As a summer of historic high temperatures draws to a scorching close, we look back on the past month and ways competitive power suppliers continued striving for excellence in innovation, power system reliability, cost savings, and developing sustainable energy solutions for a healthier planet. Read on for details on CPV opening a new power plant that is both reliable and cleaner, NRG’s Reliant Energy giving back to its community, LS Power’s CPower leading the market in virtual power plants, and more.
bp Invests in America
bp released its latest U.S. Impact Report, “Investing in America,” highlighting more than $145 billion in U.S. investments since 2005 and more than 275,000 jobs, contributing more than $70 billion to the nation’s economy. The company operates 9 onshore wind assets across six states and 16 solar projects in eight states, in addition to developing offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage technology.
Lightsource bp Recognized for Sustainable Leadership
bp’s Lightsource bp was recognized by the Global Electronics Council for “leadership in sustainable procurement” as the company works to build its solar profile. Lightsource says it has “procured or placed orders for a total of more than 9 gigawatts of EPEAT registered modules” which amounts to “about 20 million solar panels!” This is the second year in a row that Lightsource bp has been recognized by the Global Electronics Council.
Credit: Lightsource bp
Vistra Corp. Helps Keep Texas A/C Running
EPSA member companies all play an influential role in providing reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective power generation to customers nationwide. Like much of the nation, Texas faced inordinately hot temperatures this summer. RTO Insider highlighted Vistra Corp.’s part in helping ERCOT through some of the hottest days, providing reliable generation to meet record-setting demand. Vistra President and CEO Jim Burke told analysts on a quarterly conference call, “The units are running hard. There’s no end in sight for this heat that we’re in. The team is doing a terrific job keeping these units online, and I would say overall, the ERCOT grid and the operators have done a nice job keeping the grid supplied. It’s a daily focus for us.”
CPV Invests in Decarbonization Goals While Providing Dispatchable Power
Competitive Power Ventures’ Three Rivers plant entered commercial operation. Located in Grundy County, IL, this plant will use combined-cycle electric generation to bring 1.2 gigawatts of dispatchable power to Illinois while simultaneously helping lower emissions.
In other news, CPV raised $370 million in credit facilities in support of its renewables development pipeline. These credit facilities will support CPV Maple Hill Solar, CPV Backbone Solar, and CPV Stagecoach Solar, three of CPV’s major utility-scale solar projects. Paul Buckovich, CPV’s Chief Financial Officer, described this move as representative of “CPV’s first financing of a portfolio of construction projects and establishes a framework arrangement intended to serve as the basis for potential future renewable development project financings as the projects approach the financing stage […] This arrangement improves the efficiency of our financing efforts and enhances our capital sourcing in support of our next wave of renewable and low carbon projects that will help drive us towards our decarbonization goals.”
NRG’s Reliant Continues to Give Back
NRG Energy subsidiary Reliant was involved in a number of local community efforts through August, including providing over 100 backpacks to the Houston, TX Sunnyside Community Center’s Back to School Bash in partnership with the Houston Rockets. Reliant also worked with the Houston branch of Habitat for Humanity to help a Houston family receive a new home, which was finished early in August.
LS Power’s CPower Leads the VPP Market
LS Power’s CPower Energy invests in virtual power plants (VPPs) to empower grid reliability and support emissions targets while keeping power cost-effective.
According to Utility Dive, CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza explained virtual power plants this way: “In the heat of the summer, when you’re running your generation at full bore, you can hit a button and send a signal to larger loads and create 200, 300, 500 MW of virtual capacity.”
In March of this year, CPower was recognized as a leader in the VPP Market. CPower President and CEO John Horton said, “As the proliferation of grid-interactive technologies grows, so does the potential for CPower to enable the grid to utilize DERs to address a growing range of grid needs more efficiently.”
Calpine Reiterates Priorities in 2022 ESG Report
Calpine released its 2022 ESG report, showing continued efforts to bring cleaner, more reliable, and cost-effective power to its customers, as well as giving back to the community and promoting a healthy work environment for all its employees.
In the report, Calpine reiterated its mission and core values, which include caring for the environment while providing reliable power. Calpine President Thad Hill stated, “Since our founding, Calpine has been a leader in environmental stewardship. As the world moves toward decarbonization and electrification, Calpine’s natural gas and geothermal power plants, as well as our retail platforms, will continue to play a critical role in supporting grid reliability, providing lower-carbon power and meeting our customers’ needs.”
