Plant Management Institute

7 Energy Trends

Helping Utilities Control Renewable Energy Assets

Microgrid Development and Design

Microgrids have gained significant attention in recent years as a promising solution to enhance the reliability, resilience, and efficiency of energy systems. As the deployment of microgrids continues to grow, it becomes essential to evaluate the lessons learned and explore case studies that highlight their implementation and performance in various contexts. In addition, this course provides an overview of microgrids and the integration of dissimilar energy sources such as: synchronous generator sets, photovoltaic panels, energy storage components and others to maximize the resiliency of the power system, reduce carbon footprint, and lower the cost of operation.

Remote Grids as a Resiliency Solution Against Natural Disasters

The United States has experienced a significant increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters such as storms and floods in recent years, which has a significant impact on rural energy. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States experienced 22 separate weather and climate disasters in 2020 alone, resulting in an estimated $95 billion in damages, with many rural areas being disproportionately affected. This includes wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, which have left many rural communities without power for extended periods of time. Many utilities across the country are attempting to harden the grid to prevent disaster related damage and interruptions. As the outdated grid continues to age, energy providers are turning to traditional methods like line-undergrounding, which is especially difficult to complete in remote and geographically challenging locations. While effective, this process can cost utilities up to $2-$5 million dollars per mile, making it economically unfeasible as well. The increasing frequency and severity of these natural disasters have highlighted the urgent need for effective and innovative solutions, such as Remote Grids, to ensure energy resilience and reliability in rural areas. In this session, BoxPower's CFO and co-founder Anderson Barkow will be discussing two case studies, namely the Sagehen Field Station Remote Grid contracted by Liberty Utilities and the Briceburg Remote Grid contracted by PG&E, to show how standalone power systems helped these IOUs improve reliability, reduce cost, and decrease wildfire risk. He will also discuss how Liberty, PG&E, SCE and other utilities throughout the west are using the same approach at a portfolio level for aging infrastructure in need of upgrade or replacement. These projects serve as just two examples as to how energy providers can leverage solar microgrids in remote regions to save money, modernize the grid, and meet their net-zero targets.

Autonomous Community Energy System

How to Meet Hydrogen Safety Compliance Challenges

Hydrogen Safety & Operability

Hydrogen is seen across the world as the key to decarbonizing power and heat generation processes. The energy transition for fuels feeding gas turbines, internal combustion engines, process heaters, and boilers will require the combustion of carbon free fuels. Hydrogen is seen as the fuel of choice. Air Products and Chemicals is the world leader in hydrogen generation and has been for over 30 years. The Air Products team would like the opportunity to share a detailed breakdown on how it uses established safety techniques to set processes up for success. Also, the industrial gas industry has already set many standards around safe and efficient hydrogen generation, transport, and storage. These operability guidelines are important to understand so that optimal supply plans for the energy transition can be developed and installed using established techniques and specifications. Air Products would like the opportunity to review these established processes and principals to expedite the installation of these energy transition processes.

Aero-Derivative Technology Supports Renewable Growth

Around the world, power producers are under pressure to deliver reliable, affordable, decarbonized electricity 24/7/365. On-demand power based on aero-derivative technology helps producers meet these competing goals. Rapidly expanding renewable energy sources provide zero-carbon generation, but wind and sun vary the output. Renewable technologies are also more susceptible to damage from severe weather events such as hurricanes and snow/ice storms that can disrupt existing infrastructure, resulting in significant issues with anticipated reserve margins. This changing generation mix from larger central plants to more distributed and intermittent power sources is making the grid less resilient. As these issues become more pressing, the need is increasing for fast response, fuel flexible, on-demand energy systems. We will discuss these reliability issues being seen in North America, impacts to anticipated reserve margins, expected power swings based on current renewable projections, and how flexible, dispatchable power generation with aero-derivative gas turbine technology fits this need to maintain a balanced and reliable electrical grid.

Uncovering the Hidden Value of Reciprocating Engines in Today's Energy Markets

Research suggests that electric utilities could be missing out on millions of dollars in value for their customers by using traditional grid modeling techniques. Traditional power system models rely on an hourly view of the world to optimize their decisions. However, as increasing amounts of variable renewable energy resources are rapidly being deployed, a more granular modeling lens is required to accurately capture the real-time dynamics of the grid. Moreover, the growing interplay between weather and the supply and demand for electricity has emphasized the need for flexible, dispatchable capacity. With renewable generation's highly variable output and weather dependency, system operators will continue to have difficulty in predicting demand and producing day-ahead hourly pricing signals through their markets. To address these challenges, flexible, dispatchable capacity resources have become an important component of the electricity system, providing grid operators with the ability to quickly adjust supply to meet changing demand conditions. As a result, assessing the market value potential of these flexible capacity resources has become increasingly important in preparing business or capital asset plans as part of overall resource planning.

