Podcasts about epri

The long-term operation (LTO) of existing nuclear plants is emerging as a critical strategy for delivering reliable, carbon-free power as electricity demand accelerates across the economy. In this episode of EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by Rounette Nader, VP of New Nuclear Generation and License Renewal at Duke Energy, and EPRI's Rob Austin, Senior Program Manager for Nuclear, to explore how LTO supports a resilient energy future.     The discussion unpacks what it really takes to extend plant lifetimes to 60 years, 80 years, and possibly beyond – and why continued investment, modernization, and rigorous regulatory oversight keep plants safe and increasingly reliable. The experts tackle common misconceptions about aging plants, explain how modernization and digital upgrades support round-the-clock power, and highlight LTO's role in meeting rapidly growing load while maintaining a skilled workforce. Together, they spotlight why long-term nuclear operation remains one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to deliver dependable, carbon-free energy at scale.     To learn more about Nuclear Power Plant Long-Term Operations, visit: https://lto.epri.com/LTO   To learn more about Duke Energy's nuclear fleet, visit: https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/duke-energy-nuclear-fleet-sets-new-all-time-reliability-record-delivers-value-for-customers#:~:text=Record%20capacity%20factor%20of%2096.9,directly%20supporting%20growing%20energy%20needs.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

Allen, Rosemary, Yolanda, and Matthew discuss highlights from Blades USA including the carbon blade debate. Plus TPI Composites’ bankruptcy sale hits major obstacles as partners dispute over $100M in claims. And Europe’s offshore and onshore wind developers clash over state aid, with WindEurope’s new CEO urging unity. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! [00:00:00] The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by Strike Tape, protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit strike tape.com. And now your hosts.  Allen Hall 2025: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host Alan Hall, and I’m here with Yolanda Padron, Rosemary Barnes and Matthew Stead. Yolanda and Matthew have just wrapped up a couple of days at the Blade USA forum in Austin, Texas. Maybe we should start there. Thoughts on the forum this year? Things that were highlights?  Matthew Stead: Yeah. Lightning Root de bond. One positive was that, um, there are a couple of startups there, so, you know, kudos to them for, you know, making the investment. There was a. There was a startup around, you know, data analytics and, you know, bringing machine learning in. And then there was also another startup looking at recycling. [00:01:00] Um, really trying to get that, that food chain through of, um, you know, grinding and then turning into some sort of valuable product. Um, yeah. However, I think someone also from EPRI said that, you know, at the moment, you know, the recycling path is, you know, eight times more expensive than the, um, the landfill path. There was a lot of carbon discussion actually. So, and, um, yeah, a lot of discussion about repairs, a lot of discussion about testing, uh, a lot of discussion about, you know, how maybe a carbon blade can last 40 years. Um, so a lot of discussion about lifetime extensions around carbon. Um, but, but, but, but, you know, really, really hard to repair.  Allen Hall 2025: That goes back to the comments Rosemary and Morton Hanberg made about carbon blades. Should we be making. Carbon blades are not. And I think Morton’s opinion, and maybe Rosemary’s, I don’t wanna speak for her, was carbon blades are okay, but they are really difficult to repair. Almost impossible to repair. And is it [00:02:00] worth even building them?  Rosemary Barnes: I think if you consider the blade in isolation, then it probably is adding more headaches than it’s worth. But carbon fiber is a bit of an enabler for improvements across the whole system of a, a wind turbine. ’cause when you take, like you can take a lot of weight out of a blade by using carbon fiber. I mean, it’s never been cheaper to make a blade with carbon fiber than an equivalent blade with glass. You do, you buy the more expensive carbon fiber blade because it’s lighter, a like, a lot lighter, and then you can take, um, weight. It, it reduces the requirements for basically every other component in the wind turbine, but especially stuff like the pitch bearings. Um, so you solve a lot of other problems, but you create blade problems. So. I think if you ask some of the only works on maintaining blades, then you’re gonna be like, why would you make a carbon fiber blade? It is so much headache. Um, but that’s not the reason why they were ever made in the first place. [00:03:00] So you’d need to talk to, you know, somebody on, uh, I dunno, front end engineering. Someone from the sales team about why it is that they are going with a more expensive carbon fiber blade. Even acknowledging that they probably underestimate how many problems there are with o and m with, uh, carbon fiber blades. But even so, like they’re already aware that there are trade offs. Um, and yeah, there’s non blade reasons for, for taking, taking that pain.  Allen Hall 2025: Are there other fibers that could be substituted besides carbon? There, I, I know fiberglass. A, a good, relatively strong fiber and carbon obviously is much stronger. But are there things in the middle that could be substituted that are non-conductive? Rosemary Barnes: Uh, y yeah, there are, but carbon fibers, it’s not just strong. It’s really stiff. And that’s what its benefit is. Um, like there’s Kevlar but it’s not very stiff. So you would, we would make a really heavy blade if you used Kevlar. It would be probably bulletproof though. So I guess that would be a plus. I, I haven’t looked into it recently, but nothing is [00:04:00] at the, um, like got the performance specs and the cost specs that you would need to, um, make it replace carbon fiber. Matthew Stead: So one thing that I picked up I thought was pretty, uh, interesting was that by having a stronger, you know, carbon protrusion, you know, the, you know, the backbone of the blade, um, it took a little bit of pressure off the skin. And so therefore, um, you know, the life, life of the blade, um, and the ability to keep running it ’cause the skin is not so critical. Those seem to be a real, a real plus as well.  Rosemary Barnes: I don’t know, people talk about this in like absolutes, but everything is just a con continuum, right? Like you can make an all glass blade that would last a thousand years if you really wanted to. You just, you know, you just have to make it very, very strong. ’cause it’s, you know, it’s all based on fatigue lifetime. And the smaller that your, um, strain on every component in the blade is, then the less, um, the less fatigue damage is gonna accumulate. Making it a little bit stiffer will actually increase the lifetime by [00:05:00] a a lot. I think the main benefit to protrusions is just that you avoid all of the um, or you avoid a lot of the possibilities for manufacturing defects. It’s easy to control the manufacture ’cause carbon fiber, like much more so than glass fiber. It’s so, um, it’s so dependent on the fibers being perfectly straight. If you have a little wrinkle, like a little wrinkle is bad in glass fiber, but it’s like really bad in carbon fiber. So protrusions mean that you won’t get wrinkles. Uh, and you can, you know, control the manufacturing process a lot better, but they are barely repairable, right? So that’s the trade off. You can do some small repairs, but you’re not gonna be just. Um, if you’ve got a, a, a full thickness crack or something, it’s, you know, it’s gonna be game over. You’re not gonna be building that up again. Allen Hall 2025: Delamination and bottomline failures and blades are difficult problems to [00:06:00] detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. C-I-C-N-D-T are specialists to detect these critical flaws before they become expensive burdens. Their non-destructive test technology penetrates deep to blade materials to find voids and cracks. Traditional inspections, completely. Miss C-I-C-N-D-T Maps. Every critical defect delivers actionable reports and provides support to get your blades. Back in service, so visit cic ndt.com because catching blade problems early  Yolanda Padron: will save you millions.  Allen Hall 2025: Well keep going on the, the subject of blades. Imagine if you were selling your house and you told the bank you owe nothing on it. Then the bank shows up with a bill for over a hundred million dollars. That is essentially what’s happening right now in the TPI composites bankruptcy. Uh, the wind blade manufacturer canceled its [00:07:00] February 17th asset auction after only one bidder came forward. A firm called ECP five LLC, which is, uh, part of Energy Capital Partners, which is based in New Jersey. Uh, but before TPI. Can hand over the keys. It has to settle up with its business partners. TPI told the court many of those partners were owed little or nothing. Uh, the partners check their books. Strongly disagree. Now, the judge has a mountain of competing claims to sort through before the sale can close. And everyone, I mean, the, the claims are big. Uh, there are several large names listed, and if you go through the filings, uh, Siemens C Mesa is probably the largest one, and it, it claims TPI owes about 84 million plus an unpaid inspection, repair, and replacement costs. Plus under 22 million [00:08:00]under apparent guarantee. Others include Aurora Energy Services stating it is owned about $5 million, uh, for post-bankruptcy services, plus 38,000, uh, for before the filing of bankruptcy. The landlord up in Iowa for the TPI facility there is objecting because they’re owed some rent. Some other ones include, uh. Oracle, uh, which is, uh, has a lot of software licenses that TPI currently has, and they’re saying those licenses will not swap over to the new owner. So there, this is a series of these filings going on at the minute, and they’re pushing back the closing of the, uh, sale hearing until March 9th. So they got about another two weeks as we record right now. This is a big deal and, and although I have seen almost nothing about it in the press. Because it’s hard. One, it’s hard to find, and two, it’s really [00:09:00] difficult to sort through. Uh, but it is a major milestone for TPI that they’re gonna be able to sell the, or at least transfer ownership to, uh, energy capital partners. And the none of the buyers investors had bought part of the facilities. But GE Renova or Siemens cesa, for that matter, are not involved, at least at the top level. Which is really to, in my opinion, odd. I thought GE Renova would’ve been involved, at least at some level. They have been supporting TPI through this process. But in terms of going forward, doesn’t look like too much is going on with Renova or Siemens Ga Mesa in, in terms of the operations of these facilities. Thoughts.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I agree. It’s strange that they wouldn’t have taken that opportunity and that makes me wonder what I don’t know that, you know, ’cause obviously it’s not a strange decision to the people who have made it so. They’ve got more information, a lot more information than us. So what is it that made it unappealing to them? That’s, um, that’s my question. [00:10:00] Yolanda Padron: What did TP, I think was gonna happen with all of that money that they owe everyone?  Allen Hall 2025: Well, it’s a bankruptcy hearing. Obviously they like to wipe that debt free and so would Energy Capital partners. They don’t wanna pay the a hundred million plus of whatever, uh, the court would ict, but. You just like to get the assets. If you can do it, that’s your cheapest option if you’re Energy Capital partners. But do you see Energy Capital Partners running the facilities? There’s a lot of organization within TPI that manages those facilities and controls the operation. From the quality side engineering side, there’s, there’s a lot of pieces to TPI here. Do you think they’re just gonna pick it up and run, run the company as it stands today? Or, or,  Rosemary Barnes: oh my goodness. I would be so nervous to, um, buy blades, uh, from them in that situation. I mean, we’ve seen so many examples in the last few years of decisions being made by senior management that have really compromised the quality at the end of the day. Like in theory, yes, the factory, you know, all the processes are in place to do things. Um, to do things [00:11:00] right, but you know, as soon as they get the next new project, which they’re doing constantly, right? It’s not like they just make a blade and they just make it over and over again. They make many different kinds of blades. There’s decisions to be made and you’re trying to get the price right and the quality right. And then, you know, given that we know that TPI was not profitable the way they were doing it before, they’re gonna have to spend less money. Then somebody who isn’t from the industry is making those calls about where to save it. It just seems like totally implausible to me.  Matthew Stead: Can I just add though, you know, TPI was mentioned multiple times at, um, at Blades, USA, and so, you know, a lot of people are relying on them or have relied on them and so forth. And so maybe this is a strategy about supporting the industry into the future. Like I think Alan, you, you said that they’re involved in, um, this investment business has other wind assets, so maybe it’s just like. Securing supply chain and, which I mean, that’s a pretty logical approach, isn’t it?  Allen Hall 2025: Oh, it would be. Uh, they’re about 50% owners of Ted’s US onshore fleet and a number. There are [00:12:00] other projects they’re involved in a number of renewable projects. Uh, so it would make sense for them to try to keep the supply chain going. But the largest purchaser of GB GE turbines that I know of is NextEra. So you would think NextEra would want to step into the mix too and at least in all the court filings, I haven’t seen much from NextEra or nothing from them at all. It if Osted US is wanting to keep their supply chain and Energy Capital partners wanted to keep the supply chain going, that would make a lot of sense to me. However, I just don’t know if they have the infrastructure to manage it. As Rosemary has described on numerous occasions running LM wind power is not easy. There’s just a lot of moving pieces, supply chain problems. You’ve got people problems, you have quality problems, you have repair problems, warranty issues. It’s a lot to that business. It isn’t like you’re stamping out widgets. You, you have a responsibility to that product after it goes out into [00:13:00] service. So if you have problems out in service, you’re, you’re kind of on the hook for all those warranty claims. It’s complicated.  Rosemary Barnes: You make it sound like I was running lm  Yolanda Padron: Rosie runs the world. Rosemary Barnes: I just wanna make it clear I was not running lm  Allen Hall 2025: Not yet. Rosie. There’s still time.  Rosemary Barnes: I was ru running one very tiny, tiny corner of it.  Yolanda Padron: I’d almost be curious ’cause like since ECP is so much into risk management and just, just in general, they have so many things that they are like part owners in, but they don’t necessarily manage the day to day hands on. Uh. I’d almost be curious to see if maybe they take a page out of Rosie’s book and try to make one thing. Well,  Matthew Stead: mm, that’d be novel, wouldn’t it?  