018.

“Climate change is making it harder to fight climate change,” Hochschild said, but “there’s an opportunity to do some incredible seed planting for the future, and there’s already great momentum.”

‘Clean Energy Army’

The EPIC program helps to establish microgrids for several California tribes, which serve as a “refuge” from frequent blackouts and lack of reliability.

Early EPIC funding helped launch the first behind-the-meter microgrid in California on Blue Lake Rancheria territory, and up to nine tribes have followed suit.

“Our microgrids serve as a community refuge during times of crisis,” Jason Ramos, tribal council member of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, said. Before the development of the microgrid, the tribe would experience intermittent blackouts that could affect key services like the health clinic and gas station.

The program also helps to fund the Tribal Energy Resilience and Sovereignty (TERAS) project, which is helping four tribes transform one of the state’s least reliable electrical circuits, the “Hoopa 1101.” The 142-mile-long line provides electricity to the Hoopa, Yurok and Karuk tribes, who experience some of the most frequent and longest duration outages in California. The project, in collaboration with the Blue Lake Rancheria tribe and the Schatz Energy Research Center, will establish three nested microgrids along the circuit to establish better reliability.

“It’s going to be a real game changer and is something that we absolutely need in the region,” Linnea Jackson, general manager of the Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, said. “We look forward to having energy resiliency.”

The microgrid will cover 130 distribution circuit miles and serve 2,000 customers who experience an average of 100 hours of blackouts a year, explained Peter Alstone, faculty scientist at the Schatz Center.

“Everybody deserves reliable power, and when you have blackouts that frequent, people aren’t willing to invest in electric vehicles and electrified heating,” Alstone said. “This decarbonization challenge is just not on the table in places where the power is going out. So, this microgrid is a really important investment.”

Speakers also highlighted the importance of communicating effectively with tribes. Talking “to each other versus talking at each other” will accelerate progress, said Bo Mazzetti, chair of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians.

“Sovereign tribal governments are great partners,” Jackson said. “I really look forward to being a part of this clean energy army.”

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Ørsted Values Latest Revolution Wind Setback at $175M

A one-in-a-thousand problem with a key foundation component is the latest setback in U.S. waters for Ørsted and is blamed for its latest nine-digit cost impairment. 

The Danish offshore wind giant revealed the new problems with Revolution Wind in its third-quarter earnings report Nov. 5 but balanced it out with some good news: It was able to reverse significant portions of previously recorded impairments on Sunrise Wind, resulting in a net impairment for the quarter of $42 million rather than $228 million. 

Offshore work began this year for Revolution and is expected to begin next year for Sunrise. Onshore work for Sunrise is underway. 

It is the second setback in as many quarters for Revolution, a 704-MW wind farm that will feed into Connecticut and Rhode Island.  

With its second-quarter financial report in August, Ørsted announced that the environmental contamination at the site for Revolution’s onshore substation was worse than initially thought, so the cleanup would take longer. This pushed the projected completion date back from 2025 to 2026. (See Revolution, Sunrise OSW Projects Face New Delays.) 

During a Nov. 5 conference call with financial analysts, CEO Mads Nipper said there are potential problems with the monopile driven into the seabed for Revolution’s offshore substation. 

“Although it has been safely driven to the target depth, it may not be suitable for use as currently installed,” he said. “The cause is likely to be related to the resistance within the seabed soil.” 

This has happened only twice before with the more than 2,000 offshore wind foundations Ørsted has installed worldwide, Nipper said. 

“Using our extensive experience, our team [is] assessing the root cause and establishing the best part forward for the project.” 

As a precaution, the company has exercised its option to extend the contracted services of one of the installation vessels working on site. These ships typically command extremely high per-day charges, and Nipper said the cost was higher than anticipated. 

Ørsted is taking an impairment of $175 million because of these developments, raising Revolution’s total impairment for the first nine months of this year to $514 million. 

Aside from all this, Nipper said, the project is proceeding well.  

No new problems have cropped up with the onshore substation, and steady progress is being made offshore: 52 foundations, 20 array cables and nine turbines are in place. No further delays are expected in the commercial operation date. 

The team will suspend monopile installation from Dec. 1 to April 30 but plans to continue turbine installation through the winter. 

