Weather Guard Lightning Tech

Allen discusses NextEra Energy’s growth potential amid the new tax bill, Equinor’s financial setback in US offshore wind projects, and Statkraft’s strategic shift due to falling electricity prices. Additional highlights include Wisconsin’s approval of its first long-duration energy storage project, Jupiter Bach’s facility expansion in Florida, and record electricity prices in the US power auction.

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

US Renewable Energy Leader NextEra Energy says Trump’s new tax bill will help the company grow despite concerns about renewable energy credits.

The Florida energy giant told investors it can protect most of its wind and solar projects from losing tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

NextEra President John Ketchum says the company is already building so many projects that it can lock in tax benefits through twenty twenty nine.

Ketchum believes smaller energy companies will struggle to meet the new deadline of July fourth twenty twenty six.

That will likely mean less competition and more business for NextEra.

Of course, Wall Street analysts are skeptical. Analysts from Jefferies wrote there is a clear long-term challenge ahead for the company.

NextEra has signed contracts for three point two gigawatts of new projects since April. And the company is also exploring nuclear energy and small modular reactors.

Norwegian energy company Equinor is taking a nearly one billion dollar loss on its US offshore wind projects.

The company reported a nine hundred fifty five million dollar impairment in the second quarter. Most of that money is linked to the Empire Wind project off New York and a marine terminal in Brooklyn.

Equinor says regulatory changes in the United States have reduced future profits and increased costs for offshore wind projects.

Despite the financial hit, Equinor says it is moving forward with Empire Wind One. The company also completed financing for two offshore wind projects in Poland.

The company says it remains committed to growing its renewable energy business.

Wisconsin regulators have approved the first long-duration energy storage project of its kind in the United States.

Alliant Energy will build the Columbia Energy Storage Project using a new carbon dioxide battery system designed by Energy Dome.

The project will provide enough electricity to power eighteen thousand Wisconsin homes for ten hours on a single charge.

Raja Sundararajan from Alliant Energy says the project will strengthen the power grid and help meet growing energy needs.

The Energy Dome system works by converting carbon dioxide gas into compressed liquid for storage. When electricity is needed, the liquid turns back to gas and powers a turbine. Currently Energy Dome has a system running in Italy.

Construction in Wisconsin will begin in twenty twenty six and the project should be completed by the end of twenty twenty seven.

The storage system is part of Alliant Energy’s long-term plan to expand power generation with a balanced mix of energy sources.

Norwegian energy company Statkraft took a three billion dollar hit on its wind power projects due to falling electricity prices.

The company reported strong power generation in the second quarter but said lower prices in northern Norway and Sweden hurt profits.

Statkraft President Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal says the company is refocusing its strategy after a period of high energy prices following the Russian war in Ukraine.

The company is streamlining operations and focusing on fewer technologies and markets. Statkraft has stopped new development of green hydrogen projects and most offshore wind activities.

The changes will include job cuts as the company aims to reduce costs by two point nine billion dollars annually by twenty twenty seven.

Statkraft plans to invest sixteen to twenty billion dollars per year in hydropower upgrades in Norway and new onshore wind projects in Norway and Sweden.

And Jupiter Bach is investing more than four million dollars to expand its wind turbine manufacturing facility.

Jupiter Bach is spending funds on a twenty thousand square foot expansion of its manufacturing plant.

The new facility will include production systems designed to reduce waste and improve efficiency. The company is also adding point-of-use warehousing to organize materials more effectively.

Jupiter Bach has built more than seventy thousand wind turbines worldwide. The company says the expansion will help set industry standards for lowering wind power costs.

Originally scheduled to open a few months ago it appears the new facility is set to open at the end of the month — congrats to everyone at Jupiter Bach.

Electricity prices in the biggest US power auction jumped twenty two percent to record highs as demand continues to outstrip supply.

The PJM Interconnection auction cleared at three hundred twenty nine dollars and seventeen cents per megawatt day. That is the highest price ever recorded in the auction.

PJM operates the largest power grid in North America, covering thirteen states and the District of Columbia. The network includes one in five Americans and Virginia’s data center alley.

The surge in electricity demand is driven by big tech companies building data centers. This has created a supply shortage that is driving up prices.

Power company stocks rose on the news. Talen Energy shares jumped more than nine percent. Constellation Energy rose over five percent.

The auction results will affect electricity bills starting next summer. PJM says home and business bills will rise one point five to five percent.

Environmental groups criticized the results, saying PJM has failed to quickly connect new renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

That’s this week’s top stories.

Stay tuned to the uptime wind energy podcast tomorrow.