Latest news with #gridreliability
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Met-Ed Substation Brings Stronger and More Reliable Power to Northampton County
READING, Pa., Aug. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 5,000 residents and businesses in fast-growing Northampton County, Pa., are now receiving electricity from a new substation designed to support regional development. The Klecknersville Substation, recently energized by FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) company known locally as Met-Ed, provides a new power source for customers in Moore, Lehigh, East Allen and Upper Nazareth townships and Bath and Chapman boroughs. Built for Growth and Reliability Previously, these customers relied on power lines that stretched 15 to 20 miles from the Northwood Substation in Palmer Township – routes through wooded areas that were more susceptible to tree damage and vehicle accidents. Now, shorter 5 to 10-mile lines coming from the new substation deliver electricity more efficiently, with smart technology that can automatically reroute power during outages so fewer customers are affected and service is restored faster. John Hawkins, President of FirstEnergy Pennsylvania: "Five years in the making, this substation is a big win for the community. It not only strengthens the grid for 5,400 Met-Ed customers, but it also eases the load on our Northwood Substation and enhances electric service for customers in Palmer Township, especially during periods of high demand like we've experienced during this hot summer." Smart Technology for Faster Restoration The Klecknersville Substation is equipped with smart grid technology, including automated devices that: Detect and isolate problems automatically. Restore service remotely without dispatching a crew. Pinpoint outage locations to speed up repairs. These upgrades mean fewer, shorter and less widespread outages for customers. Watch a video explaining how smart grid technology works. Extra Protection from Wildlife To help prevent animal-related outages, the substation includes wildlife guards – rubber boots and sleeves that keep squirrels and other climbing animals away from energized equipment. Part of a Larger Investment This project is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's $28 billion investment program to modernize the electric grid across the footprint between 2025 and 2029. The goal: a smarter, more secure grid that meets the needs of customers today and tomorrow's growth. Met-Ed serves approximately 592,000 customers within 3,300 square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on X @Met Ed and on Facebook at FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at and follow FirstEnergy on X @FirstEnergyCorp. Editor's Note: A photo of the new substation is available for download on FirstEnergy's Flickr. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland General Electric brings 475MW of battery storage online
Portland General Electric (PGE) has energised 475MW of battery energy storage to boost grid reliability and keep costs low for customers in the US state of Oregon. The three new utility-scale battery energy storage systems add more than 1.9 gigawatt hours (GWh) of dispatchable capacity, bolstering the electricity supply for the Portland metro area. Collectively, these installations will power 300,000 homes for up to four hours during peak demand. The lithium-ion energy storage systems are situated at key substations in North Portland, Troutdale and Hillsboro. They are designed to optimise the balance between electricity production with consumption more effectively, alleviating pressure on the grid. The integration of battery storage technology not only diminishes its dependence on costly short-term electricity purchases but also contributes to stabilising energy costs and mitigating price fluctuations for consumers. These systems also facilitate the incorporation of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Two of the newly operational facilities were developed by Eolian, as part of PGE's 2021 All-Source Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Located in North Portland, the 200MW Seaside facility was delivered to PGE by Eolian under a fixed-cost build-to-transfer agreement. Commercial operations were started in July 2025. The Sundial, a 200MW facility in Troutdale, was developed by Eolian and will be operated under a 20-year storage capacity agreement by NextEra Energy Resources. It began operations in December 2024. The third facility, Constable, is a 75MW installation owned by PGE in Hillsboro, constructed under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with Mortenson that reached commercial operation in December 2024. PGE also completed its Coffee Creek battery storage system near Wilsonville in 2024, bringing its total large-scale battery storage capacity up to 492MW. In December, the company made a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Avangrid to procure electricity from the Tower solar project, in Portland, Oregon, which has a capacity of 120 megawatts alternating current (166 megawatts direct current). "Portland General Electric brings 475MW of battery storage online" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
25-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Can Multi-Fuel Generation Act as a Tailwind for VST Stock?