During the call, CFO Trond Westlie alluded to the many moving pieces of the offshore wind industry and world economy, and to their potential continued impact on the financials of Ørsted and Revolution Wind: “Let me remind everyone again that as we have had to recognize impairments on these projects in the past, any changes to the business case, including movement to the interest rates, are likely to lead to further adjustment to the impairments, as there is no headroom.” 

But things eventually should get better, he added: “It is important to keep in mind that once the projects are operational, they will contribute with significant earnings and cash flow throughout their lifetime.” 

When Nipper and Westlie completed their presentations, they fielded questions for nearly an hour, including: 

Q: Are you concerned that Donald Trump if elected would revoke the investment tax credit adders? 

A: We are assuming 40% and see minimal risk of that changing. 

Q: What portion of the components of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are foreign, and what would be the impact of tariffs imposed by a new president? 

A: I cannot give you a percentage off the top of my head. Many of the major components of Revolution are already onshore, awaiting installation, and the phase-in period for any new tariffs should make their effects manageable. 

Q: Are there any other significant known unknowns with Revolution that could create problems in the next few quarters? 

A: We can never say that there are no risks left in a project until it is done. But with what we know now, we do feel comfortable calling this a robust project. 

Q: With all the problems so far with Revolution, do you think you have made enough contingencies for Sunrise? 

A: We, of course, are assessing that all the time. With our current knowledge, yes, we do. 

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FERC Approves SPP’s Winter RA Requirement

FERC on Nov. 4 accepted SPP’s tariff revisions that add a winter season resource adequacy requirement for load-responsible entities, effective Jan. 1 (ER24-2397). 

The commission said the requirement and its associated deficiency payment provide an incentive that will help ensure LREs proactively procure and maintain sufficient capacity during the winter season. SPP’s proposal extends its summer season resource adequacy (RA) requirement into the winter, replacing the existing winter obligation. 

FERC said SPP’s tariff revision addressed its November 2023 rejection of the grid operator’s first filing. The RTO added language clarifying that a resource can only be used to meet the RA requirement if the LRE “expects [it] will be available for the duration of the [season]” and has “no knowledge [that the resource] will become unavailable.” 

SPP’s new language included an exception for authorized outages, as long as the outage or outages do not exceed 30 days of either season. 

Protesters argued that the first revision didn’t include a requirement that resources in an LRE’s workbook are expected to be available. LREs could purposefully include generators they knew would be offline during the season, undermining resource adequacy, the protesters said. 

The commission disagreed with the SPP Market Monitoring Unit’s contention that the lack of a definition for “forced outage” renders authorized outage’s definition ambiguous and the filing unjust and unreasonable. It pointed to SPP’s argument that forced outages, though not explicitly defined in the tariff, are not studied and therefore cannot fall within the definition of authorized outages. 

“The definition states that authorized outages will be studied by SPP as the balancing authority,” FERC said. “The definition of authorized outages also only encompasses those outages that have received authorization from SPP and provides that the balancing authority does not authorize forced outages.” 

The commission noted that SPP extended the expectation of availability that previously applied only to the summer RA requirement, which it previously accepted. The RTO also imposed additional requirements, FERC said, in rejecting the MMU’s argument that the tariff must include further detail to ensure that SPP and its stakeholders know which situations disqualify a resource from the expectation of availability. 

“Having found SPP’s proposal just and reasonable,” FERC said, it didn’t need to “consider alternative proposals” in the proceeding. 

SPP added the winter resource adequacy requirement after increasing its planning reserve margin, saying the obligation was the culmination of a large amount of work by several stakeholder groups. (See “Board, RSC Endorse Winter Obligation,” SPP Board/Members Committee Briefs: July 24-25, 2023.) 

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Feds Accuse Tenn. Man of Substation Attack Plot

The FBI announced it has charged a Tennessee man with attempting to destroy an energy facility and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction as part of a plot to cause civil unrest and spark a civil war.

Agents arrested Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tenn., on Nov. 2, according to the criminal complaint. The arrest was the culmination of a plot several months in the making to rig a drone with explosives and fly it into an electric substation near Nashville to disrupt power to the area.

“Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology — but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release. “This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable.”