Rosemary Barnes: It has actually been tried before. Um, you know, it’s, it’s uh, not something that has escaped the notice of blade engineers, uh, that if you make one thing, you can do it right. And wind turbine blades are a pretty similar there. No, you know, like great [00:14:00] differentiator between. How well performing the blades are from one company to another. I know at, at least at lm, they did have a blade that they designed, and their plan was to sell just heaps and heaps of those to multiple different manufacturers and just no one wanted it. Um, so it just quietly died. Um, so yeah, the, the concept is good. I think it’s. A little bit harder to pull off than you would hope. There are also some Chinese companies that are kind of selling just parts, generic parts. And so if you wanted to make your own wind turbine, um, company, if you wanted to be a wind energy o and m Yolanda, you could just buy an assortment of parts from Chinese manufacturers and put a. Yolanda Wind energy sticker on it and um, and, and, and you could be an an OEM. So it is, it, it, it is possible. I haven’t seen any of these out in the wild. Um, I have [00:15:00] heard of, you know, people considering it for, you know, certain aspects of certain types of projects. So it kind of exists in a way.  Matthew Stead: But the financial aspect, I mean, that’s accounting 1 0 1, I mean. You gotta know your assets and to owe people a hundred million dollars, that’s absolutely shocking. Really?  Allen Hall 2025: They owed a lot more than that before the bankruptcy. It is a lot of money.  Matthew Stead: How do you miss that?  Allen Hall 2025: Well, I don’t think they missed it. I just think the warranty claims and some of the repair that was going on and the, the, it sounded like price discounting was happening to some of the OEMs just caught up to ’em. But at the end of the day, I, I, I guess the question is. Does TPI as an entity remain? Obviously the Vestas portion will, because Vestas is gonna make them Vestas factories in a sense, and, uh, integrate as part of their overall operations. But Renova is not, Siemens is not interested in doing it, at least as we speak. No one’s [00:16:00] making any noise over at Nordex. It, it does leave these assets questionable as to what the real value is. We haven’t heard how much, uh, ECP has paid for them yet. The Vestas factories that were purchased, I think the, the two TPI factories in Mexico, I think Vestas paid about $10 million for each factory, which is a really inexpensive price to pay for new factories because Vestus had talked about at one point a year or two ago, about standing up a new factory saying it would cost him roughly a half a billion dollars to do. So buying a, that same asset for $10 million is a discount, a deep, deep discount, which maybe Vestas figures, Hey, it’s 20 million bucks, plus they got the India operations. Uh, it’s not that much money. If it all goes sour, it’s not that much money and we’re okay. Whereas Ver Nova decided to not to participate in that. As wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it difficult. That’s why [00:17:00] the Uptime podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES Wind has the high quality content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit p ps wind.com. Today, over in Denmark, a fight has been brewing between offshore and onshore wind developers and. Sted once State Aid brought back for offshore wind auctions, onshore developers say that would tilt the playing field against them. Well, some have even walked out on their own trade group, uh, over it. Now the new CEO of Wind Europe, Tina Van Stratton, uh, is stepping in the middle of that discussion with a simple message. We need both. Don’t let offshore and onshore wind divide us. Nearly 90% of Europe’s installed wind capacity sits currently on land, and [00:18:00] she says that is not going to change anytime soon. Uh, so there, there is a big dispute about this right there. There does seem to be a, a amount of money being poured into offshore wind and requests of governments to support offshore wind at the same time. Onshore wind, which has been the primary growth market for wind in Europe, is getting the cold shoulder. In a sense. How does this play out everyone? Is there a, a good solution to it or is the need for offshore wind so great that, that they have to ignore onshore wind development for a couple of years?  Matthew Stead: I think we should just all be friends. So, I mean, really. Yeah, we need both and, um, I mean for the diversity and, you know, uh, I’ll leave all the technical topics to Rosie, but, um, um, really I think we need both. I mean, so what, it’d be crazy to, to drop the onshore, onshore industry.  Yolanda Padron: Yeah. I mean, it makes sense that, or said, especially Orid Europe doesn’t have any onshore anymore. Right. So it’s just [00:19:00]offshore. It would make sense that they really wanna push for help for themselves. And it’s, it’s great. It, it’s, it’s great to help, but I, I agree with Matt. Allen Hall 2025: Well, the Northern Europe and Scandinavian countries are talking about 100 gigawatts in the water by what, 2050? Something of that sort. So that’s a lot of energy in the water. In order to do that, you have to devote a number of resources to it, which. Will mean onshore wind is not gonna get the support it probably deserves, even though it has a proven track record. Rosemary Barnes: I just think it, it’s really interesting because I guess wind is, um, a very Europe. LED industry. Um, and so yeah, in Europe, e everything big and exciting is in offshore and the volume is in offshore. Um, I feel like that’s kind of filtered through to other regions though, because I mean, in Australia we don’t even have any offshore wind yet. We are probably getting some, but you go to any wind energy event, it’s gonna be. [00:20:00] More than 50% offshore wind and sometimes like 90% offshore wind, um, focused, which is, I think crazy when onshore is, is exists and has plenty of problems that need to be solved, and we need to be building more, a lot faster. I, I do actually wish that. If we could spend as much of the, you know, like some of the effort and the political effort that’s going into paving the way for offshore wind, I think would be much better spent on solving the problems. Um, the obstacles stopping us from rolling out onshore wind faster. Because we’re not on track in Australia to meet our renewable energy targets if we can’t get that under control. And then in the US yes you have some offshore wind, but it is not a growth industry at the moment or it’s not very appealing at the moment, at least. Right. So, and I dunno how much you talk about it there, but I do hear a lot of, like a whole lot of talk about offshore compared to how important it is for regions outside of Europe. Yolanda Padron: I think it’s important too to [00:21:00] note that. When you have a lot of offshore wind in your fleet, like you can sometimes test out products onshore that maybe they’re, of course not the exact same conditions, but you can test out products to a degree onshore. And I’ve seen, you know, owner operators that have to go across continents just to test that product because it’s cheaper to do that onshore than to do it offshore in your home site, in your backyard. So I mean that that would really benefit from an RD standpoint. It would really benefit everyone. If  Allen Hall 2025: they gave it up attention  Yolanda Padron: to onshore.  Rosemary Barnes: When I was at lm, one of my, well my key team member who was an electrical engineer, he had, um, done a bunch of work for a system that was only implemented on an offshore wind farm. And it sucked up so much time when stuff started going wrong with that, like even small things. And he was the only one [00:22:00] that could do it. You know, you go out, if you’ve got a five minute job to do, to get, you know, like turn something off and on again off. Reconnect something that’s a whole day of work, right? Like you, and, and not like a normal day, but like a 12 hour day, you’re gonna go out in the morning, they, you know, they go around in a boat or whatever and drop people off and they don’t come get you when you’re done 10 minutes later, you know, they come get you at the end of the day when they’re picking everyone up again. So, um, it, it was, it was incredibly challenging. I mean, for him personally and the team. Um, and I always recommend to, or, you know, sometimes I’m advising, um, companies that have offshore wind, um, technologies. And I’m always advising anything that you can test on shore, do it and get creative about it as well. ’cause you might think that you can’t, you certainly can’t get all the way there without testing in your real operating environment. But any problem that could happen onshore that you, um, learn about when it’s onshore is gonna cost you probably like, you know, one 10th as much [00:23:00] to fix. Um. So, and, and the time as well. So, yeah, I, I think that you’re right that we should be actually considering onshore as an opportunity for, um, improving offshore technology as well.  Allen Hall 2025: Can we talk about, uh, data centers for a minute? Just off the top of mind, I’ve been listening to a number of podcasts over the last month or two talking about powering AI data centers and how much coal or natural gas. It’s gonna be needed to provide the stable, reliable power that these data centers supposedly need. In the meantime, there’s like this industry being built, uh, and you see the, the purchases of gas turbines going out to like, what, 2032? I think it’s what Renova is talking about now is when you could actually get in line for a gas turbine. Other manufacturers or gas turbines are basically saying the same thing in the meantime. [00:24:00] Elon Musk and SpaceX are talking about putting AI data centers up in space where you don’t have any regulatory issues. You don’t have to burn coal or natural gas or any of these things. So the, the ground-based AI data centers appear to be locked into making these really expensive buildings and assets and putting generation and transmission and, and this infrastructure together, which will cost them. Hundreds of millions at a minimum, likely tens of billions of dollars to do, and that’s just in the United States. Meanwhile, SpaceX is really on a pathway of doing this up in the sky for probably a fraction of the cost. Is there a break point here? Because it does seem like the, the natural gas, coal, oil, petroleum industry and the on ground build, the building, people are ignoring that. SpaceX has a [00:25:00] capability of doing this, and if Musk decides to do it, and SpaceX decides to do it, that all those gas turbine orders, all that infrastructure, all the gas pipeline, all the drilling that would have to happen would just go immediately. Poof. Gone.  Rosemary Barnes: I don’t know about immediately because I mean, we’re not at the point yet where you can just launch a data center into space. So there is a bit of a, a, a transition period. Um, I. I also think that it’s overblown that, you know, I think you might have even fallen into the trap also, where you’re like, oh, when data centers need more energy, so therefore it has to be coal or gas or nuclear.  Allen Hall 2025: Nope, I agree with you.  Rosemary Barnes: Those things aren’t quick to build either. If you truly wanted to do it quickly, you’d be putting in, um, you know, heaps of solar panels and batteries and, and you know, wind turbines where that made sense. But that said, I, I do agree that, uh, like I, I don’t think space-based data centers is farfetched at all. I, I guess the biggest [00:26:00] challenges, uh, are, um, the cooling and heating requirements space has very large temperature fluctuations. So I guess you’re gonna need to design that carefully. I don’t think it’s insurmountable. Um, and then the next thing is a cost of launch, which I’m sure you’re about to tell me how. Dramatically the cost of launch is dropping. Um, you know, like, it, it’s got, it’s got a very good learning curve. The space launches, which is basically, you know, SpaceX is probably the main reason why that is just dropping and dropping and dropping. So I don’t think that it’s unrealistic at all. I don’t know the timeframe. You would know more, Alan, you work in, um, aerospace. I just. You know, um, follow it for general interest.  Matthew Stead: I reckon it’s stupid. He’s really stupid on a number of grounds. So first of all, you know, why do that when. You just, I can’t see how it can ever be more cost effective and you know, [00:27:00] I, you know, you should really, should be putting that effort into things like, you know, better healthcare and so forth. I mean, what a waste of resources. But why? I mean, why, why?  Allen Hall 2025: Because it’s a lot less expensive and it’s faster.  Matthew Stead: You’d do it in the ocean before that, wouldn’t you?  Rosemary Barnes: No, but the ocean still has, like how do you power it? You, you get the 24 7 solar power in space. That’s what you. That’s what you get, um, which you can’t get on Earth  Matthew Stead: or you put it next to a wind farm and you, you, and you make the load go up and down depending on the wind. I mean, seriously, there’s so many other ways of doing it. You put it next to a wind and solar.  Rosemary Barnes: I agree with you, Matt, that I think that the, the bulk of the solutions with data centers is gonna come from one demand not being what people think it is today. Like the numbers that get reported are just like the. Absolute best, best, best case scenario and then multiplied by three or four times because they’re looking at different options for locating each of the data centers they plan to make. So I think I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with 10% of what people think that we’re gonna get. [00:28:00] Now, the first thing, secondly, people assume that it needs to be 24 7. Just, you know, like a hundred percent reliable power, and that’s. That’s simply, yeah, it’s not, not everything needs to be just, um, you know, done at, at the exact time that it’s requested. There’s heaps of things that can be shifted and uh, when the price differential is there, then people are naturally going to choose that. And in fact, there are already some companies offering different levels of reliability depend, you know, for different prices. And companies can choose which of their processes can be put on hold. Like a lot of the training stuff, you’re happy don’t. Need 99.999% reliability, you’re probably happy with 90% reliability. And so, you know, if it costs a whole lot less than you will, I, I agree with you, Matt, that that’s gonna take most of it. But I do still think that for the, like, super reliable, um, data centers, I, I bet that we see at least one. And even if it’s just because Elon Musk is the type to push something through, um, you know, [00:29:00] first and. Wait for the market to catch up later. Uh, maybe that will be the reason, but I, I honestly think it’s more than 50% likely that we see a data center in space in the next, in the next decade,  Matthew Stead: it would make more sense to like drill a hole to the center of the earth and get the, the hot well cutting rock  Rosemary Barnes: and or there’s also plenty of geothermal. You did thermal projects as well.  Matthew Stead: Yeah, it’s just ridiculous.  Rosemary Barnes: I think that we’ve had our first hot take from Matthew, so I don’t know some sort of sound effect to be added here. Claire. Uh, yeah, Allen Hall 2025: that wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Just reach out to us on LinkedIn and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you found value in today’s conversation, please give us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show. For Rosa, Yolanda and [00:30:00] Matthew, I’m Alan Hall, and we’ll see you next week on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