Vistra Corp. 's VST multi-fuel generation portfolio significantly enhances its long-term growth potential. With a balanced mix of natural gas, nuclear, coal, and increasing renewable and battery storage, Vistra is well-positioned to navigate the evolving U.S. energy landscape. This multi-fuel approach allows the company to maintain grid reliability, optimize generation economics and capitalize on regional market dynamics, particularly during periods of fuel price volatility and extreme weather events. As of Dec. 31, 2024, Vistra's generation capacity was powered by Natural gas, Coal, Nuclear and Renewable sources, which accounted for 59%, 21%, 16% and 4%, respectively, of the total generation capacity of 40,657 megawatts ('MW'). The company's legacy thermal assets provide dependable baseload capacity, supporting stable cash flow generation, while its expanding renewables and energy storage portfolio aligns with the national transition to cleaner energy. Since 2018, Vistra has added 7,922 MWs of zero-carbon generation, with additional clean energy projects currently in development to meet growing demand. Vistra's strategic blend not only ensures operational flexibility but also mitigates regulatory risks and enhances resiliency against market disruptions. Vistra's integrated retail and wholesale platform allows it to capture value across the energy value chain, amplifying margins and enabling long-term capital allocation toward growth initiatives. In sum, Vistra's multi-fuel strategy positions it as a robust, adaptable and future-ready power company. Utilities Benefit From Multi-Fuel Generation Assets Utilities benefit from multi-fuel generation assets by enhancing grid reliability, reducing exposure to fuel price volatility and optimizing operational flexibility. This diversified mix enables efficient power delivery, strengthens earnings stability and supports adaptability amid evolving regulatory and market conditions. Peers like Duke Energy DUK and Dominion Energy D benefit from multi-fuel generation portfolios by balancing reliability, cost efficiency and environmental goals. Duke leverages coal, gas, nuclear and renewables to ensure a consistent supply and manage fuel risks. Dominion's diverse mix supports grid stability and enables smoother integration of clean energy, aligning operations with regulatory trends and long-term decarbonization targets. VST Stock's Price Performance Vistra stock has gained 41% in the past six months compared with the Zacks Utility Electric Power industry's rise of 9.4%. VST's Sales Estimates Going Up The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VST's 2025 and 2026 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 29.87% and 3.27% respectively. VST Stock's ROE Is Higher Than Its Industry Vistra's trailing 12-month return on equity ('ROE') is 87.33%, way ahead of its industry average of 10.41%. ROE, a profitability measure, indicates how effectively a company is utilizing its shareholders' funds in operations to generate income. VST's Zacks Rank Vistra currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. #1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA) The incredible demand for data is fueling the market's next digital gold rush. As data centers continue to be built and constantly upgraded, the companies that provide the hardware for these behemoths will become the NVIDIAs of tomorrow. One under-the-radar chipmaker is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. It specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report Dominion Energy Inc. (D): Free Stock Analysis Report Vistra Corp. (VST): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Making Battery Degradation Measurable: Why Cost-Aware Operation Is Essential
As renewable energy becomes the foundation of electricity systems around the world, the importance of stationary battery storage is no longer in question. Lithium-ion batteries are being deployed at unprecedented rates to support grid reliability, integrate variable generation, defer infrastructure upgrades, and provide flexible capacity across multiple electricity markets. These systems are now considered critical infrastructure. Their ability to charge and discharge energy on demand gives grid operators and energy providers a powerful tool to balance supply and demand, respond to price volatility, and support decarbonization. Yet, while batteries are increasingly central to system planning, the strategies used to operate them remain largely focused on short-term revenue. This gap between operational reality and technical potential creates a risk: that batteries, if not managed correctly, will fall short of their expected value—economically, technically, and environmentally. Most Battery Operations Prioritize Short-Term Gains In the current market environment, battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are typically controlled through revenue-optimizing algorithms that respond to short-term market signals. Whether participating in frequency regulation, trading across day-ahead and intraday markets, or engaging in reserve or capacity mechanisms, the majority of optimization frameworks are designed to maximize immediate profit. This approach is understandable. Market opportunities are real, and operators are under pressure to deliver returns on capital-intensive assets. The problem is that these decisions rarely account for battery degradation, which introduces a hidden cost that compounds over time. Degradation reduces usable capacity, limits power output, and in some cases increases safety risks. If not properly managed, it can significantly shorten the useful life of a system or lead to costly replacements. In some business cases, degradation-related losses can account for a large fraction of the total cost of ownership, particularly when project life is assumed to extend over 10 or 15 years. Despite this, degradation is often ignored in daily operation because it is difficult to quantify, and even harder to include in