Category: Smart Grid

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The AI Race Is Causing the Rising Demand for Nuclear Reactor Power Plants

From InterestingEngineering.com: Atharva Gosavi

Nuclear-Pwr-Plant
InterestingEngineering.com: Four-reactor project at Seadrift in Texas (X-energy)

The AI race is causing a rising demand for nuclear power plants. “By 2030, U.S. data centers could consume anywhere between 214 TWh to 675 TWh annually – a 2.6x increase compared to 2023 consumption. Due to intermittency, transmission limitations, and carbon constraints, renewable and fossil fuels fall massively short of fulfilling these demands.

Amazon just announced a partnership with X-energy, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), and Doosan Enerbility to build advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States. The partnership aims to accelerate their deployment to meet data centers and AI’s growing power demands. The partnership will deploy X-energy’s Xe-100 SMRs, coupled with TRISO-X fuel – a high-assurance form widely considered one of the safest in the nuclear sector.”

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Costco Is Planning a New Microgrid for its Tire Center Warehouse

From EEPower.com: Shannon Cuthrell

Costco-Tire-Center-from-Trinity
Image: EEPower.com by Trinity Energy (Costco’s Norwalk, CT Warehouse)

Costco is planning a new microgrid (off the grid) for its tire center warehouse in Norwalk, CT. “The modular battery and solar system, engineered and installed by Washington-based Trinity Energy, is designed to deliver up to 2 MWh per day without being tied to the grid. By choosing an off-grid design, Costco avoids interconnection delays and upgrade costs that often stall commercial electrification projects, while gaining a reliable on-site power supply.

Trinity Energy’s microgrid systems are flexible due to their modular architecture and scalable as off-grid infrastructure for sites like fleet depots, multi-family properties, and hospitality buildings. The company’s installations often integrate solar generation, battery storage, energy distribution systems, and inverters.”

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How AI Is Being Used by Power Utilities to Benefit End Users?

Renewable Energy World.com by Jeremiah Karpowicz:

DTech-Midwest-Conference-AI
Image: Renewable Energy World.com, DTECH Midwest Panel Discussion, “AI Use Cases at the Grid Edge”, Moderator: Fei Ding, NREL

At the DistribuTECH (DTECH) Midwest Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, major discussions have taken place on how AI is used to benefit end users. A panel discussion comprised of power utility and electric cooperatives, led by “Fie Ding from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the panel benefited from her work at NREL, which is connected to developing advanced models and controls for managing grid-edge resources.

These models go far beyond traditional meter data, fundamentally altering how utilities use information in a way that will redefine what customers see and expect in their monthly billing statements.”

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Duke Power Plans for a new Natural Gas Generation Plant in South Carolina

Power-Eng.com by Kevin Clark:

Duke-Energy-NG-Plant
Image: Power-Eng.com, Duke Energy’s Existing W.S. Lee Station-Anderson County SC

Duke Energy has announced its “plans to file an application with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to construct a new natural gas-fired power plant in Anderson County.

This would be the company’s first request to build new generation capacity in South Carolina in ten years. The combined-cycle plant is expected to have a generating capacity of approximately 1,400 megawatts (MW) and would use nearby existing transmission infrastructure.”

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Large Engineering Firm Completes a Renewable Break-Through Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study for the UK

PowerMag.com by Darrell Proctor:

PowerMag-B&V-Green-Hydrogen
Image: PowerMag.com (Darrell Proctor) & Black & Veatch

One of the leading engineering firms and “infrastructure developer, Black & Veatch, announced the company has completed execution of a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the Whitelee Green Hydrogen Project near Glasgow, Scotland. Whitelee is a proposed development by owner ScottishPower Energy Retail Limited. The contract was awarded to Black & Veatch in October 2024.

The project will produce green hydrogen, which is produced using electricity from renewable sources, such as wind, and converting it using an electrolyser, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis.”

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Power Suppliers Are Expediting Plans for Renewable Systems to Benefit from Rapid Dissolving Tax Credits

UtilityDive.com by Diana DiGangi:

Utility-Dive-Solar-Getty-Images
Image: Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

Power companies are accelerating their planned power projects for connecting renewable energies to the grid to benefit from the swift dissolving ‘Inflation Reduction Act tax credits.’

Several power utilities, such as “Xcel Energy, WEC Energy Group, CMS Energy, and Ameren are planning to accelerate projects originally slated for 2030–31 into 2027–28.”

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