This study presents an analysis of the market value potential of reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) using day-ahead and real-time revenue streams with a key distinction of using 5-minute data to highlight the value arising from volatility within sub-hourly timeframes, which is otherwise hidden in traditional hourly planning models. Using a comprehensive historical dataset, this study shows the unrealized and growing potential of flexible, dispatchable resources like RICE in MISO, ERCOT, and SPP, including their ability to provide firm capacity, ramping, and grid balancing services. The results demonstrate that RICE units have significant market value, particularly in real-time markets, due to their flexibility and responsiveness. By leveraging the potential of RICE units, load serving entities can enhance their revenue streams, improve their grid reliability, and better serve their customers.

Retaining efficiency and reliability during increasingly cyclical operations

Timing New Generation: From Concept to Commissioned--How Long Does It Take?

Reduction of cathodic stress reactions and protection of pipeline systems.

This session will discuss the practical and safe application of resilient cathodic protection strategies for hydrogen transport pipeline systems.
Existing oil and gas pipeline infrastructure must be carefully examined to ensure suitability for transportation of Hydrogen and avoid catastrophic mechanical failure caused by Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) of the steel components in contact with the product.
While maintaining higher transport temperatures above 150Celsius does increase steel immunity from HE, this is not always feasible.
Lower room temperature environments are more likely and directly in the range of most steel alloys point of maximum HE susceptibility.
The reduction of mechanical stress is a significant and more practical tactic to reduce HE effects.
Cathodic protection (CP) of the pipeline system will prevent mechanical degradation of the metal pipe wall by driving a reverse DC voltage against the natural anode-cathode reduction electrical reaction of metals in soil.
The CP system will improve mechanical stability of the pipe wall thereby reducing the threat and risk of HE failure.
The CP system must include means of withstanding AC power coupling and lightning surge events for long term resilience.
All sealing flange joints must include voltage protection devices to prevent dielectric failure of the seal and static voltage mitigation to eliminate any ignition.
Clear illustrations and schematics of Hydrogen transport systems will be incorporated with audience interactive poling questions to re-enforce the learning objectives of this session.

Hydrogen Leakage with Alternative Designs, Materials, and Facing Materials

The hydrogen industry has been identified as a key decarbonization technology with its demand projected to grow five-fold, which can be seen by the influx of capital investment from the United States and globally. Several new projects are breaking ground with the goal of producing 50 million metric tons/year by 2050 in the United States and 500 million metric tons/year globally.
Currently, for several of the standards that are being used, such as ASME B31.12-2019 [1] (Hydrogen Piping and Pipelines), a majority of the sealing components call for standard gaskets from ASME B16.20 [2] and ASME B16.21 [3]. However, much is still relatively unknown regarding the potential leak rates of these standard gaskets or if the use poses any potential risks. In order to support the industry, we have performed EN 13555 [4] leak testing using 100% hydrogen across several different gaskets: ASME B16.20 [2] spiral wound, grooved metal gaskets, and alternate geometries and constructions, ASME B16.21 [3] rings with different materials including expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), and fluoroelastomer (FKM).
From what was observed, the permeability of hydrogen from the gaskets evaluated varies based on several different factors such as: sealing design, material, and facing material, some of which has a greater effect on creating a seal. This paper will discuss in depth the results of these gaskets tested with hydrogen and additionally make correlations to its sealability using helium.

Fusion Energy Reached Prime Time

Bronzeville Community microgrid (BCM) and Design & Testing of Microgrid Master Controller (MMC)

East Bay Community Energy Project

Tribal Microgrids: Next Generation Pathways for Sovereignty, Resiliency, and Independence

