While the conference and exposition officially begin on Tuesday, February 21, enthusiastic attendees from all over the globe flew in early to take in a tour of the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) Gardenia Innovation and Operations Center followed by a tour of the 740MW Cane Island Power Park.

Visit POWERGEN International in Orlando, Florida, 21-23 Feb 2023

Grid-edge R&D

OUC’s facility is where the municipal utility tests pre-commercialized or newly commercialized technology and includes a floating solar array, a vehicle-to-grid bi-directional charger, a 50-kW DC fast charger (soon to be upgraded to 120 kW), several Level 2 EV chargers, a 10-kW/40-kWh vanadium redox flow battery and two underground 8-kW/32-kWh flywheels.

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“We want to make sure we understand how they work, their operational characteristics and build new business cases around them before we put them in a position where they could be affecting our customers,” explained Rubin York, one of the three OUC engineers leading the tour.

In addition, OUC is testing a site controller that can operate the system in three main modes: PV smoothing, demand mitigation, which performs autonomous peak shaving, and contingency mode, which collects the assets into a microgrid.

“That is only possible thanks to these flywheels,” said York.

They go through a grid-forming bi-directional inverter which, in contingency mode, assess the frequency and voltage of the buildings and meters and disconnects the EV chargers, the PV inverter (per the IEEE standard), and any other load until the flywheels can output a good 60 hertz, 480-volt AC signal, said York. Once the flywheel generation is firm, OUC can slowly bring the loads back up and charge the EVs.

York also showed off the Cloud Impact Mapping System (CIMS), an in-house developed system that was designed to predict the ramp rate of solar PV as clouds come over and depart the solar PV. Should the technology scale, it could prove to be useful to electric utilities in Florida that are relying on a large amount of solar PV generation because Florida generally experiences a large amount of clouds.

“The goal is to build an array of these all around our territory, build a central repository, and have them effectively ‘hand off’ cloud systems to one another,” said York.

The OUC Gardenia site is also host to a rooftop solar array with bifacial solar panels and a solar parking canopy, which covers the parking lots for the facility.

Exceptional availability

After a quick bus ride and lunch, attendees toured the 740-MW Cane Island Power Park, which was available more than 90% of the time in 2021 and won an award for its exceptional availability.

Unit 3 of the park ran for nine months with no trips said Ken Rutter, COO of the Florida Municipal Power Authority (FMPA), which owns the plant. He added that the unit ran through Hurricane Ian and supplied power to customers who were able to accept it.

The POWERGEN group was split into four smaller groups and taken all throughout the park, viewing each generating unit, one turbine (that was not currently operating), condensers, cooling towers, the control center, and more. Rutter encouraged attendees to ask their tour guides anything at all – and they certainly took him up on that offer.

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This demonstration is the culmination of a $100 million research effort to develop next-generation concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) plants and showcase storage technology that could provide one gigawatt of storage for one hour at a single plant.

“Next-generation CSP has the potential to be a game-changer,” said Alejandro Moreno, acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. “This pilot facility will demonstrate how CSP systems can meet the challenges of providing long-duration energy storage while reducing costs and complexity for solar thermal technology. At the same time, it also provides a pathway to commercialization for industrial process heat.”

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DOE launched its Generation 3 (Gen3) CSP research effort in 2017, challenging the industry to develop and test new technologies to achieve high-temperature plants.

The best commercially available technologies, which use mirrors to concentrate sunlight and heat molten salt on top of a tower, can only reach 565°C. DOE’s Gen3 CSP research initiative evaluated all viable pathways to operate a plant that could reach 720°C. Based on research findings, DOE then selected Sandia to develop its technology, which uses sand-like ceramic particles instead of molten salt and can withstand temperatures greater than 800°C. These particles can be used to transfer and store heat or power a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) turbine. If successful, this type of solar power plant could provide 100MW of power continuously, around the clock, at low cost.

Sandia received $25 million to build, test, and operate this facility at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in Albuquerque, NM. To accelerate deployment and commercialisation, Sandia is working with international researchers in Saudi Arabia and Australia to test variants of key system components. The pilot is expected to be completed in 2024 and will prove that a particle-based plant could achieve DOE’s goal of making electricity-plus-storage from CSP even more affordable at 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Originally published on renewableenergyworld.com

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The dozens of power and utility professionals who make up the POWERGEN advisory committee have worked tirelessly for months to put together a compelling conference program.

The show program includes eight educational tracks: Decarbonization, Planning for the Electric Future, Nuclear’s Small Revolution, Unlocking Hydrogen’s Power Potential, The Evolving Power Plant, Energy Storage Deployments, Environmental and Emission Controls and Optimizing Plant Performance.  

