$20 Billion Energy Shockwave: Nuclear Revival, AI Grids & EV Takeover!
1.) Santee Cooper, South Carolina's state-owned utility releases RFI seeking parties interested in completing two unfinished nuclear units totaling 2,200 MW and selects “fewer than five” of 14 applicants. Construction of the two units was cancelled in 2017 due to cost overruns and the bankruptcy of Westinghouse, the primary contractor.
2.) Constellation Energy CEO says it plans to develop an upstate New York nuclear project.
3.) Invenergy - developer of the $11 billion, 4,000 MW Grain Belt Express transmission project - sends letter to the Department of Energy requesting it to proceed with a 2024 $4.9 billion conditional loan guarantee issued during the Biden administration, after Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he had "secured a pledge" from DOE secretary Chris Wright to halt the project.
4.) South Texas Electric Cooperative issues request for proposals for up to 500 megawatts of firm, dispatchable capacity and energy for terms from 20-30 years in the ERCOT region. Projects must be currently operating or expected to be commissioned by December 1, 2028.
5.) Google will spend over $3 billion for power from two of Brookfield Asset Management’s hydroelectric plants, totaling 670 MW of capacity. The contracts are the first in a larger agreement that may include up to 3,000 MW in PJM and MISO.
6.) California grid operator CAISO plans to use AI to manage outages with a pilot program utilizing OATI’s software called Genie.
7.) The Southwest Power Pool looks to cut interconnection study timelines for large loads to 90 days if end users promise to cut demand or use back-up generation to help the grid during periods of stress.
8.) Nine governors from states in PJM region pen letter to the grid operator stating their concerns about electricity costs and reliability, stating PJM “faces an unprecedented crisis of confidence from market participants, consumers, and the states” and called upon the grid operator to make changes, commenting, “fundamental changes, and new leadership, are needed to restore confidence in PJM’s ability to meet the many challenges of this moment.”
9.) Chinese company Envision Energy has officially cuts the ribbon on a 500MW, 320,000 ton-per-year, first phase of its planned 2.5GW green hydrogen and ammonia plant to be supplied entirely from off-grid renewables.
10.) Uber to invest $300 million in U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid, and purchase at least 20,000 autonomous vehicles equipped with self-driving technology from autonomous vehicle software company Nuro. Uber will also make a multi-hundred-million dollar" investment in Nuro.