Surging electricity demand is pushing the grid to its limits, prompting regulators and innovators to expand the system without sacrificing reliability or affordability. In this episode of the Grid Talk Series on The EPRI Current, Marty Rosenberg meets with Ann Rendahl, President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), a commissioner with the Washington Utilities and Transportation     Commission, and a member of EPRI's Advisory Council, to explore how state regulators are navigating rapid changes to the electric grid. Rendahl discusses the sharp rise in electricity demand and its implications for rates, infrastructure investment, and long-term reliability. They also discuss how regulators are working to protect customers from stranded costs, balance an evolving generation mix, and manage growing risks from wildfires, cybersecurity threats, and climate impacts on hydropower. To get EPRI's Take, host Samantha Gilman speaks with Morgan Scott, EPRI's VP of Global Outreach Partnerships, about where innovation is most urgently needed as electricity demand accelerates. Scott highlights the increasing load data centers could account for by 2030 and explains why meeting that challenge will require advances in generation, grid-enhancing technologies, and flexibility at both the customer and data center levels. She also reframes the conversation around affordability – distinguishing the rising cost of electricity from its growing value within the broader “energy wallet” for consumers.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

The energy grid fails in silence, long before the lights go out. The real problem is that most of the infrastructure keeping the grid alive is inspected too slowly, too infrequently, and with sensors that drift. We pour billions into building new power infrastructure, yet some of our biggest reliability gains might come from simply seeing existing assets more clearly. Quantum sensing promises exactly that, and it is closer to deployment than most people realise.In this conversation, Alex sits down with Emma Wong, Nuclear Principal Lead for Innovation, Quantum Technologies, and International Engagement at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to explore how quantum sensing technology could transform grid reliability, reduce costly downtime at nuclear plants, and reshape how we think about energy security, from US utilities to communities in sub-Saharan Africa.Chapters00:00 Seeing Problems Early01:53 EPRI's Mission03:34 Into Nuclear Innovation06:27 Quantum Technologies Overview09:15 How Quantum Sensors Work12:33 No-Drift Sensing Advantage15:34 Real World Applications22:21 Cutting Nuclear Downtime25:20 Utility Pilot Programs26:15 Quantum Meets AI32:29 Key Stakeholders for Quantum35:37 Nuclear in a Renewable Grid41:43 Modern Reactor Safety46:43 G20 Nuclear Summit48:43 Energy Access in Africa53:22 Contrarian Energy Take#Nuclear #QuantumTechnology #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #FutureOfEnergy

The energy grid fails in silence, long before the lights go out. The real problem is that most of the infrastructure keeping the grid alive is inspected too slowly, too infrequently, and with sensors that drift. We pour billions into building new power infrastructure, yet some of our biggest reliability gains might come from simply seeing existing assets more clearly. Quantum sensing promises exactly that, and it is closer to deployment than most people realise.In this conversation, Alex sits down with Emma Wong, Nuclear Principal Lead for Innovation, Quantum Technologies, and International Engagement at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to explore how quantum sensing technology could transform grid reliability, reduce costly downtime at nuclear plants, and reshape how we think about energy security, from US utilities to communities in sub-Saharan Africa.Chapters00:00 Seeing Problems Early01:53 EPRI's Mission03:34 Into Nuclear Innovation06:27 Quantum Technologies Overview09:15 How Quantum Sensors Work12:33 No-Drift Sensing Advantage15:34 Real World Applications22:21 Cutting Nuclear Downtime25:20 Utility Pilot Programs26:15 Quantum Meets AI32:29 Key Stakeholders for Quantum35:37 Nuclear in a Renewable Grid41:43 Modern Reactor Safety46:43 G20 Nuclear Summit48:43 Energy Access in Africa53:22 Contrarian Energy Take#Nuclear #QuantumTechnology #EnergyTransition #CleanEnergy #FutureOfEnergy

As medium‑ and heavy-duty electric vehicles move rapidly from pilots to scaled deployments, utilities are navigating new pressures, opportunities, and load implications across their systems. In this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman meets with EPRI electric transportation experts Mike Rowand and Watson Collins to explore what 2026 has in store for fleet electrification. Drawing on decades of utility experience and EV experience, they reflect on key shifts observed in 2025, from evolving market behavior to the transition from pilot projects to large-scale deployments.   The conversation highlights why interest in fleet electrification remains strong, even amid broader industry uncertainty, and examines how EV load growth could eventually outpace data center demand. Mike and Watson also break down EPRI's latest EVs2Scale planning tools – eRoadMap and GridFAST – and discuss how these resources equip utilities to plan confidently for an increasingly electric transportation future.   Learn more about GridFAST: https://www.gridfast.com/about Learn more about eRoadMap: https://eroadmap.epri.com/   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

In this episode of the Grid Talk Series on the EPRI Current, Marty Rosenberg sits down with Elliot Mainzer, President and CEO of the California ISO, to discuss how the state navigates extreme grid stress during record-breaking demand. Elliot reflects on California's all-time peak of 52,000 megawatts during a historic heatwave and the extraordinary measures taken to keep the lights on. From emergency load reduction programs to extending the life of Diablo Canyon, the conversation highlights how flexibility and innovation are critical for reliability. Elliot shares insights on the growing role of demand response, virtual power plants, and customer engagement in preparing for rapid spikes in energy use. This discussion underscores why adaptive strategies are essential as electrification and climate extremes reshape grid operations.     To get EPRI's Take, Samantha Gilman meets with Eamonn Lannoye, Director of EPRI Europe, to discuss similar trends across global markets and the importance of regional cooperation for reliability. They explore expanding transmission needs, advances in higher‑voltage and HVDC systems, and the push to optimize existing grid capacity through grid-enhancing technologies, including EPRI's GET SET initiative.       For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Welcome to our first podcast episode of 2026! In this Best of 2025 episode, we're looking back at some of our most impactful conversations from the past year. You'll hear highlights from episodes exploring how the energy sector is navigating rapid change – from the launch of the Open Power AI Consortium (OPAI) and efforts to responsibly scale AI, to global lessons learned from the Iberian Peninsula blackout. We'll also revisit conversations on innovative grid flexibility initiatives, such as DCFlex, the latest insights from EPRI's Advanced Reactor Roadmap, and an unexpected yet important topic: how energy infrastructure can support wildlife conservation, including the protection of bat populations.     Join us as we reflect on the moments that defined 2025 and set the stage for another year of insightful conversations on EPRI Current. Listen every other week for the latest research, real-world lessons, and industry perspectives shaping the future of energy.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

In this second episode of the GridTalk Series on the EPRI Current, host Marty Rosenberg speaks with Audrey Zibelman – former Chair of the New York Public Service Commission and CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator – about lessons from New York's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative and what it may take to scale distributed energy resources (DER). Drawing on global experiences, Audrey shares insights from U.S. regulatory innovation and Australia's efforts in rooftop solar and two-way energy systems, offering a unique perspective into how international best practices can inform U.S. strategies for resilience, affordability, and modernization. She also previews her work with the Pew Charitable Trust on a forthcoming DER playbook, focused on regulatory reform, market design, and scenario-based planning to meet surging demand from electrification and data centers.     Then, join Samantha Gilman for “EPRI's Take” with Haresh Kamath, EPRI Director of Cross-Cutting Technologies and Solutions. Haresh discusses operational challenges utilities face when integrating DER and storage, including interoperability, visibility, business models, and contracts. He highlights EPRI's FLEXIT initiative and emphasizes the importance of industry-wide collaboration and common approaches to unlock DER's full potential for grid flexibility and resilience.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

