Kleber Costa

According to Fortescue's US chief a 1GW electrolyser needs 7GW of green energy supply to meet hourly matching requirements 🤔 “If I am building a gigawatt of electrolysers in Texas I may only need a gigawatt of energy at any time, but I have to buy seven times that to ensure that I have all the probabilities working, so I know I can match in that hour, which means the bulk of what I buy I don’t need,” I think Fortescue needs better energy project modelling tools (*cough* Gridcog) and a better understanding of how to contract PPAs. Oh and a reminder that Hyrdogen produced with coal and gas isn't especially green. https://lnkd.in/ge2x5Wdf

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Ever wanted to know how power markets in Texas work? Maybe you're new to the industry, looking at opportunities in new markets, or just curious... The Energy Academy: ERCOT - hosted by Modo Energy's ERCOT Market Lead, Brandt Vermillion - is a great jumping-off point. Across ten episodes (and just 30 minutes), you'll learn about: - ERCOT's responsibilities as the system operator. - The operational timelines of its markets. - How locational prices are formed. - And loads, loads more... Learning about power markets is hard. The information you need is often impossible to find, difficult to understand, and just plain dull. So, if you want an easy "in" to the electricity system in Texas, check out The Energy Academy - link in comments. 👇 #TheEnergyAcademy #ERCOT #PowerMarkets #BatteryEnergyStorage

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Hey good news, this week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted to modernize long-distance high-powered transmission policies, aligning with the Biden Administration's decarbonization goals and fortifying the grid against extreme weather impacts. The transmission system must modernize and expand to meet 21st-century demands. With the growth of AI, data centers, and EVs powered by green energy, the U.S. must double regional transmission capacity. Key changes include: Increased Renewable Energy: Expect more renewable energy and less coal-fired power, though litigation is anticipated. Enhanced Grid Stability: Regional authorities can now improve grid stability, making the network more renewables-friendly. Improved Transmission Coordination: Transmission owners will plan every five years for future needs, thinking 20 years ahead. Notably, 260,000 MW of power generation is waiting to connect to the U.S. grid, with 95% from solar, wind, and battery storage. This ruling facilitates power movement from rural to urban areas, benefiting renewable energy. FERC’s new policies also revise backstop authority, allowing federal intervention when states fail to push through vital projects. This ensures no state can veto projects crucial for national interest. The changes aim to cut CO2 levels by 40% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Falling prices for wind and solar, coupled with increased clean energy capacity, signal a bright future for renewable energy and grid resilience. Rudy Garza of CPS Energy noted, "This transition is going to happen whether you like it or not." #Renewableenergy https://lnkd.in/gK4nJQB3

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New Fortress Energy: Q1 Earnings Snapshot Summary: New Fortress Energy, the leading global energy infrastructure company, recently released its Q1 earnings report, highlighting impressive financial performance and strategic growth. As a forward-thinking investor, leveraging your Health Savings Account (HSA) to invest in companies like New Fortress Energy can bring both financial returns and positive impact in the healthcare sector. In Q1, New Fortress Energy reported strong revenue growth, driven by increased demand for clean and sustainable energy solutions. With a focus on developing and operating integrated infrastructure projects, the company is at the forefront of the transition towards cleaner energy alternatives. Their commitment to innovation and sustainability has positioned New Fortress Energy as an industry leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG), helping reduce carbon emissions and improving air quality. The company's strategic partnerships and diversified business model have contributed to their continued success and expansion into new markets. Investing with an HSA not only provides potential financial gains but also aligns with your values of promoting health, wellness, and a sustainable future. By investing in companies like New Fortress Energy, you can actively contribute to the betterment of our environment and the well-being of future generations. Don't miss out on the opportunity to grow your HSA while supporting the advancement of clean energy solutions. Take action today and explore the potential of investing in New Fortress Energy to secure a healthier and brighter future. #hsa #investing #healthcare #health #family #wellness 💰🏥🌿💚✨🚀

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Reconductoring could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035. (My latest for PV Magazine USA) Replacing existing transmission lines, known as conductors, with advanced conductors could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035 even if transmission in new corridors was limited, found a study by UC Berkeley and GridLab researchers. 3M CTC Global TS Conductor Amol Phadke #Reconductoring

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📈 Corporate PPA activity in the ERCOT market has reached 1.8 GW, YTD 2024. Data from the Enerdatics Energy Transition PPA database indicates that ERCOT has seen ~1.8 GW in corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) since the start of 2024, constituting over 60% of the U.S. total. 💡 Tech giant Microsoft leads the way, having secured ~800 MW across three deals. Meanwhile, new entrants such as UnitedHealth Group, Sonoco, and AdventHealth are also stepping up their sustainability efforts. 🏆 Key Suppliers Making Waves: > Regional Leaders: Primergy, Leeward Renewable, Scout Clean Energy > International Players: Orsted, ENGIE 🤝 Positive PPA negotiations in ERCOT are driven by the market's lower land and interconnection costs, which help mitigate higher interest rates and supply chain issues. 🌟 Top Deals to Note: > Microsoft and Primergy Solar: 408 MW from Ash Creek solar project > Hyundai and Matrix Renewables: 147 MW (Hyundai’s first U.S. PPA) > RTX and ENGIE: ~38 MW from Priddy wind project #CorporatePPA #ERCOT #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #Microsoft #Hyundai #RTX #ENGIE #Orsted #Primergy #LeewardRenewable #ScoutCleanEnergy #UnitedHealthGroup #Sonoco #AdventHealth

