A fire broke out at the Moss Landing Power Plant, not too far from San Francisco, on January 16, 2025, prompting the evacuation of approximately 1,500 residents and the temporary closure of Highway 1. No one was harmed in the incident. Given the massive growth in grid storage battery systems, is this something everyone should be worried about, and is it likely to recur? No and no.
The newest and most powerful nuclear reactor in Europe that was delivered more than a decade late and nearly four times over budget is also proving to be a headache for grid operators now that it is finally up and running.
On Sunday, the 1,600 megawatt Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor tripped again, the latest in a series of faults and outages that have plagued the new facility and caused the market to reach out for back-up power to fill the gap.
Across all years and models, outside of big recalls, only 2.5% have been replaced. This increase from last year is entirely due to older cars. For cars older than 2015, replacement rates are 13%, but under 1% for cars from 2016 and newer.
Ultimately, California will have to determine whether another five years of Diablo Canyon operations is a cost-effective solution to evolving reliability needs. The plant isn’t nimble enough to respond to the rapid ramping up and down requirements caused by the massive growth in solar generation. Like a light switch, it’s either on or off. And it’s designed to operate 90% of the time — 7,884 hours a year.
Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer founded in 2017 by former Tesla supply chain leader Peter Carlsson, has been considering building a factory in North America for some time. Now, according to a report by The National News, the company has selected a site in Saint Basile le Grand, a community located about 25 kilometers east of Montreal, for the site of its first battery factory outside of Europe.
Volkswagen has unveiled further details about its battery factory in St Thomas, Canada. It will be PowerCo’s largest cell factory to date, create 3,000 jobs, and produce up to 90 GWh of battery cells per year.
2023 © Wind-Works by Paul Gipe