Philippi first made it on the FBI’s radar in June 2024, when he allegedly told a “confidential human source” (identified as CHS-1 in the complaint) that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA facility in Columbia. CHS-1 introduced Philippi to a second source (CHS-2) who lived closer to Philippi and could meet him in person. The FBI said both sources are “reliable [and have] previously provided accurate information to the FBI in multiple investigations.”

CHS-2 and Philippi continued to talk over the phone and via text for the next month about Philippi’s plans and beliefs. The suspect discussed his desire to “do the most damage [by attacking] high economic, high tax, political zones” in major cities. He said he was working on a “threat report” on the best way to disrupt the electric grid, including by attacking substations. He also asked for the informant’s help stealing a train de-railer to wreck a train in Tennessee.

In August, CHS-2 met Philippi in person, where he introduced the suspect to an “undercover employee” (UCE-1). Philippe told UCE-1 that he had ties to various white supremacist groups including Atomwaffen Division, whose founder Brandon Russell was arrested by the FBI in 2023 for plotting to attack electric substations in Baltimore. (See Feds Charge Two in Alleged Conspiracy to Attack BGE Grid.)

Manifesto Outlines Racial Beliefs

FBI agents said Skyler Robert Philippi planned to use a drone to plant explosives in a substation. | Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Philippi shared portions of his “manifesto” with UCE-1, indicating his belief in “radical armed struggle [as] the only end to protecting and preserving our folk,” “accelerationism [as] a means to an end,” and the need to destroy “the interconnected or otherwise globalized world.”

UCE-1 introduced Philippi to a second undercover employee, UCE-2, in September. Philippi told the two of his plans to cripple the power grid by attacking eight or more substations. He indicated he had studied previous attacks on the power grid in North Carolina and California with firearms. The complaint did not specify which attacks, but they may have included rifle damage to two substations in Moore County, N.C., in 2022 that knocked out power to 45,000 customers. (See Duke Completes Power Restoration After NC Substation Attack.)

However, Philippi told the undercover employees that he did not believe rifles could do enough damage to cause widespread outages. He said mounting explosives on a drone would be more effective. Philippi asked UCE-1 and UCE-2 to help him get the components to build the drone, which they provided to him later that month.

The three then drove to scout out substations in the Nashville area. During the drive the undercover employees introduced Philippi via phone to a third colleague, UCE-3, who Philippi asked to send him explosive materials including C-4 and black powder.

Philippi and the other agents then continued their scouting exercise, with Philippi outlining the plan for the others. The complaint emphasized his leadership of the plot, with Philippi suggesting the clothing the UCEs should wear to evade suspicion and telling them to wear leather gloves rather than latex and nitrile to avoid fingerprints.

Throughout October, Philippi worked on building the drone and obtaining more explosive materials. He ultimately was unable to build a working drone, so the UCEs helped him get another one at his request. He also asked the UCEs to build pipe bombs for him; the complaint said they replaced the black powder UCE-3 provided with “an inert substance” to prevent the bombs exploding.

Plot Disrupted in Final Stages

On Nov. 2, the UCEs picked Philippi up and gave him the drone, fake pipe bombs, and the explosive he had ordered from UCE-3. The complaint did not specify whether UCE-3 provided actual explosive material. The UCEs drove him to a field where he conducted a test flight of the drone.

They then had lunch and drove to a hotel in Nashville where they “conducted a Nordic ritual” involving prayers to the Norse god Odin. The UCEs asked if Philippi still wanted to go ahead with the plan. He confirmed that he was “fully committed” and wanted to “do something big” that would be remembered in history. Philippi also revealed he had a handgun to shoot at police who tried to interfere with them.

After completing their preparations at the hotel, Philippi and the UCEs left to drive to the attack site. The UCEs left the vehicle, taking Philippi’s gun. Philippi went to the rear of their vehicle to prepare the drone and explosives, where law enforcement officers arrested him. The complaint said that when Philippi was arrested, he had powered up the drone and armed the explosive device, and was preparing to attach the explosive to the drone.

Philippi’s charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors with the Middle District of Tennessee and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are handling the case, the Justice Department said.

“Dangerous threats to our critical infrastructure threaten every member of this community and will not be tolerated,” Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee said. “We will always work with our law enforcement partners to identify and stop any and all efforts to wreak this kind of havoc and will not hesitate in prosecuting those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”

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State Briefs

FLORIDA 

Stuart Boards Approve Line Burying Project

Three Stuart city boards approved a $9.3 million project to bury power lines. 