These topics lead the conversation for how generators can evolve into cleaner and more sustainable sources as we set our sights on 2050.

Here are some sessions to note during the next few days:

• On Tuesday, Feb. 21, Black & Veatch will highlight a two-year study on the impacts of cycling and low-load generation on performance, heat rate, reliability and availability at combined cycle power plants. Some of the most intriguing findings from this study will be shared for the first time.
• Also that day, DTE Energy and MapEx will discuss a hybrid analytics solution that combines machine learning, advanced pattern recognition software with a physics-based heat balance “digital twin” solution to monitor and improve the performance and reliability of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Michigan.
• As energy storage systems are growing at an unprecedented pace, a panel including experts from Burns & McDonnell, UL and American Fire Technologies will address current codes and standards, as well as recent changes that all installers in the U.S. must adhere to before installing a system. 
• On Wednesday, Feb. 22, don’t miss a panel of experts who will address carbon capture, pipeline transport and geologic storage and their relevance to the power industry. The esteemed panel includes José Figueroa and Mark McKoy with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Richard Esposito with Southern Company and Bob Slettehaugh with Kiewit.
• As part of our hydrogen track, Jeff Goldmeer of GE will provide a view of the environmental concerns, as well as potential solutions to prevent NOx emission increases as hydrogen is introduced in greater quantities as a fuel in gas turbines.
• Make sure not to miss a panel from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and NuScale about the latter’s first small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear plant to begin operation in the U.S. The plant will deploy six, 77 MW modules to generate 462 MW of electricity. INL will provide a technical overview of the SMR design features and how they address traditional concerns in the deployment previous reactors.

Before the conference sessions begin and the exhibit hall opens, the Keynote on the morning of Feb. 21 will feature remarks by best-selling author and megatrends expert, Andrew Winston; Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Nuscale Power, Dr. José Reyes; SVP and CEO Duke Energy Florida and Midwest, Alex Glenn; and COO of OUC, Jan Aspuru.

The Keynote address is open to all attendees and exhibitors.

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This Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver enables NYPA to conduct fully remote drone operations, such as asset and vegetative management inspections, at its 1,160MW Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in Schoharie County, about 60 miles from Albany, New York.

NYPA’s drone programme supports its asset management strategies and is part of an authority-wide digitisation initiative to modernise grid infrastructure to advance the efficient delivery of clean power statewide, according to a release.

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“The Power Authority is proud to be leading the way in the advanced deployment of automated flight technologies for use in the utility industry,” said Justin E. Driscoll, New York Power Authority acting president and chief executive officer. “Drones will become an even more valuable tool as we expand our capability to detect infrastructure issues and support our mapping and land management responsibilities. Being able to capture images remotely, regardless of weather conditions or distances, will allow us to track and evaluate our assets more efficiently and safely.”

FAA Part 107 regulations require pilots to maintain visual contact while operating a drone. This waiver allows operators to conduct operations without the requirement for the pilot or an observer to see the unmanned aircraft or to scan the surrounding airspace throughout the entire flight. Routes, however, must be pre-planned and the drone must remain within 50 feet above ground level or within 50 feet of structures.

The waiver was obtained with the help of Skydio, a US drone and software manufacturer providing equipment and advisory services. The waiver, which is specific to Skydio drones, authorizes operations through 2027 and grants NYPA the capability to conduct remote operations from other locations without an on-site pilot or visual observer. The timing of the waiver dovetails with the launch of a new drone docking technology by Skydio that allows drones to take off and land autonomously with a pilot directing operations from a remote location.

“This important approval enables NYPA to operate Skydio drones beyond line of sight without visual observers,” said Jenn Player, Skydio’s senior director of regulatory affairs. “Skydio autonomy and collision avoidance capabilities are key to conducting these low-altitude, high-value operations safely and easily.”

Peter Kalaitzidis, NYPA’s UAS programme manager, who submitted the application, said the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Project was proposed as a first use case to prove the technology’s application, primarily because of the sparser population in the region. Drones are already being operated at various NYPA sites to monitor asset health, including for inspection of transmission lines, vegetation management and monitoring of overgrown trees, and spillway erosion mapping.

“Our application demonstrated to the FAA that we are ready to enhance our program and capabilities,” Kalaitzidis said. “Having this waiver removes limitations and unlocks opportunities moving forward. We will continue to explore potential uses for this technology that will benefit the Authority and hopefully the industry at large. At present, we are developing the procedures, mitigation steps and hardware so we can best use these resources over the next few years.”

