Power Wars, EV Revolution & Texas Nuclear Boom!

A high-stakes power struggle is unfolding at the US-Canadian border as Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to "shut electricity off completely" to Michigan, New York, and Minnesota in response to Trump administration tariffs. This 25% retaliatory tariff represents approximately $7 USD per megawatt-hour, potentially creating significant economic inefficiencies for consumers on both sides of the border.

The western power market landscape is shifting dramatically with Bonneville Power Administration's draft decision to join Southwest Power Pool's Markets Plus platform instead of California ISO's competing market. Despite potentially greater financial benefits from the California option, BPA cited concerns about governance, resource adequacy, and carbon accounting. With BPA controlling 22.4 gigawatts of hydroelectric power and thousands of transmission miles, this decision signals a significant realignment in western energy markets.

Vehicle-to-grid technology is advancing rapidly, with Kia taking pre-orders for its Quasar 2 home charger and accompanying hardware to enable bidirectional charging from its EV9 electric SUV. The $6,440 system will allow owners to use their vehicles for home backup power and grid services. Meanwhile, Nuvi secured a $400 million contract from New Mexico to electrify state vehicle fleets and build vehicle-to-grid infrastructure. In Texas, ambitious plans for 30 micro-nuclear reactors near Dallas aim to power the region's booming data center industry, though regulatory hurdles and public opposition remain significant barriers. The Lone Star State is also grappling with unusually low wind speeds, which have decreased wind generation by 18% compared to last year, forcing record fossil fuel use at a time when spring maintenance would normally occur. What does this mean for grid reliability as we head into summer?

Chapters

• 0:00 US-Canada Power Tariff War
• 1:04 Western Power Market Reshuffling
• 2:15 EV Bidirectional Charging Advances
• 3:32 Utah's Solar Socket Legislation
• 3:58 Texas Nuclear Ambitions for Data Centers
• 4:55 Texas Wind Shortage Impacts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I've got your energy stories for this the second week of March 2025. And for the first one, let's file it under the. What did you think would happen After the Trump administration slapped tariffs on imports from Canada, including a 10% levy on power? Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would impose 25% tariffs on power flowing to Michigan, new York and Minnesota. Ford also warned quote I will not hesitate to increase this charge. If Ford also warned quote I will not hesitate to increase this charge. If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely. Per Bloomberg, the tariff will come in at $10 Canadian or roughly US $7 per megawatt hour In 2023,. New York imported 4.4% of its total juice from Canada, while Michigan and Minnesota imported about 0.5%. Tariff wars create enormous economic inefficiencies and they raise prices for all affected parties. They can sometimes help stimulate domestic production, but often the eye-for-an-eye approach just leaves us all blind or at least visually impaired.

Speaker 1: 1:04

The Bonneville Power Administration, bpa, announced a draft plan to join the Southwest Power Pool's Markets Plus real-time and day-ahead market instead of the competing extended day-ahead market EDAM being launched by the California Independent System Operator. Bpa said that, although Kaiso's EDAM may offer greater financial benefits, the SPP market more closely aligns with BPA. With respect to issues related to governance, bpa objected to Kaiso operating the system, as well as resource adequacy, carbon accounting and other issues. Bonneville plans on a final decision in May. The result will be two overlapping and intertwined Western dayhead power markets. Overlapping and intertwined western dayhead power markets. Bpa is no small player with 22.4 gigawatts of energy coming from federal dams and thousands of miles of high voltage lines over which it delivers power largely to municipal utilities, public power districts and co-ops.

Speaker 1: 1:59

Well Key is moving towards greater V2X capabilities, saying it was taking pre-orders for the wall box Quasar 2 home charger and accompanying hardware to accommodate bi-directional charging from its 76 kilowatt hour EV9 electric SUV. The combined vehicle and charger system will enable both home backup power supply as well as vehicle to grid functionality. The charging equipment, including the Quasar 2 charger and a power recovery unit grid disconnect switch, will sell for $6,440. Pre-order is limited to residents of California, florida, illinois, new Jersey, new York, texas and Washington, with a later nationwide expansion planned, also in vehicle-to-grid. Nuvi was recently awarded a contract from the state of New Mexico for up to $400 million over the next four years to deliver a comprehensive turnkey electrification solution to support New Mexico's zero-emission vehicle adoption and renewable energy goals. The contract includes $150 million to support electrification of New Mexico's planned school bus fleet of 2,000-plus buses, as well as $250 million to support the electrification of New Mexico's 3,500 transit and state-owned vehicles. Key charging solutions, vehicle-to-grid and microgrid development, development of highway charging corridors, specification of state vehicle purchases and creation of as many as two dozen vehicle-to-grid hubs. Utah just passed legislation on a unanimous vote in both the House and the Senate to allow 1.2 kilowatt or smaller portable solar devices to be plugged directly into standard 120-volt wall sockets without requiring any interconnection requests to the utility. Solar assets must be compliant with the National Electrical Code and Underwriters Labs certification standards.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Now let's move to Texas. Modular nuclear reactor startup Last Energy announced plans to build 30 micro-reactors in Texas, near the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is rapidly becoming ground zero for projected data centers in the state. Texas already hosts over 340 data centers, with more on the way from the likes of Google and OpenAI's Stargate. Numerous modular nuclear reactor companies have announced big plans to serve the data community, but until we see some real progress, such as Nuclear Regulatory Commission design approval and the construction of the factories that will make these machines, it's pretty much talk, with lots that could go wrong in the meantime.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Then there are the issues related to siting, security of nuclear materials and waste.

Speaker 1: 4:43

If you think building transmission lines or wind farms brings up the NIMBYs, you can probably expect the opposition to go nuclear over these facilities, especially in some parts of the country that are more densely populated. And finally, reuters reports that a lengthy period of low wind speeds in Texas, combined with strong demand, has resulted in record high output from fossil fleets thus far this year. As a result, some fossil generators may shorten or delay planned maintenance outage breaks this spring during the shoulder demand period. Wood operator ERCOT stated that approximately 17 percent of the approximate 85,000 megawatts of thermal capacity was scheduled for maintenance in March, but low wind turbine output, which is usually quite robust in the winter, is largely keeping this from happening. Affected by low wind speeds, february wind turbine output fell 18% below last year's levels, with wind energy representing 26% of ERCOT's generation last month, versus a 36 percent share the previous year. This could represent a critical challenge coming into the warmer weather ahead. Well, that's all for this week. Thanks for watching and we'll see you again soon.