The City Commission, Community Redevelopment Agency and Community Redevelopment boards voted to move ahead with work that is set to begin in March. 

More: Treasure Coast Newspapers 

GEORGIA 

Georgia Power Proposes Storage Systems to PSC

Georgia Power last week filed a proposal with the Public Service Commission to build four battery energy storage systems totaling 500 MW. 

The utility plans to construct two of the facilities adjacent to the Robins Air Force Base and Moody Air Force Base. A third would be located at Georgia Power’s retired coal-fired Plant Hammond, while the fourth facility would double the storage capacity at the McGrau Ford Battery Facility currently under development. 

The PSC is scheduled to vote on the projects in December. 

More: Capitol Beat News Service 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Ratepayers to Pay More for Hydro Due to Maine Political Delays

Avangrid and the state’s three utilities last week filed paperwork with the Department of Public Utilities seeking an additional $521 million from ratepayers to cover construction delays costs caused by a political dispute in Maine over the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line. 

Construction was shut down in November 2021 after Maine voters approved a law retroactively blocking the line from being built. Nearly two years later, the project was given a green light to resume construction when courts ruled the voter approved law violated the state’s constitution. 

The added costs bring the project’s total cost to $1.5 billion. 

More: CommonWealth Beacon 

MISSOURI 

Ameren: Rush Island Site Not for Sale

Ameren officials said they are not planning on selling the Rush Island Energy Center despite it being retired on Oct. 15. 

On Sept. 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ordered Ameren Missouri to retire the Rush Island Energy Center no later than Oct. 25, 2024, and terminate boiler operations no later than Oct. 15. 

Plans for the site remain unknown, but the connectivity to the grid makes the land too valuable for Ameren to sell.  

More: Spectrum News 

Court Rejects Grain Belt Express Tx Line Appeal

The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals last week rejected an attempt by state farming organizations to block construction of the Grain Belt Express line. 

Agriculture organizations including the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri Soybean Association asked the court to return the Public Service Commission’s approval to a lower court for further testimony on the value of the project. However, the three-judge panel said previous court decisions were adequate. 

More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch 

Fire Erupts at Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Plant

Residents of Fredericktown were forced to evacuate their homes last week when a fire erupted at Critical Mineral Recovery’s lithium-ion battery recycling plant. 

Photos showed Critical Mineral Recovery, one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities, with a hole in its partially collapsed roof and smoke billowing from the building. 

According to the company’s website, the plant processes electric vehicle and consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries and retrieves valuable metals and minerals. 

More: Missouri Independent 

PSC Approves Proposed Ameren Gas Plant

The Public Service Commission last week approved Ameren’s plans to build a $900 million natural gas-fired power plant in St. Louis County. 

PSC members agreed that the new Castle Bluff plant, which will replace Ameren’s former coal-fired Meramec Energy Center, is needed to deal with potential shortfalls in the St. Louis area and other parts of the state. 

Construction is slated to begin in the coming weeks, and the plant is expected to start operating in 2027. 

More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch 

NEW MEXICO

Bernalillo County Approves IRB for Battery Storage Project

The Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners approved an ordinance to issue $190 million in industrial revenue bonds for the Sun Lasso Energy Center. 

The battery storage project developed by Aypa Power will be a four-hour system with a 150-MW capacity. 

Construction is slated for 2025, with operations beginning in 2027. 

More: Energy Storage News 

OREGON 

NW Natural Ordered to Phase Out New Gas Connection Subsidies by 2027

The Public Utilities Commission last week ordered NW Natural to phase out subsidies for new gas customers by Nov. 1, 2027. 

The order comes ahead of an upcoming ruling about gas rates and features decisions about costs that are allowed to affect how much customers pay. The commission expects to announce NW Natural’s approved rates soon, as well as rate decisions for other regulated gas utilities. 

Conversely, NW Natural said eliminating the line extension allowance would be an “extreme measure and that no Oregon law limits the growth of the natural gas system” and that it’s too soon to “prejudge” the future of the gas system. The company is still reviewing the order. 

More: Oregon Public Broadcasting 

TENNESSEE 

Memphis Opens Green Bank

The city of Memphis officially opened a green bank last week intended to fund energy efficiency, green infrastructure and renewable energy projects. 

