Meta & Google Invest $35M Each in Carbon Removal – A Game Changer for Climate Tech?

Discover innovations that could redefine the energy landscape as we explore the latest breakthroughs in carbon removal and nuclear technology. With Meta pledging $35 million towards carbon removal projects, aligned with the US Department of Energy's pioneering initiative, and Google securing a monumental 500-megawatt power deal from Kairos Power, the tech industry's commitment to sustainable initiatives is clear. You'll also hear about Amazon's strategic partnerships with X Energy and Dominion Energy, underscoring their venture into nuclear technology, which could reshape energy solutions for decades to come.

Uncover the remarkable advancements propelling the renewable energy sector forward, from Dongfang's colossal 26-megawatt offshore turbine to the surging sales of electric vehicles in the US. Learn about PG&E's innovative pilot program for bidirectional EV charging and California's ambitious demand-side grid support program, which is making strides in managing energy capacity efficiently. Whether it's through cutting-edge technology or strategic investments, these initiatives are setting the stage for a revolutionary era in energy production and consumption.

Transcript

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I've got your energy stories for this, the fourth week of October 2024, and in the first one, meta plans to invest up to $35 million in carbon removal projects over the next year. In response to the US DOE's Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchasing Challenge, which invites organizations to join the DOE in buying and retiring high-quality carbon dioxide removal credits buying and retiring high-quality carbon dioxide removal credits the DOE is also making a $35 million investment while recognizing other buyers and tracking voluntary carbon removal purchases. The goal is to catalyze the infant industry while improving transparency concerning carbon dioxide removal credits. Meta now joins Google as the second large data company committing to the program. Google is also on the hunt for more carbon-free power, signing a deal to buy 500 megawatts of energy from modular nuclear startup Kairos Power, with the first reactor to come online in 2030 and additional reactors to be added through 2035. Terms of the deal, including price, location and size and number of reactors, were not divulged. Amazon jumped into the Nuke game, too, with three related agreements. Last week, it inked the deal with utility consortium Energy Northwest to deploy four of X Energy's 80 megawatt reactors in the early 2030s. It also made an equity investment in Nuke startup X Energy as a portion of a $500 million X Energy fundraise. And finally it signed an MOU with Dominion Energy to explore innovative structures to help advance potential small modular reactor development in Virginia. Dominion recently put out an RFP for small modular reactors, so this deal should lend more weight to that process.

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While Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Dongfang just rolled out its first behemoth, 26 megawatt offshore turbine, the world's largest by far, capable of generating 100 gigawatt hours annually. The machine boasts typhoon and corrosion resistant technologies. Earlier this year, dongfang installed its first-megawatt turbine, while competitor Mingyang deployed a 20-megawatt offshore machine. The Western companies Vestas, siemens and GE Vernova appear to be content sitting in the 14 to 15-megawatt range at present, as they've run into technical hardships and more challenging project economics when they began pushing the envelope, perhaps a bit too quickly. Kelley Blue Book estimates Q3 US EV sales grew by 11% year over year, notching record highs for both volume and market share. Nearly 350,000 EVs were sold in the quarter, up 5% from Q2 and representing 8.9% of all passenger vehicles sold. Elevated incentives and discounts help drive the push, with incentives representing over 12% of the average transaction price, versus the industry-wide average of around 7%.

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California utility PG&E is advancing a pilot program for bidirectional EV charging as well as managed charging, and it's meant to demonstrate how improved distribution circuit utilization can reduce the need for distribution infrastructure upgrades and keep costs down. Residential and commercial customers can earn compensation for participating in bidirectional electric vehicle charging, also known as vehicle-to-grid V2G or vehicle-to-everything V2X. This program is part of California's goal of achieving 7,000 megawatts of flexible demand by 2030. To participate, residential customers today have to have a Ford F-150 Lightning truck, which can only be used for managing charging and home backup power rather than energy export. Three electric school bus models are eligible for full bidirectional mode if they have the right chargers, and customers must sign an agreement that will share customer vehicle and charger data with PG&E.

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Pg&e hopes to enroll 1,000 residential customers and 250 commercial customers in the initial program. And finally, the California Energy Commission announced that its demand-side grid support program, unveiled in August of 2022, now manages 515 megawatts of capacity furnished by 265,000 participants. The DSGS program pays customers not to use power when supply is limited and also includes a 200-megawatt virtual power plant network of customer-cited batteries and solar arrays that can export power back to the grid. This year, the VPP has been activated 16 times. Well, that's all for this week. Thanks for watching and we'll see you again next week.