optimization frameworks that favor simplicity and speed. Battery Degradation Is Not Just Technical—It's Economic The physics of battery degradation are complex. Factors such as the depth and rate of charge or discharge, resting states of charge, temperature, and calendar time all influence how quickly a battery loses capacity and efficiency. Different chemistries and designs degrade in different ways, and degradation profiles are often nonlinear, with certain thresholds or conditions accelerating damage disproportionately. From an economic standpoint, this variability presents a challenge. If degradation cannot be measured and priced accurately, it cannot be factored into dispatch decisions. As a result, operators face a structural blind spot: the systems are making choices that optimize short-term margins while potentially destroying long-term value. In practical terms, this might mean over-responding to price spikes, engaging in high-throughput trading strategies that shorten asset life, or failing to reserve enough capacity for high-value services like frequency regulation later in the project lifecycle. The Missing Piece: A Degradation Cost Function One promising way to bridge this gap is to implement a cost function that quantifies battery degradation in monetary terms and integrates this cost into the optimization process. A cost function is a mathematical model that estimates the financial impact of a given operational action on battery health. For example, if a high-rate discharge at low state of charge is known to accelerate degradation, the cost function assigns a penalty to that action. This cost is then compared against the expected market revenue of the action, allowing the operator or algorithm to weigh short-term gain against long-term impact. This approach aligns with how other critical infrastructure is managed. In thermal plants, for example, operators account for startup costs and wear-and-tear in dispatch planning. In aviation, flight control systems include maintenance cost considerations in route and engine use optimization. There is no reason battery storage should be any different. However, for this to work, the cost function must be credible. It cannot rely on simple proxies such as number of cycles or total energy throughput. Degradation in modern lithium-ion batteries is too nuanced to be captured by one-size-fits-all rules. Instead, the cost function must be informed by detailed models that reflect battery-specific ageing behaviors under different conditions. These models may be physics-based, data-driven, or hybrid in nature. Ideally, they are validated against real-world operational data and tailored to the actual battery system in use. Without this rigor, there is a risk that the cost function either underestimates degradation, leading to overuse, or overestimates it, leading to missed opportunities. Operational Implications and Market Potential Integrating a degradation-aware cost function into BESS operation can fundamentally improve system performance. Operators can maintain higher capacity over time, reduce maintenance and replacement costs, and plan reinvestments more accurately. In projects with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) or multi-year capacity commitments, this can make the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable investment. Furthermore, this approach opens the door to new forms of asset management. Storage portfolios can be benchmarked not only on energy dispatched or revenue earned, but also on degradation efficiency—how much value is extracted per unit of capacity lost. Over time, this can become a standard performance indicator, encouraging best practices across the industry. System operators and aggregators can also use degradation cost functions to harmonize control strategies across heterogeneous assets, improving fleet-level performance. Cost Functions Provide Actionable Insight Battery energy storage systems are key to the stability and flexibility of tomorrow's energy systems. But their long-term value depends not only on how much energy they move, but on how wisely they are operated. Integrating degradation into operational decision-making is no longer optional; it is a necessary step toward responsible, sustainable, and economically viable storage deployment. Cost functions that translate technical ageing into financial terms offer a practical solution to this challenge. When built on accurate models and integrated into dispatch algorithms, they enable a more balanced strategy, one that recognizes both immediate market opportunities and long-term asset health. By making battery degradation measurable and actionable, we can unlock smarter storage and more resilient energy systems. —Laura Laringe is CEO and co-founder of reLi Energy GmbH. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Making Battery Degradation Measurable: Why Cost-Aware Operation Is Essential
As renewable energy becomes the foundation of electricity systems around the world, the importance of stationary battery storage is no longer in question. Lithium-ion batteries are being deployed at unprecedented rates to support grid reliability, integrate variable generation, defer infrastructure upgrades, and provide flexible capacity across multiple electricity markets. These systems are now considered critical infrastructure. Their ability to charge and discharge energy on demand gives grid operators and energy providers a powerful tool to balance supply and demand, respond to price volatility, and support decarbonization. Yet, while batteries are increasingly central to system planning, the strategies used to operate them remain largely focused on short-term revenue. This gap between operational reality and technical potential creates a risk: that batteries, if not managed correctly, will fall short of their expected value—economically, technically, and environmentally. Most Battery Operations Prioritize Short-Term Gains In the current market