Bill Galvin

As AI and data centers supercharge US power demand, utilities face new challenges. How will the grid adapt, and what solutions are on the way? In this week's Edge article Simon Flowers speak to Chris Seiple on what’s next for the US power market - and why regulation needs a major shake-up. Read now and subscribe for more weekly insights. https://okt.to/pgl45T

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Tune into 'The Energy Question' podcast Thursday at 9 AM CT as David Blackmon and I discuss the impact of recent legislation on energy consumers and ways we can achieve all of our energy and environmental goals without high costs and fear of blackouts on! It's a conversation you won’t want to miss. Make sure to save the link and tune into the livestream! #EnergyIndependence #AffordableEnergy #EnergyPolicy 

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Good to see some sanity from the Energy Industry with one of the biggest Investor owned utilties (NextEra Energy, Inc.) saying this: "Despite the recent fervor among tech companies and investors about nuclear energy, Ketchum held that renewables and storage will likely play a greater role in meeting new energy demand for at least two decades to come." Agreed, renewables and storage is the way to go to ramp new generation capacity reasonably quickly. But all kinds of lobby groups have people believing that nuclear can be turned on fast (it won't). Paul Martin Michael Barnard please add your thoughts. Full disclaimer, my company BluWave-ai largely has no role in a world with nuclear rather our entire goal is to enable the transition to more renewables, storage and electrified transport, so I am biased in support of the CEO of NextEra John Ketchum. The relatively good news is in my home province we'll finally be onboarding more renewables given the path to 4GW of storage charge/discharge power onboarded in sub 4 years (or so....I will believe it when construction and commissioning happen). Full article here : https://lnkd.in/eumFNvhz %renewable %storage

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I really enjoyed listening to the Insider's Guide to Energy podcast with Chris Sass that featured the President and CEO of Suburban Propane,  Michael Stivala. Mike brings a perspective on the industry that I appreciate and understand. As the global LPG industry first mover to invest in renewable DME production, he is not just talking about diversifying potential energy solutions. He is investing to make it happen! Give this podcast episode a listen!

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Anthony's point that "The organizations having the most success establishing, maintaining, and optimizing battery storage operations are bringing all their systems together into an integrated solution, with a single dashboard for a clear and comprehensive view of operations" is spot on. Most operator/owners have multiple BESS (often along with PV) sites with BMS, EMS, and PPC's from different suppliers. A common SCADA platform, especially at a ROC, provides operational uniformity. The operator sees the combined fleet data, dashboards, KPIs, alarms, reporting, etc. in such a way to make decision-making faster and troubleshooting more concise, while cutting down on costs.

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The bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 released by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) takes a much needed step in accelerating the permitting process for critical energy projects in the U.S. As the legislation spornors's state (shared here), our outdated permitting system is stifling our ability to move clean energy projects forward, which in turn has adverse economic effects and inhibits our ability to reduce emissions. I'm glad to see these bipartisan efforts are moving toward fixing a broken permitting system that has shackled American energy production for far too long. #EnergyProduction #EnergyPermitting

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In my most recent opinion editorial published in the Indianapolis Business Journal and The Indianapolis Star, I discuss how AES Indiana's proposed plans to repower Petersburg Units 3 & 4 from coal to natural gas is more affordable and more reliable in the short and long term. If approved, this will will save customers approximately $240 million over a 20-year period by avoiding the additional operational and maintenance costs associated with operating Peterburg as a coal-fired resource. By transitioning from coal to natural gas, we are lowering costs and ensuring the most reliable energy for our customers. #energyfuture #Indianaenergy #AES

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Steve Everley, great chart showing how natural gas generation has led the way to lower emissions in the U.S. much more so than intermittent solar and wind. Its amazing the EPA is trying to limit new natural gas generation as a part of its GHG Rule released last week and somehow limit existing natuarl gas generation in other dockets. Florida is a perfect example of natural gas' role in emissions reductions. Florida has seen a 35% reduction in emissions from 2005 to today almost entirely due to switching from coal and oil to natural gas generation which now produced 75% of Florida's generation, by far the highest percentage in the U.S. Better yet, electric prices grew far less than in other states being below the U.S. residential price average in 2024 despite having no natural resource advantage like hydro, natural gas, coal or oil advantages. We at Florida Municipal Power Agency are putting our future on natural gas generation to provide affordable and reliable power for all while continuing to reduce emissions for decades to come.