As artificial intelligence is transforming the energy sector, Europe is laying the groundwork for secure and scalable innovation. The AI-EFFECT project is establishing a European Testing and Experimentation Facility to develop, test, and validate AI applications for critical energy infrastructures. Funded by Horizon Europe, the project aims to integrate AI into critical energy infrastructures to optimize operations, reduce costs, enhance resilience, and support decarbonization efforts.     In this episode of EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by Alexandra Bach from RWTH Aachen University, Meine van der Meulen from DNV, and Gianluca Lipari from EPRI Europe to explore Work Package 2 of the AI-EFFECT – the architecture and building blocks that enable distributed nodes across multiple countries. Tune in to discover why interoperability, intellectual property protection, and collaboration are essential for accelerating AI adoption in the energy sector. Plus, learn how EPRI's global initiatives, including Open Power AI Consortium (OPAI) and AI benchmarking, are shaping the future of AI for utilities.     For more information about AI-EFFECT and AI in the power industry: AI-EFFECT: https://europe.epri.com/project/ai-effect OPAI: https://msites.epri.com/opai AI Benchmarking: https://interactive.epri.com/wattworks EPRI Europe: https://europe.epri.com/   For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Morten Handberg, Principal Consultant at Wind Power LAB, returns to discuss blade damage categorization. From transverse cracks and leading edge erosion to carbon spar cap repairs, he explains what severity levels really mean for operators and why the industry still lacks a universal standard. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on Wind. Energy’s brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering tomorrow. Morten, welcome back to the program. Thanks, Allen. It’s fantastic to be back again. Boy, we have a lot to discuss and today we’re gonna focus on categorization of damage, which is a super hot topic across the industry. What does a cat five mean? What does a category three mean? What does a category 5.9 I’ve I’ve seen that more recently. Why do these defect categories matter? Morten Handberg: Well, it matters a lot because it really tells you as, uh, either an OEM or as an operator, how should you respond to your current blade issue. So you need to have some kind of categorization about what the defect type is and what the severity is. The severity will tell you something about the repairability and [00:01:00] also something about the part of the blade that is affected. The type of the defect tells you something about what is the origin From an operational point of view, it doesn’t make as much sense in a way because you really just wanna know, can this be repaired or not? You know? And you know, what does it need to repair? That’s what you need, what you really need to focus on as an operator, whether it’s then del elimination, erosion, peeling. Uh, transverse cracks, it’ll all come down to repairs. It does matter for you because it will tell you an underlying, you know, are there reason why I’m keep seeing all these damages? So that’s why you need to know the category as well. But purely operational. You just need to know what is the severity side know, what does it take to repair it? Allen Hall: So as the operator, a lot of times they’re getting information from different service providers or even the OEM. They’re getting multiple inputs on what a damage is in terms of a category. Are we getting a lot of conflicting information about this? Because the complaint from [00:02:00] I hear from operators is the OE EMM says this is a category four. The ISP says is a category five. Who am I to believe right Morten Handberg: now? Well, there is a lot of, a bit different opinions of that. It almost becomes a religious issue question at some point, but it, it really dives down to that, you know, there is no real standardization in the wind industry. And we’ve been discussing this, uh, I wanna say decades, probably not that much, but at least for the past 11 years I’ve been, been hearing this discussion come up. Uh, so it’s, it’s something this was just been struggling with, but it also comes down to that. Each OEM have their own origin. Uh, so that also means that they have trended something from aeronautics, from ship building industry, from, you know, uh, from, from some other composite related industry, or maybe not even composite related. And that means that they are building their own, uh, their own truth about what the different defects are. There is a lot of correlation between them, but there is still a lot of, lot of tweaks [00:03:00] and definitions in between and different nomenclature. That does add a a lot of confusion. Allen Hall: Okay, Morten Handberg: so Allen Hall: that explains, I mean, because there isn’t an industry standard at the moment. There is talk of an industry standard, but it does seem like from watching from the outside, that Europe generally has one, or operators specifically have one. Uh, EPRI’s been working on one for a little while. Maybe the IEC is working on one, but there isn’t like a universal standard today. Morten Handberg: There is not a universal standard. I mean, a lot of, a lot of OEMs or service providers will, will, will claim that they have the standard, they have the definition in wind power lab. We have our own. That we have derived from the industry and in, in general. But there is not an, uh, an industry agreed standard that everyone adheres to. That much is true. You could say in Europe, a lot of owners have come together, uh, in the Blade Forum, and they have derived, there’s a standard within that. Um, uh, and with a lot of success, they’d written, the [00:04:00] Blade Hamburg I think was very helpful because it was operator driven, um, approach. Allen Hall: So there is a difference then between defects that are significant and maybe even classified as critical and other defects that may be in the same location on the blade. How are those determined? Morten Handberg: The way that I’ve always approached is that I will look at firstly what kind of blades type it is. So how is it structured? Where are the load carrying elements of the blade? That’s very important because you can’t really say on a business V 90 and a Siemens, uh, 3.6 that the defect in the same position will mean the same thing. That’s just not true because they are structured in very different ways. So you really need to look at the plate type just to start with. Then you need to look at, is it in a. In a loaded part of the blade, meaning is it over the, the load carrying part, um, uh, laminates? Is it in a, in a shell area? And you know, what is the approximate distance from the roof? Is that, that also tells you something [00:05:00] about the general loads in the area. So you know, you need to take that into consideration. Then you also need to look at how much of the blade is actually affected. Is it just surface layers? Is it just coating or is it something that goes, uh, through the entire laminate stack? And if that is on the, on the beam laminate, you’re in serious trouble. Then it will be a category five. If the beam laminate is vectored. And if you’re lucky enough that your blade is still sitting on the turbine, you should stop it, uh, to avoid a complete BA bait collapse. Uh, so, so you need, so, so that, you know, you can, that, that is very important when you’re doing defect categorizations. So that means that you need Allen Hall: internal inspections on top of external Morten Handberg: inspections. If you see something, uh, that is potentially critical, then yeah, you should do an internal inspection as well to verify whether it’s going through, um, the entire lemonade stack or not. That that’s a, that’s a good, good, good approach. Um, I would say often, you know, if you see something that is potentially critical, uh, but there is still a possibility that could be repaired. Then I might even also just send up a repair [00:06:00] team, uh, to see, you know, look from the outside how much of the area is actually affected, because that can also pretty quickly give you an indication, do we need to take this blade down or not? Sometimes you’ll just see it flat out that, okay, this crack is X meters long, it’s over sensitive area of the blade. You know, we need to remove this blade. Uh, maybe when, once it’s down we can determine whether it’s repairable or not, but. We, but it’s not something that’s going to be fixed up tower, so there’s not a lot of need for doing a lot of added, um, add added inspections to verify this, this point. Allen Hall: Let’s talk about cracks for a moment, because I’ve seen a lot of cracks over the last year on blades and some of them to me look scary because they, they are going transverse and then they take a 90 degree and start moving a different direction. Is there a, a rule of thumb about cracks that are visual on the outside of the blade? Like if it’s how, if they’re [00:07:00] closer to the root they’re more critical than they’re, if they’re happening further outers or is there not a rule of thumb? You have to understand what the design of the blade is. Morten Handberg: Well, I mean the general rule of thumb is transfers cracks is a major issue that’s really bad. That’s, uh, you know, it’s a clear sign, something. Severely structural is going on because the transverse crack does not develop or develop on its own. And more likely not once it starts, you know, then the, uh, the, the strain boundaries on the sides of the cr of the crack means that it requires very little for it to progress. So even if in a relatively low loaded area with low strain, once you have a, a transverse crack, uh, present there, then it will continue. Uh, and you mentioned that it’s good during a 90 degree. That’s just because it’s doing, it’s, it’s taking the least path of the path of least resistance, because it’ll have got caught through the entire shell. Then when it reaches the beam, the beam is healthy. It’s very stiff, very rigid laminate. So it’s easier for it to go longitudinal towards the [00:08:00] root because that’s, that, that, that’s how it can progress. That’s where it has the, uh, you know, the, the, the strain, uh, um, the, the strain high, high enough strain that it can actually, uh, develop. That that’s what it would do. So transverse cracks in general is really bad. Of course, closer to root means it’s more critical. Um, if there is a crack transverse crack, uh, very far out in the tip, I would usually say, you know, in the tip area, five, 10 meter from the tip, I would say, okay, there’s something else going on. Something non load related. Probably causes, could be a lightning strike, could be an impact damage. That changed the calculation a little bit because then, you know, it’s not a load driven issue. So that might give you some time to, you know, that you can operate with something at least. But again, I, I don’t want to make any general rules that people then didn’t go out and say, well, I did that, so, and, but my blade still broke. That’s not really how it works. You need to really, you need to, to, uh, look at cracks like that individually. You can’t make a a common rule. Allen Hall: Another [00:09:00] area, which is under discussion across the industry are surface defects and there are a variety of surface defects. We’re seeing a lot of hail damage this year. Uh, that’s getting categorized as lightning damage. And so there’s obviously a different kind of repair going on. Hail versus lightning. Are there some standards regarding surface defects? Uh, the visuals on them? Is there a guideline about Morten Handberg: it? Well, I mean, uh, some of the, uh, some of the, how do you say, omic couture, some of the, uh, some of the standards, they do provide some guideline to determine which surface kind of surface defect it is, you could say, on the operational points, as long as it’s surface related. Then the repair methodology is the same, whether it’s peeling, erosion, voids, chipping scratches, the repair is the same. So that in principle does not change anything. But in the reason why it matters is because we need to understand the [00:10:00] underlying issue. So if you have lot of peeling, for instance, it means you have a very low quoting quality, and that is something that is either post post repair related or it’s manufacturing related, depending on the blade, on the age of your blade. So that’s very important for you to know because if you have peeling somewhere, then more likely than not, you’ll also have have issues with it elsewhere because, you know, tend to, they tend to follow each other, you know, coding quality issues. So that’s a good thing to know for you as an operator that you, this is just one of many, erosion is important, but often gets miscategorized because erosion is a leading edge issue. Um, so we only see it on the, on the very edge of the leading edge. So approximately 40 millimeter band. That’s typically what we see, and it’s straight on the leading edge. So if someone’s claiming that they see lead, leading edge erosion on the, on the pressure side, shell or ide, shell, it’s miscategorizing because that’s what you, that’s not why they have to have the ring. Uh, impacts ring can still, still [00:11:00] hit the shells, but when it hits the, the, the shell areas, it will ricochet because it hits it at an angle. Leading edge gets straight on. So it gets the entire impact force and that’s why you get the erosion issue because of, of fatigue essentially. Uh, coding fatigue. So that’s very important. There is something that you know you can really utilize if you just know that simple fact that it’s always a leading edge, it’s always uniform. It, you can track that. And if you have leading edge erosion in one area, you will have it in the entire wind farm. So you don’t need to do that much inspection to determine your erosion levels, voids, pinholes. They are manufacturing driven because they are driven by either imperfections in the coating, meaning you have a sand, grain dust, or you had, uh, air inclusions underneath your coating. And they will weaken the structure. And that means that, um, rain effect or other effects causing strain on your coating will accelerate a lot faster. So they will develop and create these small, um, yeah, uh, how do you [00:12:00] say, small defined holes in your coating. So that’s why it’s important to know. But if you’re running a wind farm 15 years, 10 years down the line. Then it’s more important for you to know that it’s a surface defect and you need to fix it by doing coating repair. You don’t need to think so much about the, the underlying issue, I would say. Allen Hall: Okay. I think that’s been miscategorized a number of times. I’ve seen what I would consider to be some sort of paint adhesion issue because it’s sort of mid cord and not near the leading edge, but sometimes it just looks like there’s massive peeling going on and maybe, uh, it’s easy to assume that maybe is erosion. It’s just a weak adhesion of paint. That that’s what you’re saying? Morten Handberg: Yeah. If it’s, if it’s midspan, if it’s shell related, then it’s, it’s a, it’s a coating quality related issue. It doesn’t really have anything to do with erosion. Um, you could say erosion. We can, we can, we can, uh, we can look at in, in, in two areas. So you have the out or third of the leading edge. [00:13:00] That’s where you would have the theoretical leading edge erosion breakdown, because that’s where you have rain impact high enough that it will cause some kind of degradation, but that all of your leading