Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Jigar Shah Profile picture
Jigar Shah
@JigarShahDC
husband, dad, serial entrepreneur, podcaster, achieving energy abundance by deploying at scale. It's simple, not easy.
4 subscribers
Jun 17 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
The vast majority of rate increases comes from the dramatic overbuilding of Distribution grids. Most are built to old norms to meet peak demand for 50 hours a year. Using Virtual Power Plants, batteries, grid enhancing technologies are 90% cheaper. This is the moment for the VPP industry to lead. With 150 GW of new load expected in the next five years, the grid needs scalable, clean, and flexible capacity fast. Virtual power plants (VPPs) must be positioned as core infrastructure along side expensive new NG
May 30, 2024 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Such a great summit at the @WhiteHouse yesterday.
As we celebrate Vogtle Units 3&4 coming online it is important to take stock on our existing nuclear fleet.

Many existing nuclear sites have room for more large reactors, e.g., the Harris Nuclear Plant in North Carolina was designed for four reactors, but currently only has one. Across the US, 19 sites have only one reactor, 31 have two reactors, 3 have three reactors, and only Vogtle (1) has four reactors, so we have room to add more reactors at existing #nuclear sites.

12 operating nuclear sites and one decommissioned nuclear site are located within these eligible jurisdictions and are likely to be eligible for the ITC energy communities bonus
May 18, 2024 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
I like this episode but ⁦@EmilyRPeck⁩ and ⁦@felixsalmon⁩ really lost the narrative on this one. I think there is a mistaken notion that $10k EVs and low cost #solar is a Chinese phenomenon. It is not, it is technical innovation from the USA. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sla… The cost of #solar came down because innovation brought conversion efficiency from 12% to over 21% today. Manufacturing and automation was largely invented by German and American companies in 2005-2010. China scaled it up and brought down costs faster.
May 1, 2024 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
When you look at dynamic line rating, advanced power flow control, reconductoring and advanced transformers they are not at early stages from a technical standpoint – exactly the opposite. They are technically more mature, but deployment has been lagging in the U.S.

Time to get more out of the grid we have already paid for! Many of these solutions are already broadly deployed overseas – including in Europe, parts of Asia, Australia. The US needs to catch up – this will take utilities, regulators, and policymakers prioritizing these solutions.

And many of these solutions were developed in the US. The DOE made important early investments into the R&D of DLR decades ago. It’s time for deployment in the US to catch up.
Apr 16, 2024 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
DOE just released our new Innovative Grid Deployment Liftoff report today – finding we can increase our grid’s capacity to support well above the 2.5% annual growth in the next few years with commercially available advanced grid solutions like #advancedconductors #GETs #VPPs #storage 🧵
liftoff.energy.gov/innovative-gri… This report covers twenty technologies across the transmission and distribution system. There’s a solution for energy challenge here – no excuses not to start looking at how to #deploydeploydeploy today. Image
Apr 11, 2024 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
We have the tools to use what we have paid for more efficiently. The key is reliably shaving peaks. We have 30 years of pilots in #VirtualPowerPlants and #GridModernization. It is time to choose a path that is 90% cheaper than business-as-usual. We have 2.6TW of projects sitting in transmission queues (14% are pretty solid projects). For about $10B of investment we can unlock 30% more capacity from the existing grid to unlock 300GW+ projects quickly. These GETs/conductor/flexibility investments can help reduce overall system costs for ratepayers + improve grid outcomes if they’re pursued, and they can be paid for w/new cost allocation or financing mechanisms. Should not just accept the norm that all grid investment costs are socialized.
Mar 2, 2024 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
We have returned to load growth. Today, we have the lowest asset utilization of the assets we have already paid for. Why? Because the entire system is built for the peak demand. Loads that increase that peak are expensive, loads that are flexible are less expensive
Image Right now, NG combined cycle gas turbines/peakers are the "easy" button for utilities. Why? Because you can build them quickly and you can place them in poor neighborhoods on distribution grids -- terrible for #Justice. There are better ways to enhance our existing system...
Aug 10, 2023 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Great conversation as usual. My stance on all technologies (incl #nuclear) is that I am optimistic and recognize that we need at least 15-20 of them to get down the cost curve to reliably meet our decarbonization curve while meeting resiliency, labor, community and other goals. Today we have over $15b of loan requests in the Loan Programs Office. So as a result we have down some substantial digging on it would take for the industry to succeed. Part of that was self-confidence and investor interest so we have tried to generate that.
Jun 30, 2023 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Great article — you are only 31 years old?!? Amazing!

We are on track to putting in place 30 GW of new #solar this year

https://t.co/OFaMpIDM50eia.gov/todayinenergy/…
“In 2022, solar photovoltaics made up 4.7% of U.S. electricity generation”

Right now we are on track to building ~30GW per year of #solar. So Solar goes up by about 1% every year - amazing! Rooftop solar could accelerate things, but development…

pv-magazine-usa.com/2023/02/27/sol…
Jun 21, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Tesla operates this company as a small pilot to improve their product. Their main business is to use this data for markets that are unlocking this feature at scale like CA and PR. Their expertise and continuous improvement of the software is the goal for thousands of Powerwalls. #PuertoRico has over 75,000 Powerwalls deployed that can provide 300MWs if properly compensated. As a comparison the entire island has less than 100MWs of reserves today. The market has been installing 3,500 systems per month.
Jun 11, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
In 1939, the United States had the 19th best military in the World. We moved to number 18 when Holland fell to Germany. America learned how to do big things in a very short period of time. We are doing/building big things again. newrepublic.com/article/135684… Construction spending by US manufacturers more than doubled over the past year. For April 2023, the annual rate reached nearly $190 billion compared with $90 billion in June 2022, with manufacturing accounting for around 13% of non-government construction. businessinsider.com/us-building-fa…
May 3, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
BREAKING: Amazing new report by @TheBrattleGroup (backed by @Google). VPP's can provide resource adequacy that is ~50% of the cost of the alternative options; 60 GW of #VirtualPowerPlant deployment at $15–$35 billion less than the cost of the alternative
prnewswire.com/news-releases/… Image "Over the past decade, the U.S. added over 100 GW of new capacity intended largely to maintain resource adequacy. This amounted to over $120 billion of capital investment, primarily in gas fired generators and lithium ion batteries."
Apr 30, 2023 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
This was an amazing podcast (as usual from @drvolts). Thanks for the shout-out to LPO and the other great programs here. A few thoughts as we get more intentional about savings money for LMI consumers -- reducing energy burden. The data that Vero talked about is summarized here. We have long known that LMI customers repay energy related loans at a much higher rate then other loans that they take out. But lenders still charge 30% interest for appliances, other loans. emp.lbl.gov/publications/l…
Apr 1, 2023 • 10 tweets • 8 min read
What an amazing few weeks for #Nuclear Power. First, DOE launched the #NuclearLiftoff Report. Sober, well reviewed and realistic: liftoff.energy.gov/wp-content/upl… The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear report found that the U.S. will need between 550-770 GW of additional clean, firm power to complement the deployment of variable renewables in order reach net-zero by 2050.