Largest self-sustaining bus depot in the nation

Net Zero Goals? Workforce Organization Is Key

Many utilities today have ambitious targets for net zero emissions or carbon neutrality. These same organizations understand that there are a variety of different aspects required to meet these lofty goals, but they often overlook how organization of the workforce can directly impact the success of meeting targets. This presentation will include a case study from Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL), Michigan's largest municipal utility which serves 100,000 electric customers and 58,000 water customers. In 2022 BWL reorganized its workforce and created a unique department of Carbon Neutrality Programs that brings all aspects of planning for the utility's carbon neutrality goal under one team. This group of employees has responsibility for the management and expansion of customer facing programs supporting carbon reduction, while also directing internal actions such as greenhouse gas inventories and internal electrification. By taking the additional step of having Carbon Neutrality Programs report directly to Strategic Planning instead of the more traditional approach of an Environmental Compliance or Operations function, BWL has ensured that its long term strategy is aligned with decarbonization efforts, while providing employees in the organization the direct interaction and visibility they they need to be successful in the long term. This presentation will explore both the direct organizational structure implemented at BWL, but also how this unique department interacts and creates connections with other internal departments in the company, as well as external stakeholder groups, in order to provide communication, education and alignment between projects and programs. Attendees to this session/topic will gain valuable insights on how they can organize their own workforce, either directly or indirectly, in order to ensure net zero and carbon neutrality goals are implemented while aligning with other key strategies and goals of the organization.

Labor Forecast Center

Evaluating Pathways to Electrolytic Hydrogen Using Process Simulation

Process Simulators have been used to design and monitor operations for many years. Digital twins, a form of process simulators, have proven successful to improve asset monitoring and overcoming bottlenecks. Now, in the era of decarbonization, these simulators are helping with decarbonization efforts, specifically in green hydrogen production through water electrolysis. By using heat and mass balances generated by the simulator, design engineers can determine the appropriate size of equipment and instrumentation for different operating conditions. With sophisticated thermodynamic engines and rigorous computer models based on first principles, process simulators can be employed to screen various water electrolyser configurations, hydrogen and oxygen separation strategies, and even the effects of hydrogen crossover. Additionally, they can help determine the relationship between natural electrolysis voltage and temperature/ pressure. Process simulators can also be leveraged to identify the optimum cooling strategies based on the location of the electrolyser. This paper tackles the challenges that arise during the design phase of water electrolysers that, if overlooked, can significantly affect the system's performance.

Green Hydrogen for Industry - It's Closer Than You Think

Power from green hydrogen will play a critical role in decarbonization of the industrial landscape and is expected to become a primary source of clean energy for almost 20% of the global energy supply (per the Hydrogen Council). Unlike today's hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, green hydrogen plants will use electrolyzers powered by renewable energy.

The question on everyone's mind is, how can industrial power generation use green hydrogen effectively, safely and economically? Larger cells and high current density will be crucial to enable green hydrogen at scale by driving economics that make it easier for industry to replace fossil fuel with hydrogen.

Discover the benefits and attainability of large cell architecture, leveraging anion exchange membranes (AEM) in an alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) cell, as a path towards the future of cost effective hydrogen at scale:
- Low capital investment - drive down the investment needed for the industrial scale production of green hydrogen
- Low operating cost - design plans with a 20MW electrolyzer as a building block to provide the lowest levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH)
- Large, single-element architecture - bigger vells operating at higher current densities translate directly into more hydrogen production per cell
- Flexible operating capabilities - plant managers have the flexibility to balance output and efficiency against fluctuating green energy availability, costs and hydrogen demand
- Simplified serviceability - if necessary, any individual cell can be swapped out without shutting down the entire plant.

Since Verdagy's focus is on providing green hydrogen at scale to large industrial processes, our technology provides a great deal of operational flexibility. Besides those already mentioned, these also include future plant expansions by simply adding incremental 20 MW units or utilizing future advancements in coatings and membranes by quickly upgrading these components in the existing individual cells.

Green Hydrogen Production Powered by Offshore Wind and Ocean Energy

The presentation focuses on hydrogen and oxygen production powered by offshore wind and ocean energy. Electrolysis is a self-pressurizing process. Pressure-balanced electrolysis, cold water, and hydrostatic pressure at the seafloor are leveraged for cooling and first-stage gas compression without a mechanical compressor. Low capex commodity materials, including polyethylene, are used for electrolyzer construction. The electrolyzers are failsafe with respect to subfreezing weather during periods of unscheduled power downtime because water at the seafloor never freezes. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers require high purity deionized water that freezes at zero degrees Celsius. When fastened to wind turbine platforms above the splash zone, as currently proposed, they can be exposed to subfreezing temperatures. During subfreezing periods of shut down PEM electrolyzers must have backup power to maintain operation of essential systems and to avoid freezing. The proposed electrolyzers are robust, do not circulate electrolyte and do not require scheduled maintenance. Due to the electrical conductivity of seawater, they are shielded from lighting strikes and electromagnetic pulse events (EMP). They are also shielded from falling ice, ice floe impacts, hurricanes, and the destructive power of high waves. Subsea electrolysis systems do not need lift pumps to bring water out of the ocean and transport it to elevated decks that are positioned above the ocean's splash zone. Positioning the electrolysis system on a deck above the splash zone raises the center of gravity, requiring the ballasting system and substructure dimensions to be modified to ensure the turbine remains stable. Codes and regulations for offshore wind turbines will need to be rewritten to accommodate the new inertial, aerodynamic, and hydrodynamic forces caused by platform mounting. The proposed electrolyzers, anchored at the seafloor, are 100% compatible add-ons for all existing and future offshore wind farms.