edge will suffer in the same way because the tip speed of the outer four meters of your blade. Versus the re the other, you know, uh, 10, 12 meters depending on length of your blade. Sometimes it’s a lot longer, but they are getting degraded in a much different way. So the out of pew meters, they can get what’s called structural erosion. So that means that the erosion goes fast enough and it’s progressive enough that you can start to damage the laminate underneath. You won’t see that further in because the, the impact is just not that great and you will likely not see structural erosion over the lifetime, but the out a few meters, that’s important. And that’s where you need, need to focus your, that that’s where you need to pay attention on what kind of materials you add because that can save you a lot of repair, re, re repair. And, uh, down the line, how do you categorize Allen Hall: leading edge erosion? A lot of [00:14:00] times I see it, uh, from operators. Let’s say it’s, uh, category four because it’s into the fiber. But is it always a structural issue? Is there a lot of loading on the leading edges of these blades where you would have to come back with structural applies to repair it? Or is it just a aerodynamic shape and does it really depend upon who the OE Em is? Morten Handberg: Well, I mean, I’ve seen erosion category five as well, and I think it’s a mis misinterpretation. I think it’s, you know, people are trying it to raise awareness that, hey, there was a serious issue with erosion, but it’s a wrong way to use the severities. Because if we look at severity five, severity five, if you have a critical issue, your blade is about to come down if you don’t do anything. So category five means you need to stop your turbine. Maybe you can repair it, but that really depends on the, uh, on what is damaged by, on, on, on the blade. And you can determine that once you removed it and looked at it on, on, on the ground. But you need to stop. Category four is a severe structural damage. It’s not something that [00:15:00] is causing an immediate threat, but it’s something that will progress rapidly if you don’t do anything. So here you need to look at the damage itself. So how does it affect the structure and can you operate it curtailed, uh, or can you operate it, uh, or can you operate normally and repair it within a short time window? That’s what you can use because it’s something that is. Uh, that can, that can develop into an, into an imminent issue if you don’t react to it. Severity three is more for your, is more your annual maintenance schedule. So that is your, your minor structural damages and it’s your erosion issues. So that’s something that there is a severity Three, you need to look at it for next year’s budget. Severity two means that. Something that’s gradually degradating your coating on the blade, but it’s not something that means anything at this point in time. So one is your coating, is your surface damage or minor surface damage. Pinholes uh, contamination. It’s really light issue, so it’s not something you really need to consider. So. [00:16:00] Severity ones, you, you really mean that, that it’s, you don’t need to think about this anymore. You know, it’s, it’s not an issue. So erosion will fall typically within severity two to severity four. Severity four being you have a hole in your blade from erosion, basically. Uh, because you can still have structural degradation of deleting it and still being a severity three, because it does not really change your maintenance cycle in any, in any way. You don’t need to do anything immediate to fix it. Um, so that’s why I would put most of erosion defects in severity three and just say, okay, it’s something we need to plan a leading edge, a leading edge ERO repair campaign next year or the year after, depending on the severity of it. That’s why, how I, I would approach, Allen Hall: that’s good insight, because I do think a lot of operators, when they do see a hole in the leading edge, think I have to stop this turbine. But at the same token, I have seen other operators with holes. I could put my fist through. That are continuing to use those blades and they will say, it’s not structural, it’s not [00:17:00] great aerodynamically, but the, we’re still making power here. We’re still making rated power. Even with the hole and the leading edge, it’s not going to progress anymore. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a progression that we understand. That’s how they describe it. It will get worse, but it’s not gonna get catastrophic worse. Morten Handberg: I mean, if you run it long enough, at some point, something secondary will happen. Sure. But again, that’s also why we use the severity four category for erosion, where you have severe structural degradation because it does starting to mean something for the integrity of the blade. It will not mean that it’s coming down right away when you see a hole in the blade from erosion. That’s, that’s the entire purpose of it. But it does it, you use it to raise awareness that there is something you need to look at imminently or at least react to, uh, and make a plan for. You can’t just pull, you can’t just delay it until next year’s, uh, maintenance campaign. We have an active issue here, so that’s why I think severity four applies to erosion. That has penetrated all structural layers. Allen Hall: Are there some [00:18:00] blade damages that are just can’t be repaired or, or just have too much difficulty to repair them, that it’s not worth it? And how do you know? How do you understand? That blade is not repairable versus the one next to it which looks similar, which can be repaired. What goes into that assessment? Morten Handberg: So one is, is the, is the beam laminate damaged? If it is, then uh, either it comes down to a commercial decision. It’s simply not fixable and, and restoring it in, you know, restoring it back, uh, to original form ship. And there’s also the, the, uh, the, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, uh, returning element of carbon fiber, because carbon fiber adds another level of complexity repairs, because you’re so dependent on the pristine quality of the carbon for it to, to, for, to utilize the, the, uh, mechanical strength of carbon. And if you, if you don’t apply it in the right way, then you can create some high stress zones. Where, you know, the [00:19:00] cure is as bad as the disease really. So that’s why you have to be extra careful with carbon repairs. But they can be done. But it, you know, it really comes down to a commercial decision then. So in principle, unless the blade is deformed, uh, or, or, or damaged in such a way that you have to remove a large part of the s shell lemonade in a loaded area, then most things they can, in principle, be repaired. It’s just a matter of is the, is the cost of the repair. Cheaper than the cost of a new blade. And that calculation might, you know, depend on are there any, any spare blades available? Is this blade, uh, still in production? And if I don’t repair this, then I don’t have any blade for my turbine and then I can’t operate anymore. That also changed the calculus right along quite a lot, so I think. For a lot of damages. It, it’s more of a, it’s often more of a commercial decision rather than a technical, because ca glass fiber is very forgiving. You can repair a lot, even if it’s really severe. I mean, I’ve seen blade repairs that took [00:20:00] 3000 hours, but it was deemed worthwhile because you couldn’t get a, a bare blade. And in most other cases, that would’ve been been scrapped, you know, without, you know, without blinking. Um, so, so, you know, if you really want to, you could repair it. In a lot of cases, Allen Hall: how difficult is it to repair carbon protrusions, because it does seem like when they manufacture those protrusions, there’s a lot of quality control going into it. The fibers have to be in the right direction all the time, and they’re really compacted in there. They’re tight, tight block of carbon that you’re purchasing and sliding into into this blade. Are they really repairable in sections or is it you have to take out the whole length of a pultrusion and replace it? I’m, I’m trying to understand the difficulty here because there’s a lot of operators in the United States now that have some portion of their fleet is carbon spar cap, not a lot of it, but some of it. How [00:21:00] difficult is that to repair? Morten Handberg: Well, it’s difficult enough that a lot of OEMs, they will say if you have a damage to the carbon, it’s a non-repairable defect. That is to a large extent the general rule. Um, there are, there are, uh, there are ways and some of it is replacement of the protrusion. Um, other, another method is, is to do a vacuum infusion lamination. I’ve also seen some repairs with success where, uh, glass fiber is utilized instead of carbon fiber. So you reply, so you, you, um, you calculate the mechanical strength of the carbon. And then replace that with an equal amount, you know, strength wise of glass fiber. The problem is you are to a degree playing with little bit with fire because you are then changing the structure of the blade. You are increasing the thickness and thereby you are changing the stiffness. So it’s, you have to be really [00:22:00] careful, uh, it’s possible. And uh, again. All if all other options are out and you want this blade really to get up and running again because it’s your only option. Maybe it’s worthwhile to, to investigate, but it requires a lot of insight in and also a little bit of, uh, how do you say, uh, you don’t, you shouldn’t be too risk adverse if you go down that that route, but, but again, it is possible. It is technically possible. But it’s something you do for the outer, uh, outer areas of the blade where you have less loads and you’re less sensitive. Allen Hall: Can those carbon repairs be done up tower or are they always done with the rotor set or the blade drop down to ground? Morten Handberg: I know some carbon repairs have been done up tower, but in general it’s down tower also, just because if you have damage to your carbon, it means you have a severe structural issue. So you wouldn’t generally try to do it that well, I would, not in general, but, but the, the, the cases I’ve seen that, that has been downturn repairs. Yeah. Allen Hall: Do you think about the categories differently? If it includes carbon [00:23:00] as a structural element? Morten Handberg: No, because carbon is part of the load carrying laminate. If you’re to the load carrying laminate, then it becomes a four or five immediately. Um, so, uh, so I would say the same rule applies because ag again, it’s a very rough scale, but it applied, but it gives you a sense of where, you know, what is the urgency, which is what I think we in generally need. And I like the more simple model because it’s more applicable to the general industry and it’s easier for, uh, you know, it’s easier to, to implement. Um. And it is easier to understand than if you have a too too gradual, uh, scale because it’s difficult for the people who are sitting and assessing to determine if, uh, you know, what, what category it is. And it’s difficult for the people who have to read the report afterwards. And it’s also about, you know, what is the purpose? And in general, I would say, well, this, the defect categorization, the severe categorization is to determine can this be repaired or not? That’s what we use it [00:24:00] for. So that, that, that’s how we, it should be applied. Allen Hall: Is the industry going to have a universal standard? Soon. Is that possible? Or is this really gonna be country by country, region by region? How we think about blade defects and blade repairs? Morten Handberg: I think that. Given the, uh, the, how do you say, the individual interests in having their own model from the different OEMs or service providers? I think the, when they’re choosing a pope, they have an easy task ahead of them, you know, deciding that. Then we have the agreeing on an on inte standard and on plate. Allen Hall: Pope is currently an American, so that tells you something. The world has shifted. There is still hope. Maybe there is still hope because it, it is a very difficult problem and I hear a lot of conflicting opinions about it and they’re not wrong. The opinions I hear when they’re explained to me, they have a rationale as to why. They’re calling something a cat four versus a cat three. [00:25:00] It all makes sense, but when you get two engineers in the room, they’re rarely are going to agree. So I’m just thinking maybe, maybe there isn’t a, a yeah, maybe there isn’t a time where we’re all gonna come together. Morten Handberg: I think that, you know, it’s, it’s also about what are you willing to accept and what are you willing to s. You know, as an OEM, as a blade engineer, as a service provider, in order to make common agreement. Because I think if we were willing to, you know, set aside differences, um, and then agree on, okay, what is the, what, what is that, what is the, the ma the industry needs and what, what fulfills the purpose? We could agree tomorrow, but that’s not where we are, uh, at the moment. So, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But yes, there, there was a way to do an in to make an international standard. Um, for blades and I, I would say maybe it’s, if the IC made, made, made one, then maybe that that could, uh, that could fix it. Uh, maybe if, uh, they’re starting to become more [00:26:00]focused from governments, uh, and you know, that it wind industry becomes recognized as critical infrastructure. That then there is a requirement for international standards on what are defects, to make it easier to determine what is critical or not, so that proper reaction can be made. That will also help it. But again, as long as it’s only about late experts having to agree with each other and that’s the only then, then we’re, then we will not get to a point where we’re going to agree on, on everything. No. Allen Hall: Wow. This is a continual discussion about blade defects and categorization and Morton. I really appreciate. You’re giving us your thoughts about it because I trust you one and two, you’re on the leading edge of what the industry is thinking. So it’s very good to get you in here and explain where categorization is and, and two operators that are listening to this podcast understand you’re probably getting a lot of different opinions about categorization. You need to sit down and figure it out for yourself, or reach out to Morton who can explain what you should be thinking and how you should be [00:27:00]thinking about this problem. Morton, how do people get ahold of you to learn more? Morten Handberg: Easiest way is to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Um, I have a very active profile there. You can always write me and I’ll always write, write, write it back. You can also write to me on my company email, m me h@windpowerapp.com. Um, those are the two easiest way to get, uh, get in, in, uh, get in touch me. And I would say, as an owner, what you need to know. Is it a structural issue or is a surface issue you have? And then plan your repairs from there. That is, that is the. Basic, yeah, that, that you need to have, and then forget about the others, the other side of it, you know, if it’s one defect type or another, that’s not necessarily what’s going to help you. It’s all about getting the blades repaired. And, uh, and the turbine up and running again. That should be the focus. Allen Hall: Absolutely. Morton, we love having you on the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. It’s good to be here. See [00:28:00] you.

