Going underground

Good morning. And welcome to a brand new era for Energy Central. Today, we’re excited to launch the Energy Central Newsletter—chock full of the most important stories in power, plus what the brightest minds are saying about them.

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— Reagin von Lehe, Energy Central Newsletter Writer

Utilities Take Power Lines Underground

Why would a utility go through the trouble—logistically and financially—to move power lines underground? Based on what we’ve been seeing here at Energy Central, there’s a big factor pushing the trend: extreme weather risk.

Let’s roll the tape on this week’s headlines →

Duke Energy Florida is planning for future hurricane seasons. Last week, Duke gave locals an update on its new Storm Protection Plan. The highlight? About 26,000 additional Duke customers in St. Petersburg, Florida, will receive electricity from underground lines by 2027.

At Duke, the strategy for mitigating extreme weather risk has centered on laterals, the small lines that connect to residences (also the most at-risk for extreme weather, like Hurricane Helene expected to make landfall in Florida tonight).

Pacific Gas & Electric doesn’t want to repeat past fire seasons. PG&E has been busy burying power lines in Napa County, California. The utility plans to underground 93 miles of electrical lines (and install 116 miles of poles) in the Napa area by the end of 2026.

• The why: In September 2020, the 67,484-acre Glass Fire destroyed 1,555 structures, including 308 Napa County homes.

• Investigators ruled out PG&E power equipment as the fire’s cause, but the utility is still focused on efforts like burying lines to mitigate fire risk and prevent outages.

Dominion Energy is hoping for a win-win. The utility is spearheading a transition to underground power lines in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. The goal? 

• Improve local aesthetics: Residents are petitioning Dominion to bury lines, fearing the alternative—Dominion’s plans to remove some 500 palmetto trees that are too close to power lines.

• Improve weather preparedness: Hurricane season comes every year, after all.

Big picture: Burying power lines isn’t necessarily a cure-all for utilities’ biggest woes. Underground systems are still susceptible to floodwaters and storm surges, and bringing overhead power underground is costly and labor-intensive. But? Underground infrastructure is more environmentally resilient. And in the middle of a stronger-than-usual hurricane season, that’s a priority for utilities.

New Battery Tech Could Transform Storage

A research team at Georgia Tech has developed a new, low-cost cathode (a critical element of lithium-ion batteries) that could transform EVs and large-scale energy storage systems.

Important context: Most cathode materials used today are made of liquids that limit battery capacity and efficiency—they can even leak and catch fire. The new solid material (iron chloride) can store the same amount of electricity and only costs 1–2% of typical cathode materials.

How does it work? Today’s lithium-ion batteries require semi-precious materials such as cobalt and nickel, which hike up the price of the finished product.

• The Georgia Tech team’s cathode instead requires chloride and iron, both of which are abundant and affordable.

• Iron chloride has a higher voltage than older cathode materials, which could contribute to more storage once deployed in batteries.

Zoom out: Creating a battery with more readily available materials could mitigate supply chain shortages and help solve critical labor issues. Plus, scientists think the new tech could do more than make EVs cheaper—it could enhance resilience across the electrical grid with a new approach to large-scale energy storage.

Looking ahead: The technology is about five years away from commercial production in EVs. Then, the new cathode material could make entire battery systems that cost only 30–40% of the price of current lithium-ion batteries.

CA Groups Target Hydrogen Project

Environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are suing a Northern California port in a bid to block development of a hydrogen generation, compression, and storage facility. Their concern? The planned BayoTech BayoGaaS Hydrogen Hub will diminish already poor local air quality.

Big picture: Hydrogen is widely considered a clean energy source—burning it doesn’t produce CO₂. But the full environmental impact of hydrogen depends largely on how it’s produced.

• BayoTech plans to extract hydrogen from methane, which traps more heat in the atmosphere per molecule than CO₂…making it more environmentally harmful than other hydrogen production methods like biomass-derived liquid reforming or electrolysis.

• But it’s worth noting: Every common form of hydrogen production has emissions risks.

Want to go deeper on the possibility of green hydrogen? Bookmark this Energy Central piece from hydrogen advisor Charley Rattan on the business possibilities.

This Week on Power Perspectives

Did you know: EV fires burn hotter and longer than traditional car fires.

As more EVs hit the road, that means first responders need specialized knowledge and approaches to keep everyone safe. In this episode of Energy Central’s Power Perspectives, David Cleveland, VP of marketing, member services, and governmental affairs at Jackson EMC, explains what it takes to train local first responders to safely manage EV-related incidents—and how utilities can ensure community safety in the age of electrification.

The Energy Central Wire

The best of the rest in energy headlines

• PJM’s new approach to measuring power plant availability reportedly increased capacity costs by $4.4 billion.

• Texas utilities are shutting off customer ACs to save power during energy emergencies.

• The US Climate Alliance launches an initiative to get 1 million people to complete low-carbon and green energy apprenticeships by 2035.

• Seven swing states considered crucial to the upcoming election have received nearly half of the funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, per a recent analysis.

• NYC is building a 12-MW microgrid at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s New Terminal One—the biggest solar canopy biggest at any US airport.

Thank you for reading the first edition of our new Energy Central Newsletter. Want to know what we thought about Fed rate cuts, Three Mile Island reopening, and more?

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