Julia Hamm

Jaw-dropping: while most everyone has been projecting a slowdown in China's wind&solar deployment, the State Grid Energy Research Institute expects 380 GW solar and 140 GW wind added to the grid this year. It's been clear that clean (and dirty) power capacity additions numbers would be buoyed by the end of the five-year plan period, when a lot of projects race to complete. But I have not seen anyone predict anything this big. These clean capacity additions mean around 850 TWh/year of clean power generation added to the grid while the State Grid also projects demand to grow 400-640 TWh (4.0-6.5%). So this clean energy growth should push power sector emissions down this year and well into next year. And this being the State Grid's research arm, they should have a good handle of what's coming through the pipeline as they're the ones who need to connect all of that capacity. As recently as late April, China Electricity Council was predicting 210 GW solar and 110 GW wind - already a massive number for wind. On the dirty side, the State Grid predicts 127 GW of thermal power added. Some of this will be gas but the majority, probably 90-100 GW is coal. So coal power additions are also picking up sharply. The key point remains that as long as clean power generation keeps growing faster than electricity demand, increases in coal and gas fired capacity will result in falling utilization, not increased emissions. Source for the State Grid Energy Research Institute projections: https://lnkd.in/dNV4DBkm And China Electricity Council: https://lnkd.in/dJqzUrBm

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As GM Energy jumps into #electricvehicles and #bidirectional charging, the company is banking on selling customers–especially those subject to frequent #poweroutages– on the stacked incentives available in certain outage-prone areas, especially Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) territory. The #EVs will create mobile #microgrids that help customers power through outages. Aseem Kapur Lydia Krefta https://lnkd.in/g4PwAB3s

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Despite policy backtracking, #renewables continue to march on. The latest case in point: #solar generation has surpassed gas generation in California. When paired with #energystorage, that has allowed the state to significantly decarbonize, as well as offer #grid value streams. Caveat: some of the decrease in gas in California is because #hydro (another renewable, it should be noted) generation has increased, and droughts could reverse that. But the overall trend is clear, and politics shouldn’t - and won’t - change that.

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Jesse Jenkins projects $52 billion in increased power costs and $400 annual higher power bills from the recently passed budget bill. But there's a high likelihood of a rapid solar buildout in the next six months. I include some details on why solar and wind development could increase. Also in this week's Grid Roundup, Oncor Electric Delivery’s rate case was filed last week; if approved, it would raise customer bills by 13% and initiate $36 billion in spending over the next 5 yers. Distributed energy resources (DERs) in ERCOT now add up to more than six gigawatts, 25% higher than the prior year. Be sure to catch episodes of The Energy Capital Podcast with Blake Richetta and Arushi S. to learn more about virtual power plants (VPPs) and how they can help consumers and the grid. ERCOT's Generation Interconnection Status Report for June shows two gigawatts of solar and storage approved for commercial operation and another two gigawatts synchronized. That puts wind, solar, and storage at about 7 gigawatts deployed this year. Worth noting that gas plants in the interconnection queue have doubled in the last year and are now over 35 gigawatts. The full queue is up to 420 gigawatts with 162GW of solar and 178 GW of battery energy storage. More here: https://lnkd.in/gpVrdf_G

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The High-Carbon Truth Behind A ‘Green’ California Microgrid The Calistoga hydrogen microgrid is being sold as clean resilience for wildfire outages, but the numbers tell a different story. The hydrogen is shipped in from Georgia, made with grid electricity that already has a carbon footprint. CleanTechnica article: https://lnkd.in/gDNcA4FP By the time it is liquefied, trucked across the country, and run through a fuel cell at only 50% efficiency, the result is electricity with a carbon intensity far higher than the California grid and even worse than a modern diesel generator. Public money paid for it anyway, with $46 million approved for a town that could have had a far cheaper solar and battery solution. Instead, firms like Plug Power and Energy Vault get another revenue stream, while residents get power that is dirtier and more expensive than the grid it is meant to back up. Hydrogen keeps finding its way into projects like this because it makes for a good ribbon-cutting photo and a steady flow of subsidies. But if we care about affordable energy, resilience and emissions, solar and batteries win every time.

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China's solar panel producers expect an OPEC-like agreement can help solve the industry's overcapacity and price war, but recent reality shows there won't be an easy fix. https://lnkd.in/g83KpQ5W South China Morning Post SCMP #solarpanel #overcapacity #manufacturing #solarenergy #pricewar #trade

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