Ben Foard, P.E.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants to hear from you if you believe you may be impacted by the planned natural gas pipeline, known as the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project, that will go through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.     There are two meetings this week where you can provide comments about this project to FERC staff.     The first meeting is on Monday, June 24, at Holiday Inn Express and Suites, 351 Vineyards Crossing, Lexington, North Carolina 27295 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM (EDT).    The second meeting is on Tuesday, June 25, at Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex, 19783 US-29, Chatham, Virginia 24531 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM (EDT).    FERC takes every comment into consideration, and your oral comments will be part of the public record for the proceeding. Comments received during this stage of the proceeding will help staff focus environmental analysis on areas of concern. FERC gives equal consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form or provided orally at a comment session.    To learn more about commenting on FERC proceedings, head to: https://lnkd.in/eiHVxqSZ    #NaturalGas #LexingtonNC #ChathamVA #NorthCarolina #Virginia #CommunityEngagement 

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FINALLY something agreed upon by the senate that actually makes sense for our energy security and reliability. “This is another successful bipartisan effort to boost the deployment of zero-emission nuclear power and shore up America’s longstanding global leadership in nuclear energy. The ADVANCE Act will strengthen our nuclear workforce, assist in the deployment of new advanced reactors by lowering barriers in the regulatory process, and facilitate the reuse of Brownfield sites to aid in the coal-to-nuclear transition. Advancing the development of the next generation of nuclear reactors is a win for the planet, and passage of this bill marks the next step in bringing new, safe reactors online,” said Senator Whitehouse, who has led three successful bipartisan efforts to advance modern nuclear energy technology. The ADVANCE Act will: Facilitate American Nuclear Energy Leadership by: - Empowering the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to lead in international forums to develop regulations for advanced nuclear reactors. - Directing the Department of Energy to improve its process for approving the export of American technology to international markets, while maintaining strong standards for nuclear non-proliferation. Support Development and Deployment of New Nuclear Energy Technologies by: - Reducing regulatory costs for companies seeking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies. - Creating a prize to incentivize the successful deployment of next-generation reactor technologies. -Requiring the NRC to develop a pathway to enable the timely licensing of microreactors and nuclear facilities at brownfield and retired fossil-fuel energy generation sites. Strengthen America’s Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain Infrastructure by: -Directing the NRC to enhance its ability to qualify and license accident-tolerant fuels and advanced nuclear fuels that can increase safety and economic competitiveness for existing reactors and the next generation of advanced reactors. - Tasking the NRC to evaluate advanced manufacturing techniques to build nuclear reactors better, faster, cheaper and smarter. Improve Commission Efficiency by: - Providing flexibility for the NRC to better manage and invest its resources in activities that support NRC’s modernization efforts and address staffing issues. - Providing the NRC Chair the tools to hire and retain exceptionally well-qualified individuals to successfully and safely review and process applications for advanced nuclear reactor licenses. Rey Treviño III Steve Reese VICKIE DAWKINS-KERSEY David Blackmon Stuart Turley Mark LaCour JP Warren https://lnkd.in/g4SciSXS

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The EPA has finalized new rules for power plants aimed at reducing emissions and promoting clean energy investment by 2032. These regulations are expected to drive significant changes in the power sector. Read more about the implications of these rules in Utility Dive:

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https://lnkd.in/gZ_wSJEW ACSR, ACSS replacement with composite core, twice the current capacity? Not an expert in this field but I would imagine support structures also age with time, reconductoring might not be such as an easy retrofit ESIPAC.online ... thoughts? Matthew Gnad this ones for you!

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Wondering what this coal to nuclear thing is all about?     The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released this information guide for communities considering replacing their retired or retiring coal power plants with nuclear power.     The guide is based on a technical study that found coal-to-nuclear transitions would: ➡️ Increase local employment opportunities ➡️ Create higher paying jobs ➡️ Spur increased revenues and economic activity in the host community. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eRJ_inEz

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Learn more about what transitions from coal power plants to nuclear power plants could mean for energy communities across the nation.