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Check out the Enverus Morning Energy Podcast. I shared my thoughts with Andrew Gillick on load growth drivers and how Demand Response is one keys to addressing grid reliability and sustainability cost effectively.

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Natural gas prices have affected electricity rates in Texas less and less in recent years. Still, it's a factor. Let's discuss this latest development and what it means to your long-term energy management plan at your convenience. #ERCOT

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Enjoyed my conversation with Elizabeth Cook, PhD talking about learnings from my past event analysis work of inverter-based resources (#IBRs) (Blue Cut, Canyon 2, Odessa events, CA BESS events, Texas wind events, etc.) and how we can LEARN from those lessons to mitigate potential future risks. I think we really need to focus on LEVERAGING the full capabilities of modern #IBRs through proactive and collaborative requirements adoption (e.g., #IEEE 2800-2022 adoption) rather than primarily focusing on the risks that the technology could pose to the grid. Effective North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards are critical here so we have a standardized industry alignment across entities, regions, etc., where reasonable and possible. But it appears that PRC-028, -029, and -030 standards developments are struggling to get adequate ballot scores (we will know more in a couple weeks...stay tuned!) and have veered somewhat away from the standardized practices of IEEE 2800-2022. Further, they will all require re-ballot to meet the IBR Registration directives mandated by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We need less churn and more strategic movement. KUDOS to the utilities and renewables developers/generator owners making strides here! The Elevate Energy Consulting team is actively supporting the industry in effective implementation of IEEE 2800-2022 and other necessary steps to LEVERAGE IBR technology effectively to support grid reliability, flexibility, and resilience. And to expedite the interconnection of clean energy resources.

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Compressed reserve margins lead to higher electricity prices when extreme weather materializes over time. IL banned new gas generation. The market in IL will only get worse over time for power price as well as any other markets banning new CCGTs.

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AES Indiana knows that EVs are coming, but like many utilities, they didn't exactly know where they are now, or how customer adoption might impact their grid. When does EV adoption add up to something they need to care about? We ran a bottoms-up analysis, starting by finding existing EVs, and then modeling the future impact of EV adoption for every substation, feeder circuit, and transformer on their grid. At just 5% adoption, the costs are significant enough to warrant intervention. Without mitigation, the potential cost blowup is in the $100m+ range. And what can a utility do about this? We also modelled multiple interventions - time of use rates, managed charging, and a data driven planning scenario which is effectively "data as a non wires alternative". Big takeaways: *Time Of Use rates are much worse than doing nothing.* Managed charging shows the highest cost savings, but much of that can also be realized by just actively monitoring EV activity and load growth and using that data to drive less conservative planning assumptions. Data as a non wires alternative! We're excited to be able to share this work - we've done similar analyses on other grids, but AES was excited to share these results to help other utilities struggling with the same problem. Very grateful for their willingness to share!

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Already the largest exporter of liquefied #naturalgas in the world, America (and all of North America) is projected to remain a power house as massive growth in the industry continues. Not only does this mean great jobs here at home, but it means energy security for our allies in Europe and Asia. But what happens to natural gas prices here at home? Let's chat. #energyprocurement #electricity #ERCOT Able Power Management

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The “transition from fossil fuels” presupposes that “clean energy” substitutes will be ready when needed. Are they? Add the voracious energy demands, and America may be facing the worst energy shortfall in it’s history. Let’s be very careful. Red lights have been flashing for quite some time . #energystrong #rareearth #coal #criticalminerals #energysecurity #energy #fossilfuel #oilandgas #mining #rawmaterials #steel.

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The issue of baseload energy security, crucial for our nation's future, has unfortunately highlighted the worst aspects of our political discourse. As the honorary President of SEMMA and a manufacturer myself, I understand firsthand the importance of stable, sustainable, and cost-effective baseload power to drive our critical industries. Australian manufacturing offers numerous benefits: it provides high-quality jobs, drives innovation, boosts exports, and enhances economic resilience. The public expects, and deserves, a thoughtful and informed debate on this matter. It's essential that policymakers engage responsibly and constructively, focusing on the long-term future of our manufacturing sector rather than resorting to partisan conflicts.

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