EV Fleets - Tales from the Field

The electric vehicle fleet market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 25.4% through 2028 which will drive a dramatic increase in electricity consumption. The Department of Energy (DOE) predicts a 38% increase in electricity consumption by 2050, mostly due to the high penetration of electric vehicles. As a result of this increase in electric vehicle demand by customers, utilities will need solutions to reduce the impact of EVs on distribution networks and ensure security of electricity supply.

Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) partnered with UK Power Networks (UPKN) and other industry partners on the Optimise Prime project; the world's biggest trial of commercial Electric Vehicles (EVs) aimed at reducing the stress of electric vehicles on the distribution grid. A DERMS solution was used to trial commercial and industrial (C&I) EV fleet profiled connections and flexible demand services to control fleets of EV chargers to manage available capacity on the UKPN distribution network.

This presentation will examine how the DERMS is providing profiled connections and flexible services that manage demand from multiple commercial fleets of EV vehicles. Optimise Prime accepts the profile data from UKPN and issues these to the EV aggregator in half-hour increments which are adjustable depending on the day of week or season. The DERMS ensures the C&I location demands are in compliance with the profile issued summary managed by the aggregator, raising alerts to the aggregator for non-compliance and an alert to UKPN for continued non-compliance or noncompliance high enough to be of concern.

California Hub

Real-World Hydrogen Fuel Testing

As our industry works towards a 100% renewable energy future, the exploration of hydrogen as a fuel has taken the energy sector by storm. In October 2022, Wärtsilä in collaboration with WEC Energy Group, EPRI and Burns & McDonnell completed real-world hydrogen blending tests in engines providing power to the grid. The tests were completed at WEC Energy Group's 55 MW A.J. Mihm power plant in Michigan, using an unmodified 18 MW Wärtsilä 50SG engine. Throughout the testing period, the Wärtsilä engine continued to supply power to the grid. This is the largest internal combustion engine ever to operate continuously on a hydrogen fuel blend. The results were in line with all expectations, and the full report with details will be published early in 2023.
Wärtsilä is actively carrying out the engine tests with 100 % hydrogen fuel at the company's engine laboratory in Vaasa, Finland. Results thus far have been encouraging, and the company expects to have an engine and power plant concept for operating with pure hydrogen available by 2025

Revolutionize Customer Engagement with AI and AR

• Coe Sherrard, CapTech Consulting

This presentation explores how electric utility companies can leverage AI and AR technologies to revolutionize customer engagement. With the rise of electric energy alternatives and increased competition, AR offers utility companies an opportunity to enhance the customer experience and meet growing expectations. By incorporating customer data with AI and AR tools, utility companies can personalize interactions, generate scripts for field representatives, and streamline sales efforts, ultimately improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Three Microgrids: An Overview of Microgrid Demonstration Projects

A large utility developed a program to install microgrids throughout their service territory. The Zoo Microgrid Project, which was a grant funded, behind-the-meter, customer-sited installation was the utility's first microgrid. It was a demonstration microgrid that enabled the utility to learn how customer-sited microgrids can be used to support the customer and the utility grid.

Power from the Prairie (PftP) Interregional Electric Transmission Project

NC3 Projects

Challenges and Considerations of Implementing Carbon Capture at Power Facilities

Climate change and decarbonization efforts continues to be an important focus for countries, businesses, and people. The United States has set ambitions of net-zero greenhouse gases emissions by no later than 2050. As part of this effort, the implementation of carbon dioxide (CO2) capture systems at point sources will be essential to help reduce CO2 cost-effectively. These systems are complex, energy intensive, and the installation of these systems is unique for each facility. Facilities must understand the requirements of these systems and evaluate the current and future availability of resources that will be required by these systems and the subsequent impact on the existing facility.

