Regulatory Affairs news highlights: November 2024

 

Recent regulatory headlines we’re tracking include:

U.S. Senate Energy Committee holds hearing on fusion energy

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on fusion energy technology development and commercialization efforts on Sept. 19. Sen. Joe Manchin, an Independent from West Virginia, opened the hearing and said that the U.S. is in a “global race” to develop fusion energy, and that it would be a “game changer” because it would be dispatchable power that is carbon free. However, he noted that fusion energy is not yet available at commercial scale, and China is working to develop this power (and the accompanying supply chain) as well.

The witnesses at the hearing included:

• Jean Paul Allain, associate director of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences at the Department of Energy (DOE). Allain discussed the DOE’s progress and goals related to fusion energy development, and strategic partnerships with the private sector and with the United Kingdom and Japan.
• Jackie Siebens, director of public affairs at Helion Energy and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, discussed how fusion power plants will need quick interconnection to the grid and that the interconnection permitting process should be streamlined. She also discussed the importance of building a resilient supply chain and stated that “fusion is ideally suited for collocated generation, where its firm, reliable power can be directly supplied to large energy consumers.”
• Patrick White, research director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, discussed the latest experimental fusion developments and the stages involved from scientific demonstration to commercial deployment. He noted that private companies are now playing a large role in fusion energy research and development.

The archived webcast of the hearing is available here.

 

FERC hosts annual Reliability Technical Conference

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held its annual 2024 Reliability Technical Conference on Oct. 16. The FERC Commissioners provided opening remarks, and FERC Chair Willie Phillips stressed that reliability is “job one” and noted key reliability challenges including extreme weather, the changing resource mix, and increased electricity demand. Commissioner Mark Christie stated that the U.S. is heading toward a “reliability crisis” due to “an unsustainable loss of dispatchable resources, an inability to build and bring online equivalent resources, and a huge increase in demand.”

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) President & CEO Jim Robb then provided remarks, noting that the trend lines for supply and demand are “moving in the wrong direction to sustain reliability.” He discussed risks associated with extreme weather, inverter-based resources, and the reliance on natural gas. In addition to discussing emerging risks, Robb highlighted that there is strong overall grid reliability, with a decline in equipment failures and the severity and duration of outages.

Robb then discussed the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise’s efforts to streamline the standards development process, modernize reliability assessments, and conduct outreach with policymakers on key reliability risks. He also advocated for a more risk-based oversight approach for low-risk Reliability Standard violations, and a more flexible approach to compliance monitoring and enforcement during the early stages of enforcement for “complex and novel” Reliability Standards.

Panel one of the conference, “Managing Reliability Risks and Challenges,” focused on the current state of reliability. During the panel, there was discussion on how markets can provide adequate cost recovery for reliability measures and how to keep conventional generation resources cost-effective so they can keep running. During Panel two, “Resource Adequacy and Expected Load Growth,” the speakers discussed rapid data center growth and the importance of collaboration between FERC, the ERO, and state policymakers on resource adequacy issues. An archived webcast of the conference is available here.