NYPA’s in-house drone programme is researching and testing new applications to implement drones more fully into day-to-day utility operations while maintaining high standards of aviation professionalism and safety. More than 40 employees are trained as drone pilots.

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the US, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80% of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower.

Originally published on hydroreview.com

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The joint project is headed by Sandia National Laboratories, CEMEX and Synhelion and was known formally as Solar-Thermal Mixed-Media Enhancement and Decarbonization of Clinker Formation, which would use concentrated solar thermal energy in clinker production, a key component in cement.

CEMEX and Synhelion have worked to introduce Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology in the cement production process, achieving a successful laboratory-scale pilot in 2022. Sandia Laboratories will contribute research facilities as part of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, along with subject matter expertise to help accelerate the technology’s adaptation to cement manufacturing.

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Cement clinker is a solid material produced in the manufacture of Portland cement. It is produced by sintering limestone and aluminosilicate materials such as clay during the cement kiln stage. Fossil fuels are typically used to heat the kiln and are responsible for around 40% of direct CO2 emissions from the process.

Synhelion’s technology delivers process heat beyond 1,500 degrees Celsius to produce clinker without using fossil fuels.

Few renewable technologies are capable of generating heat at the temperatures needed to process raw cement feedstock, said Nathan Schroeder, Sandia researcher and principal investigator for the Solar MEAD project. The project is expected to advance understanding of how to use CST to gather and deliver heat to existing cement production facilities. Techniques could be used in other ore processing industries such as refractory, ceramics, and battery production.

The project is designed to investigate methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, lower process temperatures, and increase the efficiency of clinker formation using solar energy. The team will assess the conditions to maximise heat transfer to the raw cement mix.

Successful adoption of this technology in cement manufacturing could allow for the replacement of fossil fuels.

Synhelion evolved from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2016 in a bid to decarbonise the transportation sector. Synhelion is currently building its first industrial solar fuel plant in Germany. The first commercial production facility is planned for commissioning in Spain by 2025. 

Mexico-based CEMEX offers cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates in global markets.

Originally published on renewableenergyworld.com

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The 20ha campus at the company’s corporate headquarters includes an advanced manufacturing facility as well as its SPARC fusion energy demonstration currently under construction – dubbed “the world’s first commercially viable net energy fusion machine”.

The campus also is planned to enable the ongoing scaling of fusion power and expansion of the company, a start-up spun out from MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center to combine the decades of fusion research with the innovation and speed of the private sector.

“The opening of this campus marks an important moment as we continue to accelerate towards commercially, globally deployable fusion energy,” says CEO Bob Mumgaard.

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“This site brings together our team, the proven and next stage technologies, the advanced manufacturing capabilities and the demonstration of actual fusion performance at the scale required to bring fusion energy off the lab bench and to the market.”

Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ approach to fusion is magnetic confinement, with the SPARC facility a compact tokamak device.

This is similar to that of for example UK-based Tokamak Energy, with the ‘race’ on to see which team and/or country will be the first to deliver.

Its ‘secret sauce’ is the use of high temperature superconducting magnets, which the company previously has demonstrated up to 20T and should enable the delivery of similar performance to for example ITER but in a more compact system.

Predictions are that SPARC, due to become operational in 2025, could produce over 100MW of fusion power at gains of Q>10, with Q>1, i.e. an energy production greater than the input, breached soon after its start.

SPARC in turn should pave the way for a commercial fusion plant ARC, which is expected to start feeding energy into the grid as soon as the early 2030s.

Since its launch in 2018 Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised over $2 billion in funding and received 18 INFUSE nuclear fusion development awards from the US Department of Energy.

The latest of these in January were for production methods for steel materials for fusion and for a methodology for neutronics modelling and systems design.

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The long-duration energy storage systems will support TID’s Project Nexus, a pioneering installation of solar panels over irrigation canals, aimed to generate clean energy while minimising loss of water through evaporation.

It’s a proof-of-concept pilot to study solar over canal design, deployment, and co-benefits on behalf of the State of California using TID infrastructure and electrical grid access.

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TID will use ESS technology to demonstrate the key role of long-duration energy storage in delivering reliable, dispatchable clean energy 24/7.

Funding for the project is provided by the State of California and administered by the Department of Water Resources.

“Long-duration energy storage is the key that will enable Project Nexus to not only conserve water and generate renewable energy, but provide on-demand, clean power 24/7,” said Hugh McDermott, ESS senior vice president, business development and sales.

“This project addresses multiple climate challenges at once and is the kind of innovative approach that will build a climate-resilient future. We look forward to delivering a solution that can be replicated across California and other drought-prone areas,” added McDermott.

ESS iron flow technology provides long-duration energy storage and is ideal for applications that require up to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity.