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Hi all, we just posted another regulatory guide for Subpart W here: https://lnkd.in/g4a9vTXz. This time for compressor venting. If you are an operator in the onshore petroleum and natural gas production or gathering and boosting segment who has a lot of reciprocating compressors you may be shocked by how much the population emission factor will increase reported emissions. The methane emission factor for reciprocating compressors is increasing by 2,147%❗relative to the current emission factor. However, voluntary compressor vent monitoring is also an option (it may even be required if the compressor is an affected facility under NSPS OOOOb). For reporters in other segments who have already had to conduct compressor vent monitoring surveys, note the changes to include new mode sources: 1️⃣ Reciprocating Compressor Rod Packing - Standby mode 2️⃣ Centrifugal Compressor Dry seal leakage - Operating Mode 3️⃣ Centrifugal Compressor Wet Seal Degassing Vent - Standby Mode 4️⃣ Centrifugal Compressor Dry seal leakage - Standby Mode All this and more is broken down in detail at the link below. We have more to come so follow Iconic Air for more updates! #methaneemissions #ghgemissions #oilandgas

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The EPA has released a new set of rules targeting reductions in CO2 from coal power plants, requirements to clean up coal ash ponds, manage mercury emissions, and restrict waste water discharging. Looking at these changes, it is clear this is the second attempt by the EPA to bring about large CO2 reductions from the power generation space. Do you think this will encourage broader adoption of CO2 capture from emissions stacks or simply push the cost of operation beyond economic viability for fossil fuel power generation? Does anyone have any insight to what size of power generation would be governed under this rule if it holds up through the court challenges? https://lnkd.in/gRvVUm3w

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As demand for power grows rapidly across the United States, it's becoming clear that the policies of today are insufficient to meet the challenges faced by the power grid. Oil and gas face their own challenges, at the same time the pipeline of renewable resources set to replace them face their own obstacles, all while the grid is already far behind. Take a look at this article to learn more about the reformation needed in the US power grid.

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DOE/NREL - National Wind Force Assessment: Challenges, Opportunities and Future Needs ( March 2024 Revisions ) Credits to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory by Brinn McDowell, Jeremy Stefek, @Elena Smith, Bailey Pons, and Quaran Ahmad A personal summary of the key finding of the report addressing Wind Energy Workforce Gap Conclusion Increasing Wind Installations: Demand for a trained wind energy workforce is critical to meet deployment goals. Workforce Gap: By 2030, an estimated gap of nearly 124,000 workers exists for land-based and offshore wind. Key Actions to Close Gap: - Improve education and training programs (e.g., student-teacher ratios, funding, infrastructure, curriculum). - Enhance job attractiveness (e.g., wages, stability, location). - Increase job awareness through educational connections, internships, apprenticeships, and collegiate competitions. Main Takeaways Hiring Challenges: - Entry-level workers lack desired experience/qualifications. - Insufficient non-entry-level applicants. - Difficulty in hiring diverse demographics. - Lack of demographic-specific hiring initiatives. Education-Industry Collaboration: - Enhance ties between educational institutions and wind industry firms.. - Increase use of educational institutions for recruitment. Internships and Apprenticeships: - Provide valuable technical and transferable skills. - High satisfaction and preparedness among participants. - Significant portion of current/recent hires had internship/apprenticeship experience. Future initiatives and research should focus on enhancing connections between training institutions and employers, assessing digitalization's impact on workforce needs, and improving wind energy curricula. Efforts should also examine apprenticeships' role in hiring, evaluate federal workforce investments, and address geographic job location issues. Key programming should include regional collaborative groups, a job and training platform, inclusive hiring practices, and educational resources for younger students. For details refer to the full report, a link is shared in the comments. P.S.- Which of the main takeaways did you find most relevant? #RenewableEnergy #WorkforceDevelopment #WindIndustry #EducationCollaboration #SkillsTraining #GreenJobs

“More 24/7 power demand for Data Centers and AI now, more weather stress, more EVs (though at a slower pace), greater need for desalination at coastal cities, and a deeper realization that wind and solar (even with tons of batteries) cannot provide anywhere near the 24/7 reliability for heavy industry, nor for EVs and mass transit to dense urban loads.” Lift Australia’s nuclear bans and catch up!

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Earlier this week, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) announced more than $1.7 million for 16 #hydropower projects and 12 marine energy projects, as part of furthering water power research and development at DOE's national labs. The projects are "seedlings" funded under WPTO's Seedlings and Saplings program, which encourages new and innovative research ideas at DOE national laboratories. These projects cover a wide range of topics relevant to the water power industry, including fish assessment automation for fish passage, supporting aging hydro infrastructure with advanced repairing, public perceptions of marine energy technologies, and much more. Follow the link to learn more about the program: https://bit.ly/4en2eUv

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NERC reports some U.S. regions at risk for energy shortfalls in extreme summer conditions. Parts of the United States could be at risk for electricity supply shortages if electricity demand peaks are higher than anticipated or if less electricity is generated than expected, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2024 Summer Reliability Assessment. Under normal summer demand conditions, NERC expects the continental United States to have adequate power resources this year. http://ow.ly/iMkH105wg4J

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