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Cooperation between Hannon Armstrong and ENGIE North America... "ENGIE Commissions Final Project in 2.3 GW U.S. Renewables Portfolio Jointly Owned with Hannon Armstrong Thirteen Combined Wind and Solar Projects Deliver Abundant Clean Energy and Quality Jobs Across Five States (...) (...) The innovative portfolio equity partnership with Hannon Armstrong reflects the importance of developing large-scale financial relationships to support renewable growth. (...) (...) ENGIE's scale and Hannon Armstrong's leadership have demonstrated what can be achieved. This 2.3 GW portfolio is part of ENGIE North Americas' more than 3 GW of renewable generation in the U.S. today with a pipeline of 10 GW of growth projects. (...)" https://lnkd.in/ehZ-bY-6

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Last month, we began a series examining the breakeven generation costs of a PV-hybrid grid (ie, one powered exclusively by unsubsidized solar PV and battery energy storage, BESS). In our installment last week, we added more realistic assumptions on capital costs and capital structure. This boosted the generation breakeven to an eye-popping $102.61 per MWhr. Today, in our eleventh—and likely final—post in the series, we examine the impact of adding enough reserve capacity (ie, overbuild) to the system to ensure reasonable reliability under worst-case conditions. As it stands now, there's no overbuild in our assumptions. To carry out the analysis, we first pondered what a realistic worst-case scenario might look like. We settled on a scenario in which a prolonged period of inclement weather—ie, five consecutive days of very cloudy, rainy and/or snowy daytime conditions—reduced by half the amount of solar power the system can generate. We surmise such an event might occur once every five or ten years on the system—frequently enough for grid stakeholders to agree the frequency and duration of blackouts that would occur absent the overbuild would be intolerable. Conditions like those in Texas during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Winter Storm Uri in 2021 come to mind. To simplify the analysis, we assume—consistent with our pattern of giving the benefit of the doubt to PV-hybrid—that a full third of any overbuild pays for itself via arbitrage, export, or other opportunities arising from having extra capacity on the system. This means we only burden the project's economics with two-thirds the capital costs for the overbuild. We further (very generously) assume this overbuild capacity is so rarely used it incurs no O&M costs. Our next step was to determine the breakeven if we added only enough *BESS capacity* to meet the 4,400 GWhrs of cumulative unmet demand during the five consecutive days without overbuild. This required an additional 1,100 GW of 4-hr batteries at a net cost of $275B. Total capital costs rose to $736B, resulting in a breakeven of $157.46 per MWhr. We then ran the numbers as if only *solar-PV capacity* was added to the system, enough to ensure all demand (including recharging of BESS) each of the five days could be met. This came to an additional net $146B worth of extra solar panels, total capital investment of $607.5B, and a breakeven of $146.31. Note—While we suppose some optimal combination of PV and battery overbuild capacity *might* generate a breakeven lower than $146.31, we’re skeptical. Mostly because BESS is such an expensive way to meet idiosyncratic demand. Our conclusion? Given what we see as the real-world breakeven generation price of over $145 per MWhr for a PV-hybrid system—even after favoring PV-hybrid at virtually every turn—we find claims that solar power is the "cheapest" form of power out there to very likely be false on their face. What say you? 🔆⚡💲👀 #solar #energy #electricity

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Following two years of growth, carbon capture, utilization and storage (#CCUS) activity has slowed due to mounting policy, financing, transport and storage permitting challenges. #sustainability #energytransition #IRA #CO2 #carbon #decarbonization #decarbonisation #carboncapture #ccs #ccus