The power generation, transportation, and industrial sectors represent the three largest sources of anthropogenic CO2 in the US and the world. Power generation facilities are a specific focus for CO2 capture as many of these facilities produce CO2 as part of the process, and complete decarbonization cannot be achieved through fuel switching alone. This presentation will focus on the unique challenges and decisions that power generation facilities face when evaluating the feasibility of carbon capture. This presentation will explore the variability of CO2 emissions from each power generation facility including coal and natural gas, and the subsequent impact on implementing carbon capture systems. Consideration of utility availability and requirements, environmental regulations, and carbon capture technologies will be included as part of the evaluation with specific examples used to outline the decisions facilities are faced with.

Estrella del Mar III Floating Power Plants

Estrella del Mar III Floating Power Plants

Surry Power Station Water Award POY

Surry Power Station (SPS) reduced its yearly water draw from the Upper Potomac Aquifer by 13.9 million gallons by implementing an innovation that reduced its water demand. In 2022 the station implemented the RO Concentrate Recovery project, which reprocesses the reject water previously discharged during reverse osmosis. SPS now reclaims the rejected water by purifying it with an additional RO system.

Melakka Power Plant Top Gas Plant Award

Melaka Power Plant is the largest combined-cycle, gas-fired power plant currently in operation in Malaysia since April 2022. This plant consists of three generating blocks capable of generating over 745 MW each (2,200 MW total). GE provided Edra with a holistic solution including the core power plant equipment, a 21-year service agreement, and digital solutions to manage all aspects of the project's lifecycle. GE's 9HA-class technology played an important role in supporting the country's decarbonization roadmap and the growing energy consumption needs.

Decarbonizing with Combustion: The Future of Ammonia and Hydrogen Firing

Historically, firing ammonia and hydrogen fuel was only economical in certain applications outside of the power industry. Unlike other fossil fuels, both does not naturally exist and is commonly produced in hydrogen reformers and considered an energy carrier and not an energy source. Interests in ammonia and hydrogen firing continues to grow on a global scale, particularly in the power and refinery industry, as a viable CO2 emissions reduction approach. The U.S. Department of Energy also developed a multiple concepts called which focuses on its wide-spread production and the industry approach in utilization. With large corporations formally announcing their ambitions for net zero greenhouse gases in the near future, ammonia and hydrogen firing has become an attractive solution.

Importance of Water in Green Hydrogen

• Steve Kiser, Sr. Vice President, Global Energy Lead, WSP

The growth of green hydrogen is expected to increase exponentially in the next decade as various industries move to low or zero carbon energy production. "Green" hydrogen, produced from electrolysis of water powered by renewable energy, has significant versatility across a wide variety of end-use cases, but also has some challenges and considerations around efficient production. One major factor is the feedstock that can drive costs and viability of project development - the availability and location of abundant, clean water, and disposal of brine waste.

This presentation will dive into the important role of water in the production of green hydrogen. There are a variety of high-quality electrolyzer technologies available in the market today, and each have specific requirements on water quality and purity. In addition, project viability and economic benefits are maximized when locations are selected that combine reliable, sufficient water supply with the availability of cost-effective renewable energy sources (solar, wind, etc.) and a means to dispose of wastewater.

The presentation will review potential water sources for use in hydrogen production, including ground water, surface water, municipal and industrial effluent water, and sea water sources, among others, as well as an in-depth look at water treatment options to meet electrolyzer water quality requirements. It will also provide insights into ideal project development considerations when siting green hydrogen projects, discussions on cost estimates for water sources and treatment options, waste brine disposal options and considerations for optimizing water's role in green hydrogen.

How Innovations in Membrane Electrode Assemblies Improve Supply Chain Challenges

New capabilities in the electrolyzer industry are providing more sustainable solutions for end users that significantly reduce the reliance on the earth's precious metals. Limited availability, and the complexities associated with extracting such metals like iridium, are accelerating the demand to develop technologies that enhance production and output.

Sputtering technology is an available means to produce membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) that requires 90% less iridium than traditional MEAs and offer a more sustainable solution for hydrogen production.

This presentation will explore the science and technology behind proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer MEA development, and will explain the sputtering process and its benefits.

The session will include use cases describing how this technology can be applied, and how it can streamline supply chain constraints, so that efficient hydrogen production can be adopted and realized.