The bank plans to roll out several programs aimed at upgrading homes and businesses with energy saving projects. 

The bank received $150,000 in seed funding from the Tennessee Valley Authority and is seeking to secure a $20 million grant from EPA. 

More: WREG 

VIRGINIA 

Energy Storage Projects Slated for Greensville, Pittsylvania

Two energy storage projects proposed for Southern Virginia recently received approvals in their respective areas. 

The State Corporation Commission approved Dominion Energy’s request to build a $548 million liquified natural gas storage facility next to its Greensville County natural gas power plant. Dominion aims to open the facility in 2027. 

Elsewhere, Strata Clean Energy received approval from the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Authority to lease 85 acres at the Southern Virginia Megasite to build a lithium-ion battery storage facility. Construction is slated to begin in 2026. 

More: Virginia Business 

Powhatan Approves $2.7B Data Center Project

Powhatan County supervisors voted 3-2 to approve a $2.7 billion data center campus. 

Developer Province Group’s plans call for three data center buildings, totaling some 1.5 million square feet of space, north of Route 60. Dominion Energy said it will need to install a new substation and power lines to supply the buildings. 

The approval went against a planning commission recommendation to deny the rezoning and conditional use permit. 

More: Richmond Times-Dispatch 

WEST VIRGINIA

PSC Approves Mountaineer Gas, Hope Gas Rate Hikes

The Public Service Commission has approved rate increases for utilities Mountaineer Gas and Hope Gas. 

Hope Gas customers will see an increase of $6.08 (6.3%), while Mountaineer Gas bills will go up by $2.63 (2.9%). Other companies receiving an increase were Peoples Gas (6.1%), Southern Public Service (7%) and Standard-Bazzle (7.4%). 

All five companies noted infrastructure replacement, upgrades and expansions are reasons for their requests.  

More: Charleston Gazette-Mail 

WYOMING 

Legislature Rejects Bills Limiting Eminent Domain

The Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands Committee rejected two bills that would have restricted the use of eminent domain to acquire land for carbon capture, wind and solar projects. 

The committee voted 9-6 to reject a bill that would have prohibited public and private entities from using eminent domain to install pipelines transporting carbon dioxide for the purposes of carbon capture use or storage. The committee also voted 10-5 to reject another bill that would have allowed some level of eminent domain to continue for the installation of electric collector systems for wind and solar energy. 

More: Cowboy State Daily 

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Federal Briefs

DOE to Award $150M for Energy Upgrades at Federal Facilities

The DOE announced it has released $149.87 million in funding for 67 energy conservation and clean energy projects at federal facilities across 28 states and territories, as well as six international locations. 

The funds represent the second installment of a total of $250 million under the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) grant program. The projects include installing battery storage systems, microgrids, building automation systems and integrating renewable energy sources. 

More: Energy.gov 

Federal Appeals Court to Hear TVA’s Cumberland Pipeline Case

A federal appeals court will hear arguments in December over the future of a proposed Tennessee Valley Authority pipeline supplying the planned Cumberland Gas Plant in Tennessee. 

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in October to temporarily freeze two permits issued to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company to begin construction of the pipeline, which would cross 149 streams, creeks and wetlands, until the court can consider arguments about the environmental impact of construction. 

The 32-mile pipeline is needed to supply methane gas to TVA’s Cumberland Gas Plant as it replaces coal-burning plants with methane gas plants. 

More: Tennessee Lookout 

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Company Briefs

Ford to Idle F-150 Lightning EV Plant for Weeks

Ford Motor last week said it will idle its F-150 Lightning electric truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., from mid-November through the end of the year as the automaker continues to deal with slower-than-expected EV demand. 

Production will pause Nov. 15 and resume Jan. 6, a Ford spokesperson confirmed. Ford did not confirm how many workers would be impacted. 

Ford said in August it is changing its EV strategy after losses mounted and said it is prioritizing the introduction of an all-electric commercial van and delaying the launch of a full-size EV pickup. 

More: Detroit Free Press 

Amazon, Dominion to Explore Nuclear Development

Amazon and Dominion Energy announced they have agreed to explore the potential development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) at North Anna Power Station in Virginia. 

The companies’ memorandum of understanding means they will “jointly explore innovative ways to advance SMR development and financing while also mitigating potential cost and development risks for customers and capital providers,” according to an announcement. 

