The Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest utility in the United States, has announced a new study of opportunities for economic adoption of clean energy across the region. Along with other areas of the economy, the study will look at electricity supply to find ways to reduce the carbon pollution that fuels climate change. Environmental and renewable energy advocates are closely watching the board's shift to a majority chosen by Biden as it follows the federal utility's decision to stick with a fossil fuel -- natural gas -- to replace some of the electricity generated at the aging coal-fired Cumberland fossil plant in Tennessee. . TVA has previously replaced coal-fired units with natural gas and is considering the option again at another aging coal plant in Tennessee. Cumberland's decision was discussed only briefly on Thursday.
Gaby Sarri-Tobar, an activist with the Center for Biodiversity's Energy Justice Project, said the new board members had a "tremendous responsibility" to build a just, 100% renewable system. Sarri-Tobar cited a winter storm on Christmas Eve last year that shut down coal and gas plants, forcing the TVA to resort to rolling blackouts. Don Moul, TVA's chief operating officer, said 6,800 megawatts of generation were lost as severe freezing conditions proved beyond the capabilities of existing heat tracing and insulation materials. Both Cumberland installations were shut down throughout the frigid conditions due to the implementation of a line freeze. Most simple-cycle and combined-cycle gas-fired power plants were affected, but most returned to operation during the cold period.
TVA was able to bring 1,000 megawatts of power back online after the initial outage, but decided to implement a rolling outage the next day to keep its power system stable. Maggie Shober, director of research for the Southern Clean Energy Alliance, noted that meeting discussions included her organization's priorities around Christmas Eve blackouts, energy efficiency and decarbonization.
Vietnam may not have a legal framework to regulate offshore wind farms until next year, a delay that could deter billions of dollars in foreign investment in the industry. The World Bank Group estimates the industry could add at least $50 billion to its economy. Approval of a draft power development plan in December targeting 7 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030 has been repeatedly delayed. EU companies are pushing for rapid regulatory progress, but Vietnam is also keen to scrutinize Chinese investment for national security reasons. Some believe pilot projects can be approved quickly, even before legislation is passed, while others believe wind turbine makers are unlikely to review investment plans given Vietnam's geography and influence as a regional manufacturing powerhouse.
Siemens AG has an order backlog of 102 billion rupees (9.08 trillion rupees) and its software is used by nearly 92% of Fortune 500 companies due to increased demand for automation and digitization. Companies are racing to improve flexibility, efficiency and sustainability, and Siemens is helping them get to market 20-30% faster than before. How are Indian companies coping with digitization? We are working with several companies in the fields of automotive, pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as food and beverage. Can Small Businesses Afford to Go Digital? Cost is always a factor, but MSMEs are seeing increased interest from MSMEs.
As supply chains become increasingly digitally integrated, the World Economic Forum has been examining how to help SMEs become Industry 4.0 standard. Germany's strength is based more on SMEs than large corporations, but companies are digitizing selectively, leading to waste of data. Siemens' idea is to have 20 digital twins, but a single digital twin, which is comprehensive, can be used to plan the production process, check whether the production process produced it, and be used for the product.
The U.S. Treasury Department will open applications on May 31 for $4 billion in new tax credits for advanced energy manufacturing and decarbonization projects, with $1.6 billion needed for communities impacted by the closure of coal mines or coal-fired power plants . To qualify for the first round, applicants must submit a "concept paper" to the Department of Energy by July 31. Treasury guidance for the program gave several examples of projects that might be eligible, including projects that capture or store carbon dioxide, produce hydrogen using zero- or low-emission energy sources, produce renewable biofuels and pure electric vehicles, and those vehicles and key materials for charging infrastructure. Additional low-income credits for wind and solar projects in low-income and disadvantaged "environmental justice" communities are limited to 1.8 gigawatts of gross generation per year, limited to 5 megawatts per project. The Ministry of Finance will allocate 200 MW of capacity for facilities located on Indian land and 200 MW for federally subsidized residential buildings.
In a victory for nucleophile France, the European Commission published rules on Monday to allow some hydrogen produced in nuclear energy systems to count toward EU renewable energy targets. The rules are intended to incentivize investors and industry to switch from hydrogen production from fossil fuels to hydrogen production from renewable electricity. These include hydrogen from production facilities directly connected to new renewable generators, as well as grid-supplied hydrogen if the local power district had an average share of renewable energy above 90% last year. Facilities can also use grid electricity in areas that meet low CO2 emission limits. EU countries and lawmakers have two months to oppose the rules, or they will go into effect. A dispute between countries over nuclear hydrogen has delayed negotiations on the EU's new renewable energy targets, which were due to resume on Tuesday.
Companies in Greece's fossil fuel industry are investing in green energy. Motor Oil and Public Power Corp. or PPC have formed a green hydrogen joint venture, Hellenic Petroleum has changed its name to HELLENiQ Energy to mark its entry into an era of sustainability, and DEPA Commercial is preparing a tender to select the company that will build its first solar power plant. DEPA Commercial intends to sell electricity, including gas and electricity, to Fysiko Aerio – Hellenic Energy Co. through bilateral power purchase agreements (PPAs). The plan is to have the solar farm come online in 2025. Hellenic Petroleum operates the largest solar power plant in Greece with an installed capacity of 205 MW, while PPC Renewables is building and developing large stand-alone photovoltaic plants. DePA Commercial has another 150 MW of photovoltaics in the project pipeline awaiting grid connection conditions.