Efficient Operations of Clean Hydrogen at Scale

Many Clean Hydrogen projects are underway in the US and around the world, with the immediate goal being the on-time and on-budget development of these new hydrogen production plants. During this time, it's important to think ahead to the operational phase, when most of the work to optimize performance towards $1/kg H2 will be done. As companies move from pilot projects to full-scale Clean Hydrogen production, they may find that operational challenges exist that were not visible during the pilot. Looking specifically at expected water process challenges, new Clean Hydrogen plants may struggle with reduced efficiency, decreased reliability, and, ultimately, project success. Three strategies to address operational challenges early in the project can help meet project goals.

Unlocking Overlooked Flexible Capacity at the Grid Edge

• Andy Lescynski , Partner Success Manager, Leap

Global energy grids are facing unprecedented disruption due to electrification, the transition to renewables, extreme weather and the impacts of climate change. The power curve has fundamentally changed, including the resultant impacts on energy costs and reliability.  Buildings generate ~40% of global GHG emissions and 90% of buildings in the U.S. are under 50,000 square feet. These small, overlooked buildings represent the greatest, most cost-effective opportunity to reduce carbon and ensure a sustainable energy future today.  
 
The future of energy will rely on a more dynamic relationship between energy producers and consumers where energy demand and supply can be balanced in real-time. For utilities, grid interactivity means ample on-demand capacity that can be tapped within minutes to stabilize the grid during times of peak demand. For businesses, it means lower energy costs, lower operational costs, and more resilient buildings. To engage small to mid-size buildings, grid-interactive programs must be designed to benefit both the business and the grid at the same time.  
 
In this presentation, GridPoint will explain how the gap in requirements between utilities and commercial businesses can be bridged through automated demand response programs. Attendees will learn about a variety of innovative demand-side programs, novel financing and delivery approaches, and automated technologies that can come together to remove barriers to participation, unlock grid flexibility and engage new markets to contribute to grid stability today.
 
Attendees will also be presented a case study about how GridPoint partnered with Leap to support Walgreens during California grid emergencies in 2020 and 2022 to alleviate grid demand. The case study illustrates how utilities can engage the hard-to-reach commercial sector with automated demand response and how partnerships with aggregators can enable greater market access and greater customer value through grid services. 

Meeting New Regulations and Extending the Life of Your Coal Plant

Solar Field over Coal Ash Pond

Coal to Biomass Conversion Planning and Testing at the Huntly Power Station

• Jessica Russell, Fuels Consultant, Black & Veatch

Coal to biomass conversion studies are an area of interest for generating companies around the world, but only rarely do they advance to real-world applications. One recent example of a highly successful full coal to biomass conversion test burn was conducted at the Huntly Power Station, owned by Genesis Energy in New Zealand. This test, which was conducted in February 2023, yielded many valuable lessons learned which both Genesis Energy and Black & Veatch have committed to sharing publicly to assist others in similar environmental projects. The test burn utilized torrefied biomass pellets on a 250 MW pulverized coal unit, and succeeded in overcoming a variety of common and unusual challenges. In addition to the substantial differences between coal and biomass handling, milling, and combustion, the test burn had to accommodate an extremely wet fuel resulting from Cyclone Gabrielle and other problems unrelated to the biomass. One aspect that is often overlooked but will be discussed was the difficulty in acquiring the proper amount of torrefied biomass fuel for the test itself, which was nearly an 18-month effort. Genesis Energy and their Owner's Engineer Black & Veatch utilized agile engineering to plan for two years prior to the test, with safety and health as the primary metrics of success. As a result of a comprehensive plan and a "will to win" throughout the entire Genesis team, we were able to recognize and resolve any problems that came our way. These included the well-known problems regarding the difficulty of utilizing even torrefied biomass in mills designed for coal, as well as the use of a high-volatile fuel, pulverized fuel transport and combustion, slagging and fouling, NOx and unburned combustibles, stack emissions, and numerous other metrics. The result was judged a stunning success, and this presentation will share the preparation and planning process, the most vital results of the test burns, as well as the post-test burn forensic analysis for others considering similar test burns to benefit from.

Retirement-in-Place of Power Plants - Key Considerations and Approach

With the impending closure of fossil fuel-fired power plants around the country, utilities have decisions to make regarding the final disposition of these plants. Many utilities are not prepared to conduct full demolition and are opting to do something less aggressive with their closed plants. These decisions may be based on the lack of required funding, environmental and remediation concerns, proximity to currently operating units, regulatory issues, or even contractor availability.
In instances where a full demolition of a power generation asset cannot be completed, retirement-in-place may be an option. This requires some baseline work to make the unit or plant "cold, dark and safe." This refers to disconnecting all utilities or rerouting to other operating units, removing or managing all hazardous materials/chemicals and environmental concerns, leaving the asset in place in a safe condition until full demolition is feasible. This may be an ideal solution for a utility owner with limited resources but is not as easy as it seems - it frequently requires a decommissioning expert to consult and guide the asset decommissioning and retirement-in-place process.
This presentation provides a description of some of the key considerations to plan and implement a retirement-in-place or partial decommissioning of a power plant. Recent project examples will be summarized identifying the actual activities undertaken and the resulting lessons learned.

