Power Grid Crisis: 10,000 MW Shortfall by 2030?!

Uncover the hidden intricacies of the energy sector's most pressing issues and pioneering breakthroughs in this week's thought-provoking episode. Is the answer to our energy grid's slow progress and growing demand found in FERC's bold approval of PJM's new Reliability Resource Initiative? With energy sector leaders and experts gathering at RE Plus Northeast in Boston, we dissect the critical challenges plaguing interconnection and transmission, while also exploring innovative projects aimed at fast-tracking generation and storage assets to alleviate capacity shortfalls. Pioneering regulatory changes promise to reshape the landscape, but are they enough to meet the looming energy demand?

Transitioning to future-forward technologies, the episode delves into the promising advancements in battery technology and offshore wind energy. BYD's strides in solid-state battery production hint at a potential leap in energy storage solutions, with mass demonstrations on the horizon for 2027. Meanwhile, Siemens Gamesa is betting big on offshore wind power, with significant investment in expanding its manufacturing capabilities in France. With firm orders already in place, this expansion signals a brighter future for renewable energy. Join us for insights from the forefront of energy innovation and learn about the projects poised to reshape our energy systems.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Greetings.
I've got your energy storiesfor this, the third week of
February 2025.
Well, last week, at RE PlusNortheast in Boston, I led a
four-hour workshop oninterconnection and transmission
issues.
The takeaway was prettystraightforward Despite some
regulatory reforms, we're notinterconnecting new resources to
the grid anywhere fast enough.
And even if we were, we'd soonrun out of available

(00:22):
transmission capacity, even ifwe had widespread utilization of
grid-enhancing technologiessuch as dynamic line ratings,
advanced power flow controls ortopology optimization.
At the same time, demand israpidly expanding, so we are
between the proverbial rock andthe hard place.
Pgm is one area that's upagainst it, with recent
generated retirements and aconstipated interconnection

(00:44):
queue which is largely full oflow-carbon renewables.
While these renewable assetsare critical in addressing
emissions and climate change,their variability and the timing
of their power productiondoesn't do much to ensure grid
reliability.
Think 6 to 9 pm on a blisteringhot summer evening or a frigid
winter night.
The grid operator has enjoyedsignificant reserve margins in

(01:07):
years past, but has recentlywarned that in a few years, it
may not have the dispatchablecapacity necessary to keep the
lights on, and it's warned of ashortfall of as much as 10,000
megawatts of capacity by the2030-31 delivery year.
Pgm had thus recently filed itsproposed Reliability Resource
Initiative, rri with the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission.

(01:30):
This approach creates aone-time
cut-to-the-head-of-the-lineapproach Think Disney's
Lightning Lane Premier Pass,where you cut ahead of everybody
else and they all wait.
This is meant to fast-trackreview of up to 50 shovel-ready
generation or storage assetsthat meet eligibility scoring
criteria related to viability,reliability and availability.

(01:52):
On February 11th, the FERCapproved this approach, finding
it quote just and reasonable andnot unduly discriminatory.
The process is expected tostart by April of this year.
These assets will also berequired to participate in
capacity markets for at least adecade.
Ferc also approved the gridoperator's proposal to increase
and accelerate access to thebulk power system by changing

(02:15):
its surplus interconnectionservice rules.
This approach will allowgenerators to more quickly
access existing approvedinterconnection if they do not
exceed the rated capacity ofthat interconnection point.
It also makes it specificallyeasier for storage resources,
allowing for surplusinterconnection service from
quote resources seeking toreceive electric energy from the

(02:36):
grid and store it for laterinjection to the grid.
Unquote.
So, for example, if a 100megawatt gas peaker has access
to an interconnection, a batteryor solar and batteries could be
added to the same deliverypoint as long as no more than
100 megawatts is ever deliveredfrom the combined assets.
Good, yes, as it improvesefficiency of the existing

(02:57):
assets, but it doesn't get us towhat we really need, which is a
lot more transmission.
And there's now a precedenthere, especially with the RRI,
which is not a good one fordevelopers of renewables in
other areas governed by gridoperators, many of which are
also facing capacity shortfallsand reliability issues.
So look for potentially more ofthese types of activities to

(03:18):
come.
Switching gears according toChinese media, the CTO of BYD's
battery business stated that hiscompany had already produced
its first solid-state cells on apilot production line last year
.
He indicated that BYD expectsto begin mass demonstration of
solid-state batteries around2027, but offered little

(03:39):
information with respect to whenseries production might occur.
He was, however, quoted assaying that large-scale
introduction of solid-statebatteries might only take place
after 2030.
So inching ever closer to thatholy grail of a much denser and
more stable lithium battery.
It appears the future ofoffshore wind is not dead yet.
Siemens Gamesa, confirming it,will invest just over 200

(04:01):
million dollars to expand itsoffshore wind blade
manufacturing facility in LeHavre in northern France, with
construction to be completed by2026.
The expansion will be dedicatedto manufacturing 115 meter long
blades for its 14 megawattplatform.
To date, the company says ithas more than 16,000 megawatts

(04:22):
worth of firm orders, andSiemens Gamesa has already
installed 1,000 megawatts ofwind power off the coast of
France, with another 1,500megawatts of additional projects
in the pipeline and, finally,in the
we-can't-wait-for-it-to-becommercialized department.
Researchers from the Universityof Cambridge have developed a
solar powered reactor that suckscarbon dioxide directly from

(04:44):
surrounding air and converts itinto sustainable synthetic gas.
The tech uses specializedfilters to pull CO2 from the air
at night and then, when the sunappears, its light heats up the
captured CO2.
A semiconductor powder absorbsultraviolet radiation,
initiating a chemical reactionthat converts the CO2 into
solar-powered syngas.

(05:05):
Mirrors increase the efficiencyof the whole system.
The research team says thisapproach does not require any
transportation or storage and iseasier to scale up than earlier
solar-powered devices.
Let's hope Well.
Thanks for watching and we'llsee you again soon.