Only two SMRs are in operation worldwide — one in Russia and the other in China — and Virginia likely won’t have its own before the mid-2030s. 

More: Virginia Business 

Meta, Engie Agree to Solar PPA

Facebook owner Meta Platforms last week announced it will buy all the output of Engie’s planned 260-MW Sypert solar plant. 

The plant, which will be built in Milam County, Texas, is expected to be operational in 2025. 

More: Reuters 

Company Submits Pipeline Expansion Plans to FERC

Williams Companies last week applied to FERC for the Transco Pipeline Expansion, which is part of a massive expansion of natural gas infrastructure proposed for the Southeast. 

The project would include 26 miles of pipeline in Virginia and 28 miles in North Carolina. 

The company aims to begin construction in fall of 2026 and begin service in 2027. 

More: Augusta Free Press 

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NERC Releases Final ITCS Draft Installments

In the final installments of the Interregional Transfer Capability Study (ITCS), released this week, NERC called for “a diverse and flexible approach” to meeting the future transfer needs of the U.S. electric grid.

NERC released the second and third draft ITCS installments on schedule Nov. 4. Part 1 of the study, released in draft form Aug. 28, comprised a transfer capability analysis summing up the current transfer capabilities between transmission planning regions in North America. (See NERC Examines Transfer Capability in Draft ITCS Installment.)

Part 2 includes recommendations for prudent additions to transfer capability that could strengthen grid reliability, while Part 3 lays out recommendations to meet and maintain total transfer capability. The three installments will be combined and submitted to FERC by Dec. 2 as ordered by Congress in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. (See Lawmakers, White House Promise More Work on Permitting After Debt Deal.) FERC will post the report for public comment and then submit a report to Congress along with recommendations for statutory changes.

A fourth document will follow in the first quarter of 2025, covering transfer capabilities and prudent additions from the U.S. to Canada and between Canadian provinces. While this plan goes beyond Congress’ mandate, NERC said earlier this year that the study “would be incomplete without a thorough understanding of the Canadian limits and available resources.”

“The ITCS emphasizes a balanced approach — one that identifies the unique needs of each region and determines where targeted and meaningful investments can make a real difference in ensuring reliability and resilience,” NERC Director of Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis John Moura said in a statement. He added that NERC would continue “to ensure the [electric grid] is prepared for tomorrow’s challenges without taking a one-size-fits-all approach.”

NERC’s recommended prudent additions were based on the transfer capability analysis in Part 1, which used the transmission planning regions identified in FERC Order 1000 to create two different base cases covering summer 2024 and winter 2024/25. The model mapped existing interfaces, along with potential new interfaces that might be constructed in the coming decade, and used historical weather data to estimate load and resource availability for the future.

NERC defined “prudent additions” as “transmission enhancements … to mitigate grid reliability risks under the most challenging conditions.” Economic issues and cost-benefit analysis were not considered in the analysis.

ITCS authors selected the 2033 resource mix as the basis for their projections, even though interregional transmission projects typically need at least 10 years for construction, because “forecasting demand and resources beyond that time frame becomes increasingly speculative and uncertain.” The impact of added transfer capability during extreme events was then evaluated using a six-step process:

    • identify hours of resource deficiency through calculating available generation and storage, subtracting load and factoring in existing transfer capacity;
    • quantify maximum resource deficiency by calculating the yearly maximum resource deficiency across 12 weather years;
    • identify and prioritize constrained interfaces;
    • allocate additional transfer capability across constrained interfaces;
    • iterate incremental additions until all resource deficiencies are resolved, if possible; and
    • finalize prudent levels of transfer capability.

The authors recommended a total of 35 GW of additional transfer capability across the planning regions studied, with the greatest amount — 14,100 MW — found in ERCOT across the SPP-South connection (4,100 MW) and two entirely new connections to Front Range (5,700 MW) and MISO-South (4,300 MW). NERC noted that even with these prudent additions, it was still not possible to resolve all energy deficiencies “due to wide-area resource shortages.”

The same was true in the California-North region, where the report recommended 1,100 MW of additions on the Wasatch Front connection.