Low Energy Gas Solutions for eRINS market

Post hurricane Maria in 2017, the US Coast Guard wanted reliable back-up power for its Caribbean location. Caterpillar and local Puerto Rico Cat® dealer RIMCO worked with their consultant to review the sequence of operations that the US Coast Guard (USCG), would expect if they lost utility connection.

The USCG had two different sites they were looking at for hybrid power solutions, the Air Station, and Housing. Caterpillar analyzed several scenarios of integrated solutions with energy storage and genset assets to support the sites. Controls and electrical integration for the hybrid solution are now being achieved with Cat switchgear and Microgrid Controller. The USCG wanted to an Independent Power Producer to provide power to those sites for continuous 30 minutes if the local utility went down. Caterpillar provided an optimized hybrid solution to meet the customers needs. Each system entails diesel generators, battery energy storage(s), paralleling switchgear, microgrid controllers and the local dealer provides a long-term service agreements (LTSA).

Solution Offered - Full Grid Connected Hybrid (1st Hybrid for Caribbean)

Supporting the deployment of renewables with alternative energy storage

As more renewable energy resources connect to the grid, storing intermittently supplied energy becomes increasingly valuable and can ensure the stability and safety of power systems. Both US and European governments have recently acted to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of long-duration energy storage technologies (LDES) through the development of public-private partnerships and direct government support. Currently, most energy storage systems use lithium-ion batteries. However, problems with flammability, limited global supplies of key battery materials, supply chain bottlenecks, and high costs drive the push for low-cost, high performance, alternative energy storage solutions.

In response to the issues centered around lithium-ion, companies are developing low-cost non-lithium-based energy storage technologies made with off-the-shelf components that are commercially ready and scalable. These solutions are necessary to meet the demands of utilities and energy providers to accelerate the deployment of renewables while boosting grid resilience and reliability.

Claudio Spadacini can discuss how these non-lithium ion battery technologies, including Energy Dome's CO2 Battery, are faster, cheaper and easier to build than lithium-ion battery storage solutions. For reference, the CO2 Battery uses readily available carbon dioxide and off-the-shelf components to provide 4 to 20 hours of flexible storage for half the cost of lithium-ion batteries without the risk of fires and explosions.

Claudio can provide project implementation best practices and lessons learned through an overview of Energy Dome's 2.5 MW/4 MWh commercial demonstration project in Sardinia, Italy. He can also share updates since the company signed an MoU with wind power pioneer Ørsted to bring the CO2 Battery to Ørsted's offshore wind sites in Europe.

Technology-Driven Quality Assurance: Plant testing with Hardware in the Loop

As the penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) on the electric grid increases and clean energy plans expand, the reliability of IBR control systems is critical to maintaining overall system reliability. Current power plant controller (PPC) testing procedures are insufficient to fully characterize plant response during grid disturbances such as low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) and high-voltage ride-through (HVRT) events.

In ERCOT's well-documented Odessa Disturbance (May 2021), for example, more than 1 GW of solar plant output was reduced due to a three-cycle fault, with the affected resources spread across a large geographic area up to 200 miles away. This event highlighted a significant gap in high-fidelity plant and controller testing.

Hardware in the Loop (HIL) testing, or real-time simulation to verify the stability, operation, and fault tolerance of large-scale grid resources, is currently required in the US market for inverter control but not for plant control. Implementing HIL testing for PPCs at solar PV plants and other IBRs could enable better visibility into plant response during events that cannot be replicated during the typical commissioning process. HIL testing also allows PPC tuning in advance of onsite commissioning activities, reducing the overall commissioning timeline for the plant. Additionally, HIL testing enables testing of various Short Circuit Ratios (SCRs), which provides visibility into plant behavior under various fault scenarios and future load and generation scenarios. Implementing HIL testing as a standard approach for renewable plants would increase plant reliability during grid disturbances, improve the visibility of controller quality, and streamline the onsite commissioning and ISO testing process.

