Grid Talk DOE|Advanced Grid Research

Offshore wind power generation is about to take off in a big way in the U.S. One of the biggest splashes will be made by Equinor which is building up to 130 ocean-planted wind turbines 15 to 30 miles off Long Island. Grid Talk host Marty Rosenberg goes in-depth on the project details with Equinor’s Vice President of Operations, Sam Byrne.
The operation will be anchored by operations based in Brooklyn, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. The company’s Empire Wind farm will generate 2.1 gigawatts of electricity. New York State has declared that it wants 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.
Byrne described the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal now being erected. 
“We’ll be building a building, we’ll be building a substation,” said Byrne. “We need maintenance technicians, marine and vessel crews to get out there, planning teams, medics…”
 Once offshore wind starts spinning, its appeal will be clear. 
“The wind resource blows more strongly and more consistently offshore and it better matches electric consumption patterns than a lot of other renewable sources.”
Byrne also talks about why the U.S. has been slow to adopt offshore wind and why that is changing.
“We’re starting to see the acceleration now. Some of it has to do with support; some of it has to do with the technology that’s come into being; some of it has to do with just the need for electricity.”
Sam Byrne is in his first year with Equinor. His responsibilities include leading and overseeing Equinor’s US offshore wind operations and maintenance activities, while ensuring development and execution of safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations. 
Byrne worked previously Vestas Wind Systems and McKinsey & Co. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.A. in International Economics and International Relations with a concentration in Energy, Resources, and Environment from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded grants to two entities to enable a deeper dive into tidal energy generation. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Nate Johnson who is the Vice President of Development for ORPC. The Maine based firm will deploy two devices in Cook Inlet, Alaska to further study tidal generation.
“For decades folks have been trying to harness marine energy and I would say it’s still new because there’s only a handful of companies around the world that have achieved that and it’s a harsh environment, it’s complex,” said Johnson. 
The first phase of the study is being paid for with a $3 million DOE grant with a goal generating between one and five megawatts of power. 
“Alaska has an opportunity to produce way more than it needs and produce other forms of electricity, transportable electricity from tidal energies. In Cook Inlet alone in Alaska, we have the potential for 18 gigawatts.”
ORPC and the other grant recipient, a team led by Orcas Power and Light Cooperative in Washington, aim to raise the profile of potential tidal power. 
“A lot of folks aren’t aware that there are technologies out there than can produce electricity from tides or from rivers that aren’t dammed so we really focus on not only getting the device in the water but working with communities or customers to build awareness in different regions and try to grow that marketplace. That’s a big part of what we do.”
Nate Johnson leads ORPC’s development activities and the implementation of its innovative power systems in cost effective, environmentally responsible ways. A native of Long Island, Maine, Nate has a diverse background that includes renewable energy, commercial fishing, aquaculture, groundwater exploration and development, construction management and environmental engineering. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from Tufts University.

The grid is getting more complex, complicating the responsibilities of the entities responsible for keeping electricity flowing. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg interviews Clair Moeller who is the President and Chief Operating Officer for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).
The discussion focuses on the evolving power grid and the transition to clean energy.
 “Retirements are outpacing new installations of resources on the grid and that’s a problem that we haven’t had on the grid since its early formation period in the ‘30s,” Moeller said. “Things are moving in an uncoordinated fashion where we’re creating risk for the grid that we maybe didn’t anticipate.”
One of the risks is the need for more transmission to meet demand.
“By the time we’re all in, it will be over a hundred billion dollars’ worth of transmission investments.”
Spending for new generation and transmission will have an impact on consumers.
“Energy costs at the consumer level are going to go up substantially,” said Moeller.
Moeller also talks about the pace of the energy transition and the need for education. 
“We can reduce our carbon footprint faster if we build more gas-fired generation so that we can turn off coal plants. But that just doesn’t make sense to people that think we should turn off combustion because that’s how you reduce the carbon footprint,” he said.
Clair Moeller leads all aspects of the Operations division at MISO, including grid operations, forward markets, system planning, external affairs, information technology and corporate services. Moeller also has executive responsibility for the compliance and external affairs teams.
He is an industry expert with experience in the operation of power systems throughout the Midwest. He is skilled at identifying and implementing the best practices in transmission planning and system operations.
Moeller completed the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership course at Oxford Said Business School, the Executive Management program at the Carlson School of Business, University of Minnesota, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University. 

