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| Wednesday Dec 23, 2020 | |
| The word switchyard has a variety of meanings if you look it up on google. The one that is most common in the energy sector is tied to power generator where it lies directly adjacent to the facility. It is almost similar to a substation but does not have transformers and only operates at a single voltage level. It's main duty is the interconnection between generation and transmission. The generator bus (fed via the step up transformer) switches and diverts the power ont the feeder busses at the other end of the yard before it is sent out into the grid via transmission lines. Figure 1 | High Voltage Switchyard - Electrical Facility When it comes to the actual generator type that feeds the switchyard, the source comes in a variety of constructs such as nuclear ... » read more | |
| Tuesday Dec 22, 2020 | |
| Typically as the weather transitions from fall into winter the jet stream becomes more amplified. This amplification brings cooler air from the northern latitudes down across the continent. But over the past year the jet stream has seen little amplification leaving the continent with no sustained cold events. Last winter and this winter have been mild as a result. Another consequence of this pattern in the jet stream is that it is favorable for wind output. Both last winter and this winter have seen boosts not only in the overall wind capacity but also in usage factor over previous winters. Figure 1 | MISO, SPP and ERCOT Installed Wind and Output by Quarter Lower 48 wind output has set a number of successive records this year. This past November the output averaged 46.5 GWa ... » read more | |
| Monday Dec 21, 2020 | |
| The most noteable portion of the holiday season is upon us as Saint Nick is gathering the gift and getting his reindeer ready for the delivery down the chimneys. In the energy space, we are looking at a white holiday season in the Northeast while the Midwest is staving off any big weather storm so far. The South Central is walking a fine line between massive wind days that shift into the floor falling out from under it. Out West, the temperatures in California have been moderate but are looking at some colder weather on the horizon. The Pacific Northwest is swimming in precipitation and plenty of wind generation as it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Starting in the Northeast, last week delivered the first Nor'Eastern storm the jumped more snow than some ... » read more | |
| Friday Dec 18, 2020 | |
| On November 30th the Public Utility Commission of Nevada approved three new large-scale solar+storage projects. With this approval, NV Energy will meet its target of 1,000 MW of energy storage on its system. NV Energy submitted all three of these projects for approval with the Nevada Commission in July of 2020. The NV Energy filing with the Commission included the standard information about the projects. Interestingly, it also included detailed pricing. This blog takes a look at the implied dollar per MWh of the solar plus storage projects selected by NV Energy. The accompanying article for premium subscribers takes the math a little bit deeper and broader. It compares this portfolio of three projects to a benchmark combined cycle project, illustrating just how compelling the current ... » read more | |
| Thursday Dec 17, 2020 | |
| In the movie 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', three men set off during the American Civil War to find two hundred thousand dollars in buried gold coins. The film was marketed as the third and final installment in the Dollars Trilogy following a Fistful of Dollars and For a Few More Dollars. It was a financial success growing over $25 million at the box office and it is credited with having catapulted Clint Eastwood's acting career and eventual stardom for decades to come. Figure 1 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly In the energy space, this week has presented a similar trio that has not made it to the box office yet but definitely the internet and conversations across the internet as everyone continues to either work from home or in an office that is currently at no ... » read more | |
| Wednesday Dec 16, 2020 | |
| The idea of having white ground cover over the holidays might actual happen in the Midwest/Ohio Valley and definitely the Northeast region as Mother Nature is sprinkling some colder temperatures along with precipitation which equates to snow hitting the ground. The former definitely has a lower percentage of sticking around as the light dusting can go away with a couple of degree swing in the forecast as current temperatures are having around the freezing level during the day and dipping slightly lower at night. Currently in Minneapolis, there are light flakes coming down as temperatures sit at the 18 degree level with its daytime high expected to get up to 29 degrees. In the likes of Cincinnati and other Ohio cities the current temperature is more like 29 degrees going on ... » read more | |
| Tuesday Dec 15, 2020 | |
| The warm weather conditions have been the story line for Lower 48 natural gas balancing for the first month and a half of this winter. November saw record above normal temperatures which delayed the onset of seasonal storage draw downs into this month. November ResCom demand would normally average 29 BCF per day. This past November posted at only 24 BCF per day. The warmth has been ongoing for about a year which was the last time the continent saw a sustained below normal event. The storage in the United States remains well above normal but that is not the case abroad. After reaching full capacity this summer European storage is on a pace for a record inventory draw. And because of the differing balancing dynamics between the two continents, futures prices have lost all ... » read more | |
| Monday Dec 14, 2020 | |
| As we all have our lists made and we start checking them twice during the holiday season, the EnergyGPS Newsletter Offering, Consulting and Subscription parts of our business continue to add to our list of reports and offerings to both clients and prospects alike. As part of the Newsletter Offering, we have a three tiered approach with the Silver package allowing individuals access to historical blogs like this one. As one steps up in level, the previously mentioned packages are include. Next up is the Gold package, which allows the client to access EnergyGPS Articles, which tie in pertinent topics/focal points in the energy space. Some of the recent articles released touched on NP15 Battery Pricing, Unlucky and Scariness - Friday the 13th and Saved by the ... » read more | |
| Friday Dec 11, 2020 | |
| One of my uncles is the resident holiday Grinch for my extended family. Each year as fall turns to winter he will be heard to loudly complain that the decorations are going up to too early in the stores and on people’s houses. Lights and trees and the like, he strongly maintains, are not appropriate until at least the first of December—and December 15th would be better. I and the rest of my family largely ignore his tirades. Imagine my surprise, when I learned that tinsel and lights had been sighted at his house the year mere days after Thanksgiving! He may not be the only one to have gotten a jump-start on their holiday festivities. The Washington Post, among other news outlets have suggested that weariness from a year filled with worries about ... » read more | |
| Thursday Dec 10, 2020 | |
| Since the start of December 2020, the Natural Gas Futures curve has shifted down with the Prompt Month leading the way as it has gone from $2.88 down to the $2.40 mark only to bounce back the last couple of days to currently sit at $2.45. Most of this change was driven by the above normal temperatures throughout the month of November, especially given that the two previous starts to winter have been quite chilly. During the first week of the new month, the 1-15 day weather models were showing a quick winter snowfall in the Northeast only to give way to above normal temperatures. All the local weather channels throughout the Midwest were calling for a not-so white holiday season while the South Central was going to be swinging in/out of chilly weather to above normal and ... » read more | |
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