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As we enter the fourth day of power outages in Texas combined with sweltering heat, the impact of hurricane Beryl illustrates both the impacts of climate change and the critical need to accelerate deployment of climate-tech solutions for a more resilient grid. Hurricane Beryl is yet another warning that climate change is upon us and accelerating. Warmer sea temperatures are driving more brutal and destructive hurricane seasons, with more powerful storms starting earlier in the year and occurring more frequently. While rising global temperatures ensure more frequent and deadly heatwaves - for over a year, every single month has been the hottest in recorded history, making extreme heat the new normal. From India to the middle east to the US, thousands have already died this year due to extreme heat. The combination of increasingly frequent and violent weather events, extreme heat and an antiquated, fragile grid are starkly illustrated by the 1.3 million homes in Texas still without power in the peak of summer heat. But it doesn't have to be this way. Climate-tech solutions, in particular distributed energy resources like solar and storage, are cheap, mature, and infinitely deployable technologies that can massively increase grid resilience and mitigate the compounding risks of heat and power outages during extreme weather events. In a world where roof-top solar and in-home battery storage compete on even playing field with centralized generation and distribution the grid is more resilient and power outages, when they inevitably occur, less deadly. DERs increase grid resilience by shifting generation, storage and distribution to the ultimate load (your home or local area). This takes pressure off the grid by reducing the need for antiquated, energetically inefficient T&D infrastructure that otherwise needed to link generation assets to load, through miles of expensive powerlines, transformers, etc., all susceptible to downed lines and overload. DERs also allow for demand response, load shifting, efficiency-as-a-service and other grid services that can stabilize the grid when power demand and generation capacity are dangerously unmatched. Simultaneously, DERs and microgrids mitigate the worst risks of inevitable grid failures. In home battery storage can keep your fridge running at a time when food and perishable items can't be reached. Rooftop solar can keep your air-conditioning running at the hottest parts of the day, and your cell phone charged, even if it takes days for your local utility to restore power. And these same assets can keep critical communication infrastructure up when emergency services need them most. And that's before even considering the fact that these technologies are already cheaper than conventional energy systems, faster and easier to deploy, and essential in reducing the carbon emissions driving this crisis in the first place. https://lnkd.in/g8bebhA8

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I was thrilled to attend the Reuters Global Energy Transition #GET24 conference in New York last week, where I had the opportunity to discuss innovating a future-ready grid in the US.    There’s no doubt about it – we need to build new electric infrastructure and streamline the permitting process to deliver the energy transition at pace. But by harnessing innovation, we can make sure that we only build the network infrastructure we need for 2050. ‘Smart’ is cheaper than ‘dumb’.   We’ve already started investing in and deploying grid-enhancing technologies (GETs). In Upstate New York, we recently installed National Grid Partners' portfolio company LineVision’s DLR system on four transmission lines, marking the largest operationalisation of DLR in the US. Based on pilot deployments in New York and Massachusetts, LineVision’s sensors can increase the capacity of select transmission lines under specific constraints by material amounts. #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #Energy

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Want to know just how power markets in Texas work? Maybe you're new to the industry, looking at opportunities in new markets, or just curious... The Energy Academy: ERCOT - hosted by Modo Energy's ERCOT Market Lead, Brandt Vermillion - has you covered. Across ten episodes (and just 30 minutes), you'll learn about: - ERCOT's responsibilities as the system operator. - The operational timelines of its markets. - How locational prices are formed. - Why price spikes occur. - And loads, loads more... Learning about power markets is hard. The information you need is often impossible to find, difficult to understand, and just plain dull. So, if you want an easy "in" to the electricity system in Texas, check out The Energy Academy - link here: https://lnkd.in/ezUJ9XDm #TheEnergyAcademy #ERCOT #PowerMarkets #BatteryEnergyStorage

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I wonder how the valuation and modeling service providers factor in these latest market conditions in their models. Thoughts?

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Central planning is important! Excellent to see FERC issue the landmark Order 1920 requiring the operators of the US grid to plan for 20 years of accelerated load growth and invest in transmission appropriately to connect new distributed resources. This implementation needs to progress in a hurry – and this Order promises to push a necessary buildout of infrastructure across regions to get our domestic energy resources onto the grid.    https://lnkd.in/eAydxM6R

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Momentum is building again in the #offshorewind industry. South Fork wind farm became the first commercial offshore wind farm to operate in federal waters earlier this year and 136 MW of Vineyard Wind are sending power to the grid. Beyond there are three projects currently under construction and a further 37 in development. All told, the industry is marching towards 14 GW of operating offshore wind power by 2030. Sure, its not quite the 30 GW by 2030 target envisioned. But considering the cost increases the industry faced over the past few years that led to project cancellations, including soaring interest rates, its remarkable that this goal will only be delayed by three years. Encouragingly, the industry is now expecting 40 GW by 2035. Fantastic! And its not just the megawatts or their associated emissions avoidance that matters. These projects are good for the US economy. Delivering 14 GW of offshore wind by decade's end will deliver $65 billion of capital investment and 56,000 jobs. Ports are being revitalized, shipyards across the country are discovering new customers, and manufacturers are investing in domestic capacity. Its a win for the economy and the climate. The rest of the year will see momentum continue to build. States are seeking to award a further 9 to 12 GW of offshore wind contracts this year and BOEM is planning to hold four lease sales that will open 1.9 million acres of federal waters to development. I'm excited to continue to watch this industry grow and deliver for energy security, the climate, the economy, and the American people. I applaud the tireless efforts of companies like Ørsted, Avangrid Renewables, Dominion Energy, Vineyard Offshore, Equinor, bp, OW Ocean Winds, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, Community Offshore Wind, RWE, Corio Generation, TotalEnergies, Invenergy, energyRe, US Wind, Inc, Eversource Energy, Attentive Energy, GE Vernova, Vestas and many others that are moving this industry forward. Learn more about this incredible industry in the American Clean Power Association (ACP)'s 2024 Offshore Wind Market Report https://lnkd.in/exbnDTpB

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