Project Nexus is expected to be complete in 2024.

The water-energy nexus

TID suggests that utilities are increasingly becoming aware of the overlap between water and energy management and are prioritising strategies to protect both resources as far as possible.

With Project Nexus, the water in the conveyance infrastructure has the potential to cool the solar panels, increasing their efficiency.

The solar panels also provide shade and wind protection over the water, reducing evaporation and leading to a reduction in aquatic growth improving water quality.

Research at the University of California has shown that up to 13GW of solar capacity could be installed over California’s canals, which would require approximately 3GW of energy storage and contribute significantly to the state’s clean energy and water conservation goals.

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Field construction is planned for the third quarter. 

DEEP said that the reservoir characteristics could support the construction of multiple geothermal expansion facilities in southeast Saskatchewan over several years.

The project includes a 5MW power purchase agreement with SaskPower. 

Plans call for the facility to be built in two phases: 5MW followed by an additional 20MW at the same location. Production and injection wells are planned to be drilled to a depth of around 3.5 kilometers and horizontally for an additional 3 kilometers.  

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DEEP said it planned to use a “ribcage” layout and geothermal well field design. Wells with equivalent depth, lateral length and step out are drilled in the hydrocarbon resource plays of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and DEEP said it would use similar techniques. The well design also incorporates learnings from five vertical and one horizontal test wells drilled from 2018 – 2021. 

According to the company, a subsurface geological reservoir model predicts that the well spacing for the first 25MW field development will use around 10% of its entire subsurface lease that covers some 97,775 acres. The subsurface lease is expected to support the build-out of multiple power facilities greater than 200MW.  

The geothermal resource is designed to generate power using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology. Licensing and permitting for all well and surface facilities are slated to start during the first quarter.

The company said that fieldwork for a 56.2-square-filometer 3D seismic programme has started and is slated to be completed in March. Data will be used for horizontal well trajectory planning on the eastern half of the first well array and for future expansion planning. 

In addition to geothermal power production, the DEEP subsurface lease contains separate intervals that are expected to have the characteristics necessary for CO2 storage. DEEP said it is exploring CO2 storage opportunities to develop what it said would be a “major multi-use” CO2 storage field.

Originally published on power-eng.com

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The company intends to investigate the possibility of establishing a North American manufacturing system to match the increasing global demand for large-scale storage batteries.

Sumitomo Electric will make an initial investment of about $7,6m to prepare for local production and installation systems for their redox flow batteries.

The company announced its expansion plans at DISTRIBUTECH International in San Diego, and received positive feedback from US operators.

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Sumitomo Electric’s redox flow batteries are used in applications such as grid-side supply and demand adjustment, microgrid operation in emergencies, and energy trading in the ancillary services market.

According to Sumitomo Electric, their redox flow batteries are characterised by design flexibility and their longer life compared to other batteries.

Sumitomo Electric began developing redox flow batteries in 1985 and commercialised them in 2001.

Redox flow batteries are rechargeable batteries that are charged and discharged by means of the oxidation-reduction reaction of ions of vanadium. They have a longer service life with almost no degradation of electrodes and electrolytes, high safety due to being free of combustible materials, and availability of operation under normal temperatures.

These make the batteries ideal for use in power grid systems, according to Sumitomo Electric.

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Siemens Gamesa has unveiled plans to ramp up its windpower manufacturing footprint in the US and ultimately “lead the US offshore wind market”.

The strategy hinges on whether New York authorities choose Siemens Gamesa’s turbines in the state’s third offshore wind solicitation.

If it does, Siemens Gamesa has revealed that it will build a major offshore nacelle manufacturing facility at the Port of Coeymans in New York state.

It said the planned facility would create up to approximately 420 direct jobs and represent an investment of around $500 million in the region.

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Siemens Gamesa said it would also commit to localizing several new component supplier facilities, including steel component fabrication, bearings, and composite components, which it added could help double the number of jobs created by the facility.

“The announcement of this proposed facility in New York is a major step forward in our desire to lead the massive US offshore wind market,” said Marc Becker, chief executive of Siemens Gamesa’s offshore business.

“We’re excited by the opportunity presented by the State of New York to further develop our manufacturing footprint.

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“The numerous economic, employment, and environmental benefits that offshore wind presents are enhanced by solid policies and frameworks, which are critical for financial success.”

The proposed facility and supplier network in New York would supply components for all Siemens Gamesa offshore wind power projects along the US east coast. 

Siemens Gamesa plans to localize its offshore wind power supply chain on the east coast.

In 2021 it unveiled plans for an offshore wind turbine blade finishing facility in Portsmouth, Virginia.

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