• A utility promised to stop burning coal. Then Google and Meta came to town.

    A utility promised to stop burning coal. Then Google and Meta came to town.

    An energy crunch forces continued coal burning in a low-income area as data centers strain the regional power supply.

    By

    October 12, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

    OMAHA — Residents in the low-income, largely minority neighborhoodof North Omaha celebrated when they learned a 1950s-era power plant nearby would finally stop burning coal. The community has some of the region’s worst air pollution and high rates of asthma.

    But when the 2023 deadline to rid that plant of coal arrived, the power company that owns it balked. Eliminating toxic emissions conflicted with a competing priority: serving massive, power-hungry Meta and Google data centers the utility helped recruit to the region before it secured enough new energy to meet the extra demand.

    READ MORE AT THE WASHINGTON POST

  • America’s Oil Country Increasingly Runs on Renewables

    America’s Oil Country Increasingly Runs on Renewables

    Texas, the biggest oil-producing state, has turned to solar power and battery storage to see it through extreme weather. But with demand rising, much more power will be needed.

    By J. David Goodman / Reporting from Houston / Sept. 18, 2024, 11:16 a.m. ET

    During the scorching summer of 2023, the Texas energy grid wobbled as surging demand for electricity threatened to exceed supply. Several times, officials called on residents to conserve energy to avoid a grid failure.

    This year it turned out much better — thanks in large part to more renewable energy.

    The electrical grid in Texas has breezed through a summer in which, despite milder temperatures, the state again reached record levels of energy demand. It did so largely thanks to the substantial expansion of new solar farms.

    READ MORE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • 'Football fields' of batteries have helped Texas's grid when electricity demand is highest

    'Football fields' of batteries have helped Texas's grid when electricity demand is highest

    Texas's battery storage capacity has increased about 2,500% since the 2021 winter storm. The booming industry has helped prevent Texas grid emergencies.

    Author: Matt Houston (WFAA)

    Published: 4:48 PM CDT August 20, 2024

    FORT WORTH, Texas — Curious cattle lowed at the herd of people examining rows of shipping containers about thirty yards away on an overcast May morning. A heavy-duty fence surrounds the inconspicuous gray boxes. Air conditioners cooling their precious cargo emit a gentle hum. The property borders ranchland and an asphalt maker, all about three miles south of Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth. Electricity transmission lines cast a long shadow over the industrial site. "A lot of people saw, like us, the opportunity to fill a need," Stephanie Smith said, walking the gravel path between the boxes. As she turned into the array, an engineer unlocked one container to reveal its components: dozens of metal canisters resembling old computer hard drives, with neatly organized wires protruding from their ends. A "high voltage" sign warns onlookers away from the machines. "What's happening in Texas is really exciting," Smith said. "I love what batteries can do for the grid."

    Smith is chief operating officer at Eolian, which operates the Chisholm Grid battery farm. Eolian buys power off nearby transmission infrastructure to charge its array when electricity is plentiful and its wholesale price is low. It will sell that stored electricity back to the grid when demand drives up prices. The process is similar to stock trading. "You're trying to take advantage of the times when there's extra power, and then you're putting it in the market when the market needs it," Smith said.

    READ MORE AND WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE SMITH, COO 

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IN THE NEWS Stephanie Seiferth IN THE NEWS Stephanie Seiferth

Wärtsilä and Eolian complete 200 MW standalone energy storage facility in Texas, the largest merchant battery system in the world

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release 27 March 2023 at 11:00 UTC+2

Madero and Ignacio energy storage facility will provide Texas’ ERCOT grid with needed flexibility amidst growing energy demand and extreme weather events. ©Eolian

The facility is also first-of-its-kind financed with the Investment Tax Credit to provide critically needed dispatchable resource to meet urgent and growing demand for flexibility in Texas power market

The technology group Wärtsilä has reached commercial operation date (COD) for two major interconnected energy storage systems in South Texas totaling 200 MW and owned by Eolian L.P. (Eolian), a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners. The Madero and Ignacio energy storage plants will be operated using Eolian software, enabling full participation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. This will add much needed year-round reliable operational ramping capacity to the system. The order for Wärtsilä was booked in February 2021.

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PRESS RELEASE Stephanie Seiferth PRESS RELEASE Stephanie Seiferth

Eolian Closes First-Of-Its-Kind Standalone Battery Energy Storage Tax Equity Financing

BURLINGAME, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eolian, L.P., a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners, has successfully closed the first-of-its-kind tax equity investment in two standalone utility-scale battery storage projects located in Mission, Texas. This pioneering financing is the first use of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) structure by a standalone utility-scale battery energy storage system and is possible due to passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Tax equity investment in the projects was provided by a fund managed by Churchill Stateside Group, LLC.

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