Geopower, Energy Realpolitik with Todd Royal – Todd shows how political fantasies about 100% renewables collide with materials limits, cost structures, and physical constraints. This leads into a breakdown of U.S. power-demand forecasts, referencing new research from Grid Strategies, EPRI, and DOE scenario modeling. All three converge on the same conclusion: the US is entering an era of...

Hosts Marty Rosenberg and Samantha Gilman introduce the Grid Talk Series on the EPRI Current. In this inaugural episode, Marty speaks with Gil Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd, about the unprecedented transformation of the electric grid. Gil explains how surging demand from data centers, electrification, and manufacturing reshoring is reshaping ComEd's strategy – and why the next decade will bring more change than the past century. Learn about ComEd's multi-year grid modernization plan, the role of AI in boosting reliability, and how community solar, microgrids, and climate adaptation will define the future. From cybersecurity to workforce evolution, this conversation reveals what it takes to build a dynamic, interactive grid that powers communities.   At the end of the episode, join host Samantha Gilman for “EPRI's Take” with Morgan Scott, VP of Global Partnerships and Outreach. They discuss rising energy demand and the need to keep energy affordable for customers, emphasizing EPRI's focus on flexibility and climate-informed planning to build resilience into grid investments from the start.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Tell us what you think of the show! Ready or not, electric vehicle adoption is happening in America. It feels like we've reached an inflection point- especially as range increases, EVs are simply proving to be a better mousetrap- and now there's a race coast-to-coast to bulk up the charging infrastructure needed to enable the scaling of fleets and longhaul trucking. That's no easy thing to figure out- developers must work closely with utilities to bring these power-sucking sites online without overworking the local grid. And since everyone needs power YESTERDAY, there's a timeliness component to this too- and we all know time means money.The Electric Power Research Institute, better known as EPRI, is taking on the challenge of connecting the dots and facilitating a planning process for the deployment of EV charging projects.On this episode, Factor This Content Director Paul Gerke is joined by EPRI director of transportation Britta Gross to discuss GridFAST, a central, secure portal designed to improve communication between stakeholders, bringing them together early on to ensure everyone gets what they want, when they want it- or as close to it as possible.Want to make a suggestion for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

Ahead of the Power Resilience Forum (PRF), industry leaders reflect on what it takes to build a climate-ready grid. In this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gillman speaks with Julia Hamm from the Ad Hoc Group and EPRI's Morgan Scott about how utilities, regulators, and innovators are adapting grid planning and operations to become more resilient to extreme weather events.     They share personal experiences with hurricanes and superstorms, highlighting EPRI's Climate Resilience and Adaptation (READi) initiative – a comprehensive framework to assess physical climate risk across the power system. They also preview the upcoming PRF, hosted by The Ad Hoc Group and Latitude Media in collaboration with EPRI. Designed to convene leaders from across the industry, the PRF aims to promote collaboration and climate-informed planning. Tune in to learn about how proactive investment, cross-sector collaboration, and climate-informed planning are shaping a resilient energy future.       For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Hot isostatic pressing, or HIP, is experiencing a powerful resurgence across industries from aerospace to nuclear energy as manufacturers look for new ways to scale up. In this episode, Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, is joined by Cliff Orcutt, American Isostatic Presses, Inc. ; Oscar Martinez, Bodycote; Victor Samarov, Synertech PM; Soumya Nag, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Mike Conaway, Isostatic Forging International; and Dave Gandy, EPRI. This panel of HIP experts to explores how renewed investment, government collaboration, and additive manufacturing are driving HIP's next era of growth. From large-scale production to powder-to-part innovations, discover why this decades-old process is suddenly critical to the future of U.S. manufacturing. Watch | Listen | Learn Full transcript, audio, and video to this episode is located here: https://heattreattoday.com/radio

The EPRI Current celebrates Bat Week by highlighting a surprising yet vital connection: the electric sector is working with conservationists to protect bats from a deadly disease. Bats play a crucial role in ecosystems, and their survival is increasingly threatened by a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome.     In this episode, host Samantha Gilman is joined by EPRI's Christian Newman and Dr. Winifred Frick from Bat Conservation International to unpack the “Fat Bat” project – a collaborative effort to combat white-nose syndrome using UV light “bug buffets” to help bats bulk up before hibernation, boosting their chances of survival. With insights into bat ecology, conservation strategies, industry partnerships, and bats' role in pollination (including tequila production), this episode showcases how cross-sector collaboration is helping protect these vital pollinators and pest controllers. Plus, learn about The Invisible Mammal, a new documentary featuring the project.     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

Get the latest updates from our LinkedIn page! https://onelink.to/treesandlinesWelcome back to another episode of the Trees & Lines podcast. Yamille Del Valle, Program Manager at EPRI, and Don Von Dollen, Senior Program Manager at EPRI, join us to discuss how EPRI is driving innovation where agriculture meets utility research. They share how utilities and researchers are collaborating through EPRI's Distribution Forum to advance vegetation management, test emerging technologies, and define best practices for a more reliable, resilient grid. Have a listen, hope you enjoy!#VegetationManagement #UtilityResearch #EPRI #GridReliability #UtilityLeadership #Innovation #AI #UtilityArboriculture #EnergyInfrastructure #Sustainability #UtilityLeadership #UtilityOperations #Utilities #ExecutiveStrategy #UtilityInnovation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The nuclear industry is in an era of rapid innovation and deployment. In this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gillman is joined by Alison Krager Hahn from NEI and Chad Boyer from EPRI to revisit the 2023 episode on the Advanced Reactor (AR) Roadmap, assessing the industry's recent progress with advanced technologies and where it's headed next. Developed as a collaborative framework, the roadmap serves as a strategic guide for the successful commercialization and large-scale deployment of advanced reactor designs.      Alison and Chad unpack the 2025 roadmap update, highlighting strides in emergency preparedness, fuel supply, and workforce development. They explore the growing role of data centers and industrial decarbonization in shaping demand and discuss how policy shifts and bipartisan support are accelerating deployment. With insights into how industry-wide collaboration is shaping the future, they offer a timely look at how advanced reactors are positioned to meet rising energy demands, and how the roadmap is guiding the way.     To explore the AR Roadmap, visit https://ant.epri.com/roadmap     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

Hydrogen is gaining momentum in Europe as a potential strategic energy carrier, and Ireland is stepping into the spotlight with its first hydrogen valley initiative – SH2AMROCK. In this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman speaks with Rory Monaghan from the University of Galway, Conor O'Dowd from the Port of Galway, and Maria Jaen from EPRI to discuss the vision behind SH2AMROCK and its role in reshaping Ireland's energy landscape.     The SH2AMROCK Project brings together public and private collaborators to deploy green hydrogen as part of the EU Horizon program for research and innovation. From digital twins to startup hubs, experts explore how hydrogen valleys can drive regional decarbonization and energy innovation. Learn how Galway's unique geography, vibrant innovation ecosystem, and strong offshore wind potential make it an ideal launchpad for hydrogen infrastructure.     Read more about Ireland's hydrogen valley initiative: https://www.sh2amrock.eu/     For more information and episodes visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

Hydropower plays a vital role in the U.S. energy mix, but how will its infrastructure hold up under a changing climate with evolving weather patterns?     In this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by EPRI experts Jacob Mardian and Dr. Mark Christian to explore the future of hydropower in the face of extreme weather. Drawing from a recent nationwide hydropower study under EPRI's Climate Resilience and Adaptation Initiative (Climate READi), guests discuss how extreme weather events, like droughts and floods, are impacting hydropower operations and infrastructure. The experts highlight the importance of proactive planning, data-driven risk assessments, and collaboration across sectors to ensure long-term reliability and safety. After analyzing more than 1,500 hydropower facilities nationwide, they offer insights into regional vulnerabilities, adaptation strategies, and the role of hydropower in a clean energy future.     Explore how climate risks are impacting hydropower across the U.S. in EPRI's latest study: https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002033642       For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

As energy demand rises and electrification accelerates, understanding household energy affordability is more important than ever. In this episode of the EPRI Current, Geoff Blanford from EPRI and Michael Kohlhaas from Con Edison join host Samantha Gilman to discuss the Energy Wallet – EPRI's new holistic metric for capturing total household energy usage and spending, including gas, electricity, and transportation. The experts share findings from EPRI's recent report, which projects a 36% decline in the average U.S. household energy spending by 2050, and highlights how utilities like Con Edison are using similar models to guide long-term planning and support communities. Tune in to learn how data-driven insights are shaping the future of energy affordability and resilience.     Learn more about the Energy Wallet: https://energywallet.epri.com/       For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

For the next few episodes, we're digging into the wild world of energy and the aging global electricity grid. This week, we start where reliability begins: utility-scale storage. The grid we have was built for one-way power plants; the grid we need has to juggle rooftop solar at noon, heat waves at 6 p.m., EVs, and data centers galore.My guest is Tom Sisto, founder & CEO of XL Batteries. His team is commercializing a pH-neutral, aqueous organic flow battery — a non-flammable, salt-water system using carbon-based molecules instead of vanadium. Think: safer, long-life storage you can scale for hours to days, without sulfuric acid or scarce metals.We get into:Why storage is the “time machine” the grid needs (match generation to demand, cut curtailment)Flow batteries 101: engine vs. tank, independent power and duration, and why that matters for utilitiesXL's chemistry: organic charge carriers in neutral saltwater (no vanadium, no acid), designed for long lifeCost and safety vs. lithium — and why duration + cycle life drive utility economicsReal-world progress: containerized field unit, EPRI duty-cycle testing, and an industrial pilot at Stolthaven TerminalsRetrofit potential: turning existing petrochemical tanks into energy storage tanksStorage-as-transmission: placing batteries on both sides of a bottleneck to double effective flowReliability + resilience: PSPS/wildfire shutoffs, hurricane backup, and data-center load growthWhere decentralization fits, and how industrial customers can de-risk adoption on the way to utility scaleLinks & resources:XL Batteries — https://xlbatteries.com/Everybody in the Pool: all episodes & newsletter — https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Become a paid subscriber for an ad-free feed (and my eternal gratitude) — link in your podcast app!Call to action & what's next:Send thoughts & voice memos: in@everybodyinthepool.com — where do you see storage unlocking reliability?If you liked this one, share it with a grid geek friend.Smart Grid Series lineup:E101 (this episode): Safe, long-duration flow batteries with XL BatteriesE102 (next): Grid “airbags” — synthetic inertia & fast frequency control with WärtsiläE103 (after that): A rechargeable zinc sponge anode that solves dendrites — Enzinc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adding flexibility to data center loads could ease strain on the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. And, according to one study, shaving off just a few megawatts during peak hours could also unlock unused capacity —as many as 98 gigawatts in the U.S —  if those facilities reduced load by just 0.5% each year.   The problem: data centers promise near-perfect reliability, often “five nines” (99.999% uptime) in service-level agreements with customers. That leaves little room to adjust something as critical to reliability as power.  But times are changing. The data center market is reckoning with the constraints of the power grid and growing concern about pushing up electricity prices to pay for new generation. In July, the Electric Power Resource Institute's DCFlex demonstration at an Oracle data center in Phoenix, Arizona, reduced load 25% during peak demand. And this month Google expanded its demand response through two new agreements with Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority. So what are the actual mechanics of data center flexibility? In this episode, Shayle talks to Varun Sivaram, founder and CEO of Emerald AI. The startup's data center flexibility platform powered EPRI's DCFlex demonstration. Shayle and Varun cover topics like: What people often misunderstand about how much of their nameplate capacity data centers actually use  The distinct load profiles of training, inference, and other workloads How data centers can pause, slow, or shift workloads in time or space to reduce demand What it will take for flexibility solutions like Emerald AI to earn operator trust  How much flexibility data centers can realistically achieve  Varun's long-term vision for evolving from occasional demand response to weekly or even daily load shifting Resources: Latitude Media: Nvidia and Oracle tapped this startup to flex a Phoenix data center   Latitude Media: Google expands demand response to target machine learning workloads    Catalyst: The potential for flexible data centers   Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a solar and energy storage development and procurement platform helping clients make optimal decisions, saving significant time, money, and reducing risk. Subscribers instantly access pricing, product, and supplier data. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is supported by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

Two years ago, EPRI launched the Technology Radar, an interactive resource for identifying and assessing emerging technologies shaping the energy industry. In this episode of the EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by Steve Stella, Head of EPRI's Technology Innovation Program, to explore how the Tech Radar and Tech Radar Pulse Report track the trajectories of over 70 technologies, including 19 newly added in the latest update.     From space-based solar and carbon capture to solid-state batteries and hydrogen-based technologies, Steve shares how EPRI is analyzing technologies to uncover insights and inform stakeholders across regions and sectors. Focusing on affordability, decarbonization, and energy security, the Pulse Report offers a dynamic, crowdsourced view of what's next across short, mid, and long-term horizons. Tune in to learn how these tools are helping the industry stay ahead of the curve.     Stay tuned for the latest Technology Radar Pulse Report, coming soon.     For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

More than 100 of the world's largest energy companies are betting that artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize how electricity gets made, moved, and managed. But they're not waiting for Silicon Valley to build it for them—they've taken matters into their own hands through an EPRI-led consortium. That initiative is the Open Power AI Consortium, which EPRI launched in March 2025 to drive the development and deployment of an open AI model tailored for the power sector. According to its mission statement, the Open Power AI Consortium “aims to evolve the electric sector by leveraging advanced AI technologies to innovate the way electricity is made, moved, and used by customers. By fostering collaboration among industry leaders, researchers, and technology providers, the consortium will drive the development and deployment of cutting-edge AI solutions tailored to enhance operational efficiencies, increase resiliency and reliability, deploy emerging and sustainable technologies, and reduce costs while improving the customer experience.” “We're really looking at building an ecosystem to accelerate the development and deployment, and recognizing that, while AI is advancing rapidly, the energy industry has its own unique needs, especially around reliability, safety, regulatory compliance, and so forth. So, the consortium provides a collaborative platform to develop and maintain domain-specific AI models—think a ChatGPT tailored to the energy industry—as well as sharing best practices, testing innovative solutions in a secure environment, and long term, we believe this will help modernize the grid, improve customer experiences, and support global safe, affordable, and reliable energy for everyone,” Jeremy Renshaw, executive director for AI and Quantum with EPRI, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. Among the consortium's members are some of the largest energy companies in the world, including Constellation, Con Edison, Duke Energy, EDF, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), New York Power Authority (NYPA), Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), Saudi Electricity Co., Southern Company, Southern California Edison, Taiwan Power Co., and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). It also includes entities like Amazon Web Servies (AWS), Burns and McDonnell, GE Vernova, Google, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection Authority, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), Khalifa University, Microsoft, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), PJM, Rolls-Royce SMR, and Westinghouse Electric Co. “For many years, the power industry has been somewhat siloed, and there were not many touch points or communication between global utilities, technology companies, universities, and so forth. So, this consortium aims to facilitate making new connections between these important and impactful organizations to increase collaboration and information sharing that will benefit everyone,” Renshaw explained. EPRI, together with Articul8 and NVIDIA, has already developed the first set of domain-specific generative AI models for electric and power systems aimed at advancing the energy transformation. Although the technology has not been released publicly, it will be made available soon as an NVIDIA NIM microservice for early access. This development sets the foundation for more to come.