NERC described “various options” that entities can use to mitigate the risks identified in the report and address the recommended additions. Among these are the development of internal resources such as generation and storage, which can reduce the need for external transfers; building new transmission lines or increasing transfer capability with neighboring regions; and demand-side management and resilience initiatives.

“While the study highlights specific needs to improve resilience under extreme conditions, NERC encourages flexibility in meeting these needs through various pathways,” the ERO said, suggesting “enhanced collaboration with regional planning entities, careful alignment with FERC and state policies, and consistent stakeholder engagement to effectively assess, refine and execute strategies.”

In addition, NERC emphasized that “a one-size-fits-all approach may not be solely effective” in overcoming transmission constraints; in particular, the ERO said that a blanket universal transfer capability minimum across regions “could lead to inefficient investments” in areas where transmission capability is already adequate or excessive.

NERC said it hoped the ITCS would “foster collaboration between utilities, regional planning organizations and state regulators” to tackle the transmission challenges facing the grid. It also suggested revisiting the ITCS in the future to account for advances in technology and changes to the resource mix.

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Wash. Gov. Approves Controversial Wind Farm

Gov. Jay Inslee has approved a revised plan for the largest wind turbine farm in Washington, stretching across 24 miles in the Horse Heaven Hills in the southeastern part of the state. 

His approval leaves intact more than three-quarters of the originally requested number of turbines. The proposed turbine farm has drawn criticism for its possible impact on Native cultural sites and on wildlife in the area, as well as its visibility from the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. 

The project has provoked contentious disagreement among several environmental groups, with wind and solar proponents on one side and wildlife preservationists on the other, who raise concerns about the effects on ferruginous hawk nests. 

The state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) approved the recommendation 4-3 in September. EFSEC posted on its website an Oct. 18 letter from Inslee (D) that said he considered “impacts on habitat, wildlife, tribal cultural resources, public safety and visual aesthetics. I believe this project is appropriately sited. … I also find that the council thoroughly and adequately responded to issues and concerns raised by tribal partners, the community and other stakeholders relating to this project.” 

Opponents of the project have until Dec. 17 to appeal the decision to the state’s courts.  

Inslee has pushed new wind turbine projects and solar panel farms as part of his campaign to trim the state’s carbon emissions. His Oct. 18 letter hinted at his impatience with the Horse Heaven Hills project taking most of 2024 to be approved. 

“We will not meet our state’s urgent clean energy needs if the path to a final recommendation from the council spans multiple years and contains conditional micro-siting process requirements that further prolong final siting approval for a significant portion of the primary project components,” Inslee wrote. “Timely and efficient action by the council is essential to our mission to mitigate the impacts of climate change and provide adequate green energy alternatives. I strongly encourage the council to identify opportunities to increase its efficiency and provide for more timely decision-making. You can expect my office to engage with you on this critical issue before the end of my administration.” 

Project developer Scout Clean Energy of Boulder, Colo., originally made plans for two scenarios, calling for a maximum of 147 of the 670-foot-tall wind turbines or 222 of the 500-foot turbines along a 24-mile east-west stretch along the hills. However, EFSEC decided in February to implement two-mile buffer zones around 60 to 70 ferruginous hawk nests in that area and remove turbines along the north slopes of the hills. 

The company says those buffer zones cut Scout Clean Energy’s number of turbines by roughly half. At that time, the company said those changes would trim the projected 1,150 megawatts of wind power to 236 megawatts. 

Inslee sent the February recommendations back to EFSEC, wanting to increase the number of turbines back to the original estimates. In recent months, EFSEC trimmed some ferruginous hawk buffer zones to 0.6 mile around the nests. In 2021, the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission changed the status of ferruginous hawks from threatened to endangered. 

The recommendations from September call for a 0.6-mile buffer around the nests, plus a 0.25-mile buffer around historic Native American fire sites, plus a one-mile buffer alongside Webber Canyon, another culturally sensitive spot for the Yakama Nation. 

If the 500-foot turbines were installed, that would trim the number of turbines by approximately 50, from 222 to roughly 172. If the 670-foot turbines were installed, that would cut the number of turbines by approximately 34, from 147 to roughly 113. More precise figures will be calculated later. 

Scout Clean Energy’s original proposal also included two 500-megawatt solar panel farms on the east and west sides of the 24-mile stretch. EFSEC ordered the eastern solar farm removed because of its proximity to sensitive Native cultural sites.