Best of POWER

Welcome to the end-of-October issue of the Best of POWER, a bi-monthly e-newsletter from POWER magazine that provides important news and information that many in our audience have found to be must-reads.

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A Breakdown of Cuba’s Grid Collapse and Recovery Efforts | Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is grappling with recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Oscar, which ravaged the eastern region, leaving seven dead and devastating infrastructure across four municipalities in Guantánamo province.

Amazon Backs Massive Nuclear SMR Deployment: 5 GW with X-Energy, Agreements With Energy Northwest, Dominion | In yet another major set of deals spearheaded by a tech giant in support of nuclear power development, Amazon will back the deployment of 5 GW of new X-energy small modular reactor (SMR) projects by 2039, starting with an initial four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 plant with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington.

Google Bets Big on Nuclear: Inks Deal with Kairos Power for 500-MW SMR Fleet to Power Data Centers | In a deal that marks the first corporate agreement to deploy multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S., Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-MW fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The first reactor is expected to be operational by 2030.

Power Demand from Data Centers Keeping Coal-Fired Plants Online | The power generation sector is looking at numerous ways to provide enough electricity to satisfy demand from data centers. Bloomberg Intelligence recently said its research shows data centers, buildings filled with servers and other computing equipment for data storage and networking that supports operations and artificial intelligence (AI), could be responsible for as much as 17% of all U.S. electricity consumption by 2030. The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) has said one data center can require 50 times the electricity of a typical office building.

What Are Microreactors and How Soon Could We See One in Operation | Microreactors are a class of very small modular reactors targeted for non-conventional nuclear markets. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports a variety of advanced reactor designs, including gas, liquid-metal, molten-salt, and heat-pipe-cooled concepts. In the U.S., microreactor developers are currently focused on designs that could be deployed as early as the mid-2020s.

In Case You Missed It: The Transformer Crisis: An Industry on the Brink | For several years now, the power sector has frantically raised the alarm about an impending transformer supply chain crisis, seeking to reinforce the availability of the component that many consider the backbone of the electric industry. But since the COVID pandemic, the crisis has descended full-blown and grown crippling. In April, global research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie warned that transformer lead times have continued an upward trajectory and now stand at 115 to 130 weeks—more than two years—on average. Lead times for large transformers, both substation power transformers and generator step-up (GSU) transformers, have surged to 120 to 210 weeks—or 2.3 to 4 years. At the same time, depending on the size and application, transformer prices have risen 60% to 80% on average since January 2020, driven upward by raw material commodities. Prices for grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), though significantly volatile, have almost doubled since the pandemic, while copper prices surged upwards of 40%.

Concerns About Appalachian Hydrogen Hub as Companies Drop Out; New Participants Sought | A report from a group that looks at economic conditions in the Appalachia region of the U.S. says a hydrogen hub proposed for the area already faces significant challenges. The Ohio River Valley Institute in a research brief published this month said five of the 15 originally proposed projects in the hub have been canceled, and four project development partners already have left the hub.

DOE Releases $900M to Spur Gen III+ Nuclear SMR Deployment, Targets Two 'First Mover' Projects | A $900 million funding opportunity released by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Oct. 16 seeks to spur “first mover” teams that could deploy the first two Gen III+ light water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. It will also provide funding for “fast follower” deployment support by addressing critical gaps that have long hindered the nuclear industry.

How the Presidential Election Could Impact Renewable Energy Tax Credits | President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law in 2022. The IRA is the largest public investments in renewable energy in American history and created more than 20 different tax incentives for renewable energy and related manufacturing.

Europe's SMR Alliance Endorses Nine Nuclear Projects in Push for 2030s Deployment | The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)?has identified nine SMR projects it will support as its first batch of project working groups (PWGs). The effort marks a significant first step toward the alliance’s goal of deploying SMR technologies across Europe by the early 2030s.