The energy sector is at a critical inflection point, defined by automation, intelligence, and the integration of AI into energy systems. As grid demands intensify, AI is unlocking transformative solutions, from electrifying economies to integrating renewables and defending against cyber threats.     Industry leaders Bilal Khursheed from Microsoft, Jens Madrian from ENOWA, and Jeremy Renshaw from EPRI join host Samantha Gilman to explore how AI is reshaping the future of energy with EPRI's Open Power AI Consortium (OPAI) – a collaborative platform among 100+ utilities, labs, hyperscalers, and startups to accelerate AI adoption in the power sector. Tune in to learn how shared models, domain-specific sandboxes, and high-quality data are driving real-time grid operations, optimized performance, and enhanced reliability.         For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

With an evolving energy landscape, utilities are navigating the complex challenge of balancing legacy assets with the growing integration of renewables while ensuring reliability, affordability, and sustainability.     On this episode of The EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by Jake Courville from Entergy and Mike Caravaggio from EPRI to discuss the evolving generation fleet, the role of legacy and renewable sources, and maintaining reliable and affordable energy delivery amid increasing climate risks. From workforce readiness to equipment reliability, they explore how EPRI is helping utilities scale wind and solar while balancing legacy fleets, and how utilities like Entergy are using every tool in the toolbox to deliver safe, reliable energy to customers and communities.     For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

As of June 1, the North Atlantic Basin officially entered the 2025 hurricane season. NOAA's 2025 forecasts project a 60% chance of an above-normal season, anticipating 13–19 named storms, 6–10 hurricanes, and up to 5 major hurricanes. As peak season approaches, utilities face increasing pressure to prepare.     On the latest episode of the EPRI Current, EPRI experts Andrea Staid and Erik Smith join host Samantha Gilman to explore how power companies can build resilience and maintain reliability amid intensifying storms. They tackle key questions: How accurate are hurricane forecasts? How should power companies plan around the unknown? How do regional differences shape preparedness strategies? The conversation highlights EPRI's Climate READi initiative, which provides science-based guidance to help utilities assess hazard risks, support operational decisions, and plan for long-term climate adaptation.     For more information visit EPRI.com.     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com             

Tell us what you think of the show! Since 2022, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a nonprofit, independent research and development group focused on the generation, delivery, and use of electricity, has been developing a framework to help utilities enhance the resilience of their infrastructure. The Climate READi initiative aims to strengthen the power sector's collective approach to managing climate risk to power systems.On this episode of the Factor This podcast, host Paul Gerke chats with EPRI's Laura Fischer and Andrea Staid about the ongoing initiative, a robust collaboration including insights from more than 40 electric companies, 100 academic, consulting, and finance institutions, as well as national labs, regulators, and government agencies.Want to suggest something for This Week in Cleantech? Nominate the stories that caught your eye each week by emailing Paul.Gerke@clarionevents.com

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is propelling us into a new era of innovation that has the potential to transform daily life and drive economic growth. In this episode of the EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by David Porter, EPRI's VP of Electrification and Sustainable Energy Strategy, and Briana Kobor, Head of Energy Market Innovation at Google. They discuss strategies to realize the benefits of AI while minimizing costs and ensuring grid reliability, featuring insights from DCFlex – a new EPRI initiative to make data centers more flexible and responsive to grid needs. From demand flexibility to utility collaboration and scalable solutions, the conversation highlights the role of cross-sector teamwork in ensuring grid reliability while advancing AI and energy goals.   Guests: David Porter and Briana Kobor     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

Around the world, the energy sector faces a shared challenge: significant delays in acquiring gas turbines, a critical technology for grid expansion. In this episode of the EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman sits down with EPRI Sr. Program Manager Bobby Noble to explore a topical question for industry stakeholders and EPRI members: Why are the wait times for gas turbines so long? Bobby sheds light on the implications of a 5-year wait time, addressing the leading causes behind these delays, EPRI's efforts to support and inform the industry, and practical measures the industry can implement to expand near-term capabilities using existing assets.  Guests: Bobby Noble, Sr. Program Manager, EPRI       If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com   

The world's electricity grids are facing unprecedented strain as demand surges from electrification, data centers, and renewable energy integration, while aging infrastructure struggles to keep pace. Traditional approaches to grid expansion—building new transmission lines and substations—face mounting challenges including sometimes decade-long permitting processes, escalating costs that can reach billions per project, and growing public resistance to new infrastructure. This mounting pressure has created an urgent need for innovative solutions that can unlock the hidden capacity already embedded within existing transmission networks. What Are GETs and What Do They Do? Grid enhancing technologies (GETs) represent a transformative approach to this challenge, offering utilities the ability to safely increase power flows on existing transmission lines by up to 40% in some cases without the need for new construction. These advanced technologies—including dynamic line ratings (DLR) that adjust capacity based on real-time weather conditions, high-temperature advanced conductors that can carry significantly more current, and sophisticated power flow controllers that optimize electricity routing—work by maximizing the utilization of current infrastructure. Rather than building around bottlenecks, GETs eliminate them through smarter, more responsive grid management. On an episode of The POWER Podcast, Anna Lafoyiannis, program lead for the integration of renewables and co-lead of the GET SET (Grid Enhancing Technologies for a Smart Energy Transition) initiative with EPRI, explained that GETs can be either hardware or software solutions. “Their purpose is to increase the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or safety of transmission lines. So, think of these as adders to your transmission lines to make them even better,” Lafoyiannis said. “Typically, they reduce congestion costs. They improve the integration of renewables. They increase capacity. They can provide grid service applications. So, they're really multifaceted—very helpful for the grid,” she said. “At EPRI, we think of them as kind of like a tool in a toolbox.” The economic and environmental implications are profound. Deploying GETs can defer or eliminate the need for costly new transmission projects while accelerating the integration of renewable energy resources that are often stranded due to transmission constraints. As utilities worldwide grapple with the dual pressures of modernizing their grids and meeting ambitious clean energy targets, GETs offer a compelling path forward that leverages innovation over infrastructure expansion to create a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable electricity system.

The AI EFFECT project aims to establish a European Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for the energy sector to develop, test, and validate AI applications. Funded by  Horizon Europe, the project addresses the integration of AI into critical energy infrastructures to optimize operations, reduce costs, enhance resilience, and support decarbonization efforts.   This episode of the EPRI Current examines AI's role in improving efficiency, smart grids, generation, distribution, and customer tools as well as some challenges emerging from use cases such as the need for mathematical guarantees to trust AI.   For more information about AI EFFECT and AI in the power industry: AI EFFECT: AI-EFFECT | acquiacmsminimaltemplate OPEN POWER AI: Open Power AI Consortium | EPRI Micro Sites   Host:  Samantha Gilman   Guests:              Gianluca Lipari, Technical Leader - European Projects Coordinator, EPRI Massimo Bolognessi, Senior Electrical Design Engineer, ENEL Grids Johanna Vorwerk,  Assistant Professor, Wind and Energy Systems, Technical University of Denmark   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Podcast: EPRI CurrentEpisode: 51. Lights out! Understanding the Iberian Peninsula BlackoutPub date: 2025-05-12Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization  More than 52 years after EPRI was born as a result of a massive North American blackout, EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman speaks with Eamonn Lannoye, Director, EPRI Europe  and Sean McGuiness Senior Technical Executive, EPRI Europe, to discuss the recent power blackout in Spain, Portugal and parts of France. The whole system went down in five seconds.  What do we know about why it happened?  What do we not yet know, and why can it take time to fully understand the root causes?  Are  observers jumping to conclusions before all the data is in? Lannoye has been a frequent contributor to international media stories about the event. He and McGuiness share their expertise on the series of events and caution about drawing conclusions too quickly. For more information about the blackout, see this recorded webinar: EPRI Webcast of Initial Findings from April 28, 2025 Iberia Blackout   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from EPRI, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Ep. 110: Mike Rowand, energy and electric transportation consultant, talks about his career with Duke Energy, his work with EPRI and his role as an interface between the utility and the trucking industries. He also talks what utilities need to know about trucking and about grid readiness. He explains the role of communication and collaboration and how fleets can help utilities do a better job of serving them.

  More than 52 years after EPRI was born as a result of a massive North American blackout, EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman speaks with Eamonn Lannoye, Director, EPRI Europe  and Sean McGuiness Senior Technical Executive, EPRI Europe, to discuss the recent power blackout in Spain, Portugal and parts of France. The whole system went down in five seconds.  What do we know about why it happened?  What do we not yet know, and why can it take time to fully understand the root causes?  Are  observers jumping to conclusions before all the data is in? Lannoye has been a frequent contributor to international media stories about the event. He and McGuiness share their expertise on the series of events and caution about drawing conclusions too quickly. For more information about the blackout, see this recorded webinar: EPRI Webcast of Initial Findings from April 28, 2025 Iberia Blackout   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

They called the film Avengers: Infinity War the most ambitious crossover event in history. We can't quite make the same claim, but at Wood Mackenzie's 2025 Solar and Energy Storage Summit, we did record a crossover episode. Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Wood Mackenz's principal analyst for solar power and host of Interchange Recharged, is joined by Ed Crooks, host of Energy Gang, to discuss the future of energy, and of the electricity grid in particular.They are joined by Rob Chapman, Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions at the non-profit research group EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, which aims to help power society toward a reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future. Rob talks about a key theme in his work: the importance of flexibility on the electricity grid. Increased reliance on solar and wind power has created challenges in keeping the grid balanced and the lights on. Surging demand for electricity for new data centres to train and run AI models is giving rise to a whole new set of issues. More flexible demand and supply on the grid is increasingly valuable. But where can it come from?Data centres don't usually offer a lot of flexibility in their operations. People want to use ChatGPT and watch Netflix even at night and when the wind is low. So what can the hyperscalers do to create flexibility? Are virtual power plants an effective option? And how can the energy industry improve collaboration to find solutions that promote the clean energy transition while keeping prices down?You can find Energy Gang wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Interchange Recharged with Sylvia Leyva Martinez for deep dives into the innovations that are accelerating the energy transition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