The federal government is poised to transform the United States' electric grid at an unprecedented, massive clip to fight climate change and embrace sustainability.
That’s according to Sasha Mackler, head of the Bipartisan Policy Center energy program who is the guest on the latest episode of Grid Talk. 
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act are really two major achievements from a federal policy perspective,” said Mackler. 
“They’re very focused on the developments and in particular the deployment of clean energy technologies across the American economy.”  
The result will unleash an enormous amount of new capital from the federal government into this energy transition and into energy modernization. 
“Dollars are being spent; small grants have gone out the door. Big grants and funding programs have been established and funding commitments have been made but the actual large dollars that are going to flow into the economy, those are still really getting setup because projects take time to sort of work through the commercial permitting phase, to get the consortiums together, to get the contracts in place so that they can actually get out into the market and attract the capital and start the construction.” 
Sasha Mackler has worked for more than two decades at the intersection of energy policy and commercial markets. Prior to leading the Energy Program, he spent nearly 10 years in the private sector, first as vice president of Summit Power Group’s carbon capture business and then overseeing market development activities for Enviva, the largest biomass fuel supplier to the global utility industry. His professional work has focused on the innovations necessary to scale emerging energy technologies along with developing the business models and policy frameworks that support the deployment of low carbon energy systems.
Mackler holds both a Master of Science in Earth Resources Engineering and Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Geomechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester.

Ontario Canada’s government is all in on nuclear technology as it stakes out a global leadership position in small modular reactors (SMRs). In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Todd Smith who is the Ontario Energy Minister.
Rapid population and economic growth, coupled with the province’s long reliance on nuclear technology, prompted its decision to pursue SMRs. 
“We felt very comfortable in moving forward with the technology we’d chosen which is a 300-megawatt boiling water reactor from GE Hitachi,” said Smith. “We’re partnering with U.S. Technologies on this and other U.S. and international partners to develop the first-of-the-kind SMR, small modular reactor, here in Ontario.”
“It’s baseload power, it’s there when you need it, it’s there and able to be relied on 365 days a year.”
The province expects to add five million residents over the next decade.
“That’s going to require a lot of electricity.” 
Todd Smith has been the Ontario Energy Minister since June of 2021. Smith has served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for more than a decade. He is a graduate of Loyalist College.

Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) could play an important role in meeting future energy needs. 
In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Sandra Dykxhoorn, the vice president of New Nuclear Growth at Ontario Power Generation (OPG), based in Toronto.
“It’s a game-changer,” said Dykxhoorn about SMRs. “We are really at the front of the pack here. OPG is recognized now globally as a world leader in its small modular deployment.”
SMRs will make their international debut in the free world in Ontario, Canada in five years.
“The reason why small modular reactors exist at all and why people are investing in this technology is because we know there is a need for smaller, clean base load power options that can replace gas and coal,” Dykxhoorn said. 
“Part of the solution with the small modular reactor is that it’s smaller so that should be quicker to build; doesn’t take as long,” she told Grid Talk. “Additionally, it’s more modular and more standardized. What we try to do is introduce factory buildout components.”
It will be safer than conventional nuclear plants around for decades. 
“Essentially what they’re trying to do is remove the humans that need to be involved in managing a nuclear reactor in the event that there’s an emergency or something happens. Ultimately, there’s something called passive safety.”
As the Vice President of New Nuclear Development for Ontario Power Generation, Sandra Dykxhoorn oversees the company’s long-term new nuclear growth strategy, building external relationships and creating a pipeline of opportunities. She has been with OPG since 2016
 
 She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Carleton and is a proud alumnus of the Laurentian Leadership Program in Ottawa and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Grenoble France.