environment, battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are typically controlled through revenue-optimizing algorithms that respond to short-term market signals. Whether participating in frequency regulation, trading across day-ahead and intraday markets, or engaging in reserve or capacity mechanisms, the majority of optimization frameworks are designed to maximize immediate profit. This approach is understandable. Market opportunities are real, and operators are under pressure to deliver returns on capital-intensive assets. The problem is that these decisions rarely account for battery degradation, which introduces a hidden cost that compounds over time. Degradation reduces usable capacity, limits power output, and in some cases increases safety risks. If not properly managed, it can significantly shorten the useful life of a system or lead to costly replacements. In some business cases, degradation-related losses can account for a large fraction of the total cost of ownership, particularly when project life is assumed to extend over 10 or 15 years. Despite this, degradation is often ignored in daily operation because it is difficult to quantify, and even harder to include in optimization frameworks that favor simplicity and speed. Battery Degradation Is Not Just Technical—It's Economic The physics of battery degradation are complex. Factors such as the depth and rate of charge or discharge, resting states of charge, temperature, and calendar time all influence how quickly a battery loses capacity and efficiency. Different chemistries and designs degrade in different ways, and degradation profiles are often nonlinear, with certain thresholds or conditions accelerating damage disproportionately. From an economic standpoint, this variability presents a challenge. If degradation cannot be measured and priced accurately, it cannot be factored into dispatch decisions. As a result, operators face a structural blind spot: the systems are making choices that optimize short-term margins while potentially destroying long-term value. In practical terms, this might mean over-responding to price spikes, engaging in high-throughput trading strategies that shorten asset life, or failing to reserve enough capacity for high-value services like frequency regulation later in the project lifecycle. The Missing Piece: A Degradation Cost Function One promising way to bridge this gap is to implement a cost function that quantifies battery degradation in monetary terms and integrates this cost into the optimization process. A cost function is a mathematical model that estimates the financial impact of a given operational action on battery health. For example, if a high-rate discharge at low state of charge is known to accelerate degradation, the cost function assigns a penalty to that action. This cost is then compared against the expected market revenue of the action, allowing the operator or algorithm to weigh short-term gain against long-term impact. This approach aligns with how other critical infrastructure is managed. In thermal plants, for example, operators account for startup costs and wear-and-tear in dispatch planning. In aviation, flight control systems include maintenance cost considerations in route and engine use optimization. There is no reason battery storage should be any different. However, for this to work, the cost function must be credible. It cannot rely on simple proxies such as number of cycles or total energy throughput. Degradation in modern lithium-ion batteries is too nuanced to be captured by one-size-fits-all rules. Instead, the cost function must be informed by detailed models that reflect battery-specific ageing behaviors under different conditions. These models may be physics-based, data-driven, or hybrid in nature. Ideally, they are validated against real-world operational data and tailored to the actual battery system in use. Without this rigor, there is a risk that the cost function either underestimates degradation, leading to overuse, or overestimates it, leading to missed opportunities. Operational Implications and Market Potential Integrating a degradation-aware cost function into BESS operation can fundamentally improve system performance. Operators can maintain higher capacity over time, reduce maintenance and replacement costs, and plan reinvestments more accurately. In projects with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) or multi-year capacity commitments, this can make the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable investment. Furthermore, this approach opens the door to new forms of asset management. Storage portfolios can be benchmarked not only on energy dispatched or revenue earned, but also on degradation efficiency—how much value is extracted per unit of capacity lost. Over time, this can become a standard performance indicator, encouraging best practices across the industry. System operators and aggregators can also use degradation cost functions to harmonize control strategies across heterogeneous assets, improving fleet-level performance. Cost Functions Provide Actionable Insight Battery energy storage systems are key to the stability and flexibility of tomorrow's energy systems. But their long-term value depends not only on how much energy they move, but on how wisely they are operated. Integrating degradation into operational decision-making is no longer optional; it is a necessary step toward responsible, sustainable, and economically viable storage deployment. Cost functions that translate technical ageing into financial terms offer a practical solution to this challenge. When built on accurate models and integrated into dispatch algorithms, they enable a more balanced strategy, one that recognizes both immediate market opportunities and long-term asset health. By making battery degradation measurable and actionable, we can unlock smarter storage and more resilient energy systems. —Laura Laringe is CEO and co-founder of reLi Energy GmbH. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