They called the film Avengers: Infinity War the most ambitious crossover event in history. We can't quite make the same claim, but at Wood Mackenzie's 2025 Solar and Energy Storage Summit, we did record a crossover episode. Ed Crooks, host of Energy Gang, is joined by Sylvia Leyva Martinez, Wood Mackenz's principal analyst for solar power and host of Interchange Recharged, to discuss the future of energy, and of the electricity grid in particular.They are joined by Rob Chapman, Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions at the non-profit research group EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, which aims to help power society toward a reliable, affordable, and resilient energy future. Rob talks about a key theme in his work: the importance of flexibility on the electricity grid. Increased reliance on solar and wind power has created challenges in keeping the grid balanced and the lights on. Surging demand for electricity for new data centres to train and run AI models is giving rise to a whole new set of issues. More flexible demand and supply on the grid is increasingly valuable. But where can it come from?Data centres don't usually offer a lot of flexibility in their operations. People want to use ChatGPT and watch Netflix even at night and when the wind is low. So what can the hyperscalers do to create flexibility? Are virtual power plants an effective option? And how can the energy industry improve collaboration to find solutions that promote the clean energy transition while keeping prices down?You can find Energy Gang wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Interchange Recharged with Sylvia Leyva Martinez for deep dives into the innovations that are accelerating the energy transition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Recorded live from the show floor at DistribuTECH 2025 in Dallas, this episode of the EPRI Current examines microgrids and how utilities are using them to explore back-up power availability to improve system reliability.  Jackie Baum from EPRI and Ryan Boudreau from Hydro One networks discuss the challenges and opportunities for microgrids in local communities with host Samantha Gilman in the DistribuTECH studio.   Guests:              Jackie Baum, Sr. Manager DERMS & Microgrids, EPRI Ryan Boudreau, Sr. Manager Distribution and P&C, Hydro One Networks   Watch Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ewkmpIrjY   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

Host Samantha Gilman explores the energy innovation landscape in Europe with her guests Consuelo Fierro from National Grid, and Mark McGranaghan from EPRI. They discuss the prevalent innovation culture driven by EU and UK-funded projects, European innovation working groups and initiatives, the challenges and successes of National Grid's innovation efforts, and the transformative impact of AI on the energy sector.     Guests: Consuelo Fierro, Project Manager at Innovation Management Office, National Grid Mark McGranaghan EPRI Fellow, EPRI Europe   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

Tyler Norris says regulators have been getting two different stories. On one side, they've been hearing that data centers are largely inflexible loads. On the other, last year the U.S. Department of Energy recommended data center flexibility, and EPRI launched its DCFlex initiative to demonstrate the same.  So he and a few other researchers wanted to know, What's the potential for data center flexibility? And what benefits could it have system-wide? In this episode, Shayle talks to Tyler, a PhD candidate at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and former vice president of development at Cypress Creek Renewables. In a recent study, Tyler and his co-authors found there's enough spare capacity in the existing U.S. grid to accommodate up to 98 gigawatts of new industrial load (enough for multiple Project Stargates), if that load can curtail 0.5% of annual load to avoid adding to system peaks. Shayle and Tyler unpack the study's findings, including:    How much data centers would have to curtail and how often Options for shaving peaks, like colocating or leasing generation, spatial flexibility, and deferring or front loading training runs  Speeding up interconnection if the data center is able to curtail load How bridge power could transition to peak shaving backup generation Recommended resources Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University: Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems Latitude Media: EPRI takes its data center flexibility project global Latitude Media: Who's really paying to power Big Tech's AI ambitions? Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

Join EPRI experts Stephanie Shaw and Lakshmi Srinivasan of EPRI's Energy Storage research area, and Southern Company's Kieran Claffey to learn how research, risk assessment and analysis continues to improve the safety of battery storage technology and operations. As battery storage energy grows across the globe, with the vast majority of deployments being lithium ion, what have we learned about the safety of battery storage as both a source and as part of a larger electric system?    Find out more about EPRI's Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Failure Incident Database, initiated in 2021. It tracks incidents involving BESS systems, providing valuable data on system age, manufacturer, chemistry, and application.    For more information: EPRI Failure Incident Database: BESS Failure Incident Database - EPRI Storage Wiki EPRI Whitepaper: Analysis of Failure Root Cause: Insights from EPRI's Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Failure Incident Database: Analysis of Failure Root Cause   Guests: Stephanie Shaw, Technical Executive, Energy Storage, EPRI Lakshmi Srinivasan, Principal Team Lead, Energy Storage, EPRI Kieran Claffey, Senior rResearch Engineer in the Research Environment and Sustainability Group of Southern Co., Industry Lead, Safety and Grid Security Tiger Team for the Long Duration Energy Storage National Consortium     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

The predictions are coming in hot. Data centers could grow to consume more than 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030, according to EPRI. That's more than double its current estimated data center load. AI will increase global data center power demand 165% by 2030, says Goldman Sachs. And billions of dollars are at stake. Utilities, megasite developers, and data center operators are all basing major decisions on predictions like these. But they're also the kinds of predictions we've seen before. In 1999, when the internet was growing fast, a couple researchers claimed it would grow to consume half of all U.S. power generation within a decade — until a team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory debunked it. Jonathan Koomey was one of those researchers. Although today's predictions about energy usage are tamer than those in 1999, Jonathan still has questions about the current hype around AI power demand. He's is now the founder and president of Koomey Analytics, which has published multiple papers on the topic, including a recent report for the Bipartisan Policy Center: Electricity Demand Growth and Data Centers: A Guide for the Perplexed. So what are the assumptions that go into these new predictions? And how do they hold up to scrutiny? In this episode, Shayle talks to Jonathan about why he questions the hype around AI load growth predictions and why he believes energy constraints will incentivize the AI industry to focus on efficiency. Shayle and Jonathan cover topics like: The time lags and proprietary data that hinders precise data center load estimates, both in historical analyses and future predictions The difficulty of reproducing the predictions of even prominent institutions like the IEA The two basic assumptions that go into predictions: AI demand and AI power requirements Why Jonathan believes conventional wisdom relies on questionable sources, like Nvidia's business plan The unexplored areas of AI energy efficiency, like computer architecture, software improvements, algorithms, and special purpose computers Recommended resources Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report Nature: Will AI accelerate or delay the race to net-zero emissions? Joule: To better understand AI's growing energy use, analysts need a data revolution WSJ: Internet Hype in the '90s Stoked a Power-Generation Bubble. Could It Happen Again With AI? Open Circuit: The data center boom: ‘All the cheap power is gone' Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

Teach a person to fish, and they'll teach the rest of us how to innovate to preserve the species. Hydropower is one of the world's oldest low-carbon sources of electricity generation. And as long as there have been dams, there have been migrating fish needing to swim upstream past to spawn. Join EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman and her three guests as they discuss testing the new Fishheart fish passage technology in North America. Developed by fishermen in Finland, the technology was tested in North America at the Santee Cooper utility as part of a Department of Energy research project supervised by EPRI.   Links and Resources Mentioned:  EPRI Journal, “Fish Tech” January 2025: Fish Tech - EPRI Journal | EPRI Journal YouTube: “Protecting Fish at Hydropower Facilities”: V86b1hpzax-B34-WBNR-16x9-205s-YT-Charlotte-nooneseemstoknow-Multi transition July2024 Ad 2--OG   Guests: Mika Sohlberg, Co-Founder, Fishheart Michael Melchers, FERC Administrator, Santee Cooper Paul Jacobson, Technical Executive, generation sector, EPRI     If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

Welcome back to another episode of the Trees & Lines podcast. Ashley Bennett, Senior Research Specialist at EPRI, joins us to discuss how some utilities are using less traditional practices—like goat grazing—to manage their vegetation, how she sets up experiments to research different aspects of vegetation management techniques, and how these different strategies affect the environment. Have a listen, hope you enjoy!#Podcast #PodcastEpisode #PodcastShow #NewPodcast #PodcastLife #Podcasters #PodcastsToListenTo #PodcastCommunity #ListenNow #PodcastInterview #Utilities #EnergyIndustry #Sustainability #RenewableEnergy #ElectricPower #GridManagement #UtilityPodcast #PowerGrid #ElectricUtilities #ClimateAction #AshleyBennett #EPRI #ElectricPowerResearchInstitute #PowerInPollinators #VegetationManagement #RightOfWayManagement #Biodiversity #PollinatorConservation #EnvironmentalDNA #eDNA #SustainableEnergy #HabitatRestoration #NativePlants #WildlifeConservation #GreenTech #EcoFriendly #NatureConservation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore how quantum computing could help solve key fusion hurdles—from plasma control to materials engineering—bringing us closer to a commercially viable fusion reactor. Join host Samantha Gilman and EPRI experts Diana Grandas, Emma Wong, and Dr. Charlyne Smith as they discuss EPRI's work in fusion innovation, the intersection of quantum mechanics and energy research, and what's needed to push fusion from the lab to the power grid.   Also discussed: the @EPRINews 2025 Quantum Challenge Fusion Edition, an international contest aimed at finding groundbreaking quantum computing solutions for fusion technology.   Learn more at: https://aqora.io/epri-fusion-quantum-challenge-2025#about-event   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

In this episode, EPRI experts examine a new corner of the energy industry: agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is when solar PV panels are installed above crops so that the same land can be simultaneously used for energy and food production.   Learn from EPRI experts, Terry Jennings and Bailee Neary, on how EPRI is helping utilities explore this emerging practice. Plus, you'll hear an overview of agrivoltaics today, and where it may go in the future thanks to AI.   Learn more in this recent EPRI Journal article: https://eprijournal.com/a-marriage-of-sun-farmland-and-technology/   Guests: TERRY JENNINGS -  Team Leader for Environmental Aspects of Wind & Solar at EPRI, and BAILIE NEARY - Researcher for Energy Systems & Climate Analysis Group at EPRI   Learn more at EPRI.com    If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

Welcome to our first podcast episode of 2025. We're taking a look back at 2024 and sharing the highlights. You'll hear segments from several episodes providing insights from industry experts and addressing topics such as AI and cyber security, electrification, nuclear innovation, and the future of the energy workforce. Join us as we reflect on the best from 2024 and get ready for an exciting lineup of new EPRI Current episodes in 2025. Listen in every other week as we bring you the latest research, industry insights, and more.   2024 Guests Featured in this “Best of” Episode: Ambition into Action Series: Dan Moneghan, EPRI, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles 24. From Emissions to Solutions: Unpacking the IRA's Impact on Climate Change Dr. John Bistline, Program Manager of EPRI's Energy Systems and Climate Analysis Group Dr. Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy & Environment at Princeton University 31. Practical Realities of the Clean Energy Transition Neva Espinoza, EPRI Senior Vice President, Energy Supply and Low Carbon Resources 38. Electrifying the Future of Fleets Britta Gross, EPRI Director of Transportation Diego Quevedo, Daimler Truck's Charging Infrastructure Sr. Engineer & Utilities Lead 39. AI and Generative AI: Potential Cybersecurity Impacts to the Energy Industry? Jason Hollern, EPRI Cybersecurity Technical Executive Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director for Energy, NVIDIA 40. From Reactors to Roles: The Future of Nuclear Power Kimberly Cook-Nelson, Chief Nuclear Officer, Entergy Steve Swilley, Chief Nuclear Officer, EPRI     42. From the Gulf: Powering the Future Eng. Ahmed Ebrahim, CEO, GCCIA Daniel Brooks, EPRI Senior Vice President, Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions   Learn more at EPRI.com    If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com     

In this EPRI Current episode, host Bill Florence is joined by experts Curtiss Fox, Nikolay Dimitrov, and Clément Jacquet, who share insights on global offshore wind development, the HIPERWIND project, and other initiatives. Discussions highlight the industry's goals, challenges, technologies, and the importance of reducing uncertainty and cost and underscores the holistic approach and integrated design required to optimize offshore wind energy for future scalability.   Guests: Dr. Curtiss Fox, Senior Technical Leader - Renewables - EPRI, Nikolay Dimitrov, Senior Scientist/Researcher - Technical University of Denmark's Department of Wind and Energy Systems Dr. Clément Jacquet, Engineer/Scientist, EPRI      Learn more about HIPERWIND: https://europe.epri.com/project/hiperwind      If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.      Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews      EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com