Remote Inspection at Power Generation Facilities

Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) is an indirect nondestructive testing (NDT) technique that employs the use of: videoprobes, videoscopes, video borescopes, remote operated pan tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras, CCTV camera systems, robotic crawlers, remote operated vehicles (ROVs), Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UASs/drones) and a wide array of specialized tooling to deliver clear, concise remote visual data. This minimally invasive inspection technique is ideally suited for hostile environments unsafe for human intervention or in areas of inaccessibility.

RVI is especially helpful for efficient and effective inspection of power generation assets. Given a small access point, remote visual inspection instruments may inspect hundreds of feet of piping while providing a significant reduction in peripheral inspection cost such as scaffolding, insulation removal and confined space entry. The reduction or oftentimes elimination of these supporting activities also constrains the safety profile of the examination by reducing labor and minimizing high risk activities.
RVI also facilitates foreign object search and retrieval (FOSAR). Often the result of a failed foreign materials exclusion (FME) boundary, foreign object debris (FOD) endanger plant efficiency, operability and safety by disturbing water chemistry and posing a significant threat to rotating machinery. RVI tools deployed with robotic manipulators and retrieval tools can reduce FOD and document system cleanliness.

This presentation will focus on inspection of critical assets in power generation facilities such as:
Boilers, HRSGs
Heat Exchangers & Condensers
Rotating Equipment- pumps, valves, gear boxes
Piping Systems- coal, steam, ash and water lines
Tanks & vessels
Stacks & cooling towers
Nuclear reactor vessels

Challenges of Producing Green Hydrogen at Scale for Green Ammonia Fuel

Author/Speaker will present a case study on the challenges of producing green hydrogen using renewable energy sources for downstream production of green ammonia as fuel for power generation.

How Virtual Power Plants Create Value for Utilities

Utilities across the United States are recognizing the value of aggregating distributed energy resources (DERs) for additional renewable energy capacity and grid services without investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure. Customer adoption of distributed energy resources (such as solar, battery storage, and EVs) and the latent potential for aggregated DERs to provide the grid with capacity and energy during times of need is growing quickly, especially among residential customers. At the same time, the cost of solar and storage continues to fall, but the systems are still unaffordable on the basis of retail cost savings alone for many home and business owners.

Utilities can design virtual power plant (VPP) programs to help address specific energy needs while achieving operational savings through valuable grid services, all while enabling customer backup power and innovative VPP participation incentives to homeowners and businesses. Battery storage VPPs have the potential to provide substantial resources beyond your typical demand response program. Swell Energy works with such utilities to design and execute VPP programs, providing customer acquisition, project fulfillment, customer finance and ongoing grid services.

Jon Fortune, VP of Grid Services Market Development of Swell Energy, will explain that with VPPs and advanced Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) capabilities such as Swell's GridAmp™, Swell can stack grid services with customer bill cost management to maximize utility and retail value streams, enabling a lower cost of capital and creating a virtuous cycle of deployment. Swell VPPs have better cost of capital and fund structure benefits, enabling customers to receive lower fixed energy costs, and utilities will have more resources to leverage for meeting renewable energy targets and the scalable, flexible resource services needed on the grid.

Navigating the wild west of fire safety regulations for energy storage

Several recent high-profile fires at utility-scale energy storage facilities have accelerated concerns over safety issues for battery storage, stalling deployment nationally. A lack of federal regulation has created a fragmented US market where safety requirements vary widely by jurisdiction. Darrell Furlong, Director of Energy Storage Product Management and Hardware Engineering at Wärtsilä, will shed light on current fire safety trends in US battery storage markets, discuss the dual challenges of consistent safety practices for both technology providers and permitters, and offer insight on how the BESS industry can best navigate safety regulations to reach national energy storage targets.

One of the most important developments in the industry, in absence of consistent fire safety standards, are third-party-validated standards for the design and installation of energy storage systems. In the absence of federal oversight, energy storage providers including Wärtsilä have voluntarily partnered with nonprofits and trade organizations such as the Energy Safety Response Group (ESRG) and Energy Security Agency (ESA) to popularize best practices and standardize procedures. Darrell will provide an overview of the most common standards and explain how to prepare for the certification process.

In addition, Darrell will discuss how to overcome common challenges related to safety in the permitting and development process using specific case studies from various locations. They will also share best practices for the ongoing operation and maintenance of energy storage systems as well as emergency preparedness with power producers and asset owners.

VRFB Energy Storage System

Mid-Atlantic Hub

ARCH2 Hub

Southeast Hydrogen Hub

Streamlining Decarbonized Transportation: Why Utilities and Fleets Should Adopt a Platform Approach