Renewables

“While the nation has been focused on an energy crisis triggered by unprecedented new additional load being added to the electrical grid from data center demand, scarcely anyone is focused on the related competition for water.”

“When it comes to wetlands, interpreting the Rules of the Clean Water Act can be as clear as mud. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin emphasized, in his NARUC Summer Policy Summit fireside chat with NARUC President Tricia Pridemore, the need for clarification addressing Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and their definition.”

“Resilience planning means thinking ahead and contemplating as many unknowns as you can. As a utility regulator, you must consider thwarting opportunities and vulnerabilities that storms might give bad actors to infiltrate operating systems.”

“Energy efficiency is most likely where the greatest savings can be made while producing a reliable product and guarding public health for water companies of any size.“

“Our Operate portfolio is designed to help electric utilities manage disruption more effectively. It provides software technology that facilitates better decision making, helping operators predict potential damage or risk, streamline responses, and generally recover faster from an event.”

“This shift introduces new waste management challenges for utilities that require proactive planning, strategic solutions, and a thorough understanding of regulations to ensure compliance and avoid costly missteps.”

“EDP has tangible and realistic transition plans in place to convert its coal plants into green hubs using emerging technologies like renewable hydrogen and storage. Projects like Alqueva Park are part of EDP’s green growth strategy, aligning with the clean energy transition and consolidating core technologies and regions.”

“There are only about 100 nuclear plants. For hydropower, there are about 2,500. A silent phenomenon is we’re struggling to get the same intensity of concern for hydropower because it doesn’t get as much attention as the nuclear plants do.”

“One out-of-this-world option is space, where the sun is always shining. The challenge lies in getting this space-based solar power safely and efficiently back to Earth. EPRI is always looking for ways to innovate as part of the energy transition, and we’ve begun monitoring SBSP research, and advances needed to enable this technology.

Despite the license and permitting hurdles, utilities around the country are taking a harder look at pumped storage hydro options. Potential benefits from federal tax credits might make an asset like pumped storage, which has a long asset life, more attractive as a storage option.