Mitsubishi Power Americas’ Post

Extreme cold continues to affect the reliability of the U.S. electrical grid, and one major challenge contributing to the vulnerability is the recurring shortage of natural gas. Should the natural gas system fail, it could take weeks to restore full service. Enter: long-duration energy storage (LDES). #LDES systems, like ESS iron flow batteries, can discharge stored renewable energy during peak demand periods. This reduces the reliance on natural gas-fired power plants and helps balance the grid's supply and demand. ⚖️ Read more on the extreme cold’s impact on the grid via NBC News:

Is that really what it underscores? I think it might demonstrate that our lack of regulatory oversight, planning, and forethought has allowed load demand for data centers to far surpass the speed of the renewable energy transition and now we’re paying a premium to keep coal plants in West Virginia online, delaying planned retirements. To address this, they’re suggesting we throw in more highly volatile gas to help mitigate prices (cause the prices are currently low)… but the data center load demand is still rising steeply… SO really what they’re suggesting will not bring down prices, it will just enable more of the data center space to build out, likely raising the prices higher as competition for limited supply increases, as well as making the prices more volatile. Eventually the prices will become unbearable with the data centers finally deciding to stop building here or the political backlash from all the other ratepayers finally resulting in some real regulatory oversight. But the big question is how much environmental and community damage would we have done in the meantime? My two cents. But what do you think? Ivy Main Ann Bennett Elena Schlossberg

"In the electrification conversation, we cannot ignore natural gas. It serves as a vital complement to the intermittency of renewable power, providing a rapid ramp-up backup essential for grid stability." As renewable electricity generation grows, so does the need for reliable backup solutions like natural gas. Let's continue to embrace a balanced approach to energy transition. #EnergyTransition #NaturalGas #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #GridStability

Interesting power development in Virginia...

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 I saw this post from the Virginia Department of Energy yesterday and immediately began to see it posted all over LinkedIn, fueling some energy and environmental misinformation. I don't believe that most are malicious, but there are some facts that anyone interested should consider when thinking that coal is a monster villain and that renewables like solar can solve all the challenges. I want to be clear, I am not opposed to renewables. I am a proponent of logical and reasonable solutions rooted in reality that include renewables of all sorts. They just need to make sense. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 1. Only 4% of Virginia's energy comes from coal. 2. Their largest renewable resource, solar, contributes a mere 6% to the grid. 3. If we examine grids with significant renewable penetration, such as CAISO (California), ERCOT (Texas), and Alberta, we observe substantial challenges in successfully integrating large-scale renewables. These issues are further exacerbated by the demands of grid-scale wholesale storage, like batteries. 4. Another interesting fact is that 38% of US coal is exported through Virginia, and it's the only thing that keeps Norfolk afloat. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹? Data centers will be built in that region to accommodate the Federal Government. Even if they move further north on I-95, billions of dollars would be invested further north, and those states would most certainly welcome the investment—yet still cause the same capacity market problems. Since there is aboslutely nothing we can do about the reality that the world is changing in a way that is revolutionary, we need to be considering solutions that improve energy density, while helping us bridge the gap between where we are now, and the future which certainly includes nuclear. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗚𝗔𝗦. ≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋_≋ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. For energy insights, follow: #EnergyNinjaChronicles ⚡ Subscribe to the newsletter: 📩 https://lnkd.in/dGpq2-dC #EnergyDensity #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #NaturalGas

How can the United States plan for and invest in increased grid transmission capacity to ensure access to reliable, affordable, and clean electricity? Our new analysis (https://lnkd.in/eMDn-3QS) examines how improving our ability to proactively maintain and expand transmission grid capacity can help meet rapidly growing energy demand and enable a steady substitution of clean generation for high-emitting generation. It draws three main conclusions to inform transmission planning and cost allocation in light of a proposed rule from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, with recommendations to strengthen the proposed rule and inform its implementation at the regional level. #grid #electricity #transmission #integration #ratepayers

Prices for electricity are skyrocketing in Virginia. A 1,600% increase in the electricity auction prices in just three years! This is largely driven by inadequate generation capacity in VA. Fortunately, VA Power is building a massive offshore wind farm. That will help with the capacity shortage and put downward pressure on electricity prices. Unfortunately, that plant is projected to cost nearly $10 BILLION (that often means $12 to $15 billion in the utility industry.). When that plant goes on line, the construction cost will be added to the rate base and to rates. That will put huge upward pressure on electric rates in VA for decades. The bottom line is that electricity prices are going up in Virginia. Note that the VA Dept of Energy is proposing more natural gas fired generation. In the interest of both capacity and cost, that is probably a good idea.

Our regional power grid operator (RTO), PJM, has published the results of the electricity auction for 2025/2026. Prices have surged nearly 16x in Dominion Energy’s footprint since 2022 due to insufficient in-state power generation. These high prices underscore the need for Virginia to invest in natural gas power to protect consumers from significant price increases and potential brownouts in the future. #NaturalGas #VirginiaEnergy

With all due respect to the smart folks (and I know several of them!) at the Virginia Department of Energy, I don't think that today's "high prices underscore the need for Virginia to invest in natural gas power..." Why? Because we've built a lot of gas (and coal) generation in recent years: Dominion's Bear Garden gas plant came online in 2011; then the utility added the Virginia City coal-fired power plant in 2012; the Warren County gas plant in 2014; the Brunswick gas plant in 2016; and the Greensville gas plant in 2018. That's 5,545 megawatts of new, fossil fuel-fired power in just 13 years. We obviously have some urgent work to do to understand what's driving the increase in prices in the PJM capacity auction. But just like building more lanes on Interstate 75 (already 15 lanes wide) won't solve Atlanta's traffic problems, building more gas does not strike me as the right response to the news out of PJM.

TEXAS POWER GRID POISED TO LOSE A BIG GAS PLANT Strained Texas Power Grid Is Poised to Lose a Big Gas Plant https://hubs.la/Q02pBYVV0 The Texas power grid is poised to lose a big natural gas-fired power plant, potentially straining a system that’s already grappling with an exodus of fossil fuel generation. #power #powergrid #gasplant #gasindustry #oilandgasindustry #energyindustry #naturalgas #fossilfuels