This article discusses how demand is reduced when necessary and how new sources of supply are being used to limit the times demand must be reduced.

The grid operator in New York State is an Independent System Operator named New York ISO. Its homepage is nyiso.com

Voluntary curtailments

The New York ISO warning system has four color-coded levels. The statement about curtailment requests from the general public all end with the statement “if safe to do so.” None are mandatory.

Contract Demand Response

Some large customers have signed contracts saying they will reduce their load for a few hours when requested to do so by New York ISO. These programs are common across the country. Participants are rewarded with cash payments or other compensation. Many factories, office buildings, and shopping malls have ways to draw less power for a few hours and their business functions are not interrupted. Typically the contract says an individual customer will only be asked to curtail demand once per year.

Supply and Demand on July 2, 2026

New York ISO has a dashboard where you can see the fuel mix of the electricity flowing through the grid.

The following charts show all fuels, fossil fuels alone, nuclear alone, hydro alone, and wind plus other together.

Demand

The late afternoon period with demand above 30,000 MW on July 3, 2026, is predicted to be 2 pm to 7 pm. July 2 was similar.

Supply

The chart for supply shows seven categories. The time period on the X-axis is the 24 hours of July 2 and the morning hours of July 3. Thousands of MW are shown on the Y-axis.

The Northeast has a power plant type that is not common elsewhere, Dual Fuel. The two fuels are typically fuel oil and natural gas. New York ISO measures the input MW to its grid but does not have knowledge of the fuel by dual-fuel plants.

The category Other Fossil Fuels includes coal.

Wind has its own category but Solar does not. Solar is inside the Other category.

All fuels

The all-fuels chart shows each fuel individually. The total is not shown. During the 2 pm to 7 pm peak all fuels but nuclear are making a higher contribution than at other hours.

Wind and Solar alone

The contribution of wind and solar are dependent on the weather but on July 2 their contribution during the peak 2 pm to 7 pm period was about 2,000 MW the entire time, or about 7% of the total MW handled by New York ISO.

During the peak 5 hours, wind and solar took 2 MW of load off the other sources, saving energy and reducing risk of a shortfall on the grid. Summer days are long in New York City,with sunrise at 5:30 am and sundown at 8:30 pm.

July 2 in ERCOT, for comparison

Other grids have far more solar and wind resources available, ERCOT in Texas for example.

On July 2, 2026 in ERCOT the combined power in MW was between 15,000 MW and 40,000 MW. Their contribution was between 26% and 48% all 24 hours.

Conclusion

Solar and wind are criticized as not dispatchable and not making a contribution on cold winter mornings. Those characteristics are both true.

Solar-sourced energy is most available on summer afternoons, coinciding with peak demand on summer days.

Wind-sourced energy is most available at night, and more during the spring and fall.

When New York ISO added solar and wind the number of sources available to the grid operators went up from five to seven. In any time of shortages in delivered fuels the solar and wind resources add two more incoming energy streams in solar photons and the kinetic energy of the wind.

Solar- and wind-sourced electricity are tools for reducing risks and saving fuel.

Tag: Emergencies

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Have you heard of the American Council on Renewable Energy? I had not. This is a group energy engineers should at least be aware of and perhaps follow closely. You may be an employee of a member organization.

ACORE members are corporations who have an interest in energy that arrives on its own with no infrastructure failure points like we are seeing today, even in a time of abundant supply. Many are Fortune 500 companies.

In 2018 they issued a paper pointing out the national security benefits of energy that arrives on its own. This group came to my attention when I was looking for an explanation of the national security benefits of fuel-free solar and wind energy.

Below is a link to the organization’s website, the paper on national security, and the list of member organizations.

ACORE website

2018 Issue Brief on National Security

ACORE member organizations

Webinars page

The next free webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 15, 2026. The topic is energy supply for New England. Renewables were criticized as worthless during winter storm Fern earlier this year. This webinar will explore the benefits of renewables in New England’s energy supply.

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I wondered about worldwide gasoline prices as the supply chain is being disrupted. I found this website. Below is the URL and images of its table today.

For comparison to electricity, for a mid-size sedan this table applies

15 cents per kWh is equivalent to $1.30 per gallon

30 cents per kWh is equivalent to $2.60 per gallon

45 cents per kWh is equivalent to $3.90 per gallon

For most countries the cost per US gallon is above $4 per gallon. At my house in Texas the cost per kWh is about 15 cents so I could charge a car at the equivalent of $1.30 per gallon.

To do a thorough comparison the issue of road use taxes must be considered. For gasoline cars the road use taxes are collected on a per-gallon basis at the pump. For EVs the road use taxes are generally collected with the annual car registration fee.

Petrol prices website

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Image: Grok

Solar panels are manufactured in the US by several companies. Project developers need to know the names of the manufacturers. Here are three articles naming names.

1. T1 Energy

2. Tesla

3. Ten American manufacturers

I welcome your comments. Send them directly to my email inbox using:

Reader-Line@richardrusk.com

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1. How T1 Energy is ramping up multi gigawatt U.S. solar manufacturing

Source: PV Magazine website

T1 Energy is executing a plan to manufacture solar panels in the United States. This article explains T1’s accomplishments so far and the challenges to bringing all steps to the US.

The factory named G1 produces solar panels and is up and running. G2 produces components used at G1.

Link: T1 article, PV Magazine

Quote:

CEO Daniel Barcelo was interviewed in this article. Here is a quote from him.

“It’s the winning combination of our people and our product. In roughly one year, the T1 operations team took G1 from initial production to maximum daily run rates above nameplate capacity. And we saw record sales and delivery of merchant volumes to major new customers who are very interested in high-efficiency, low-cost modules built in the U.S.”

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2. Tesla Advances 100GW Solar Goal with Texas Factory

Source: PVTIME website

Tesla’s energy division has an existing factory in Buffalo, NY and is building a second factory in Brookshire, Texas, near Houston.

Link: Tesla artice, PVTIME

Quote:

“A key milestone was reached on 31 March, when China’s Ministry of Commerce officially approved the export of HJT turnkey lines and screen printing equipment to Tesla and SpaceX by Maxwell. This aligns with a March report by CNBC that Tesla was negotiating a $2.9 billion deal for Chinese solar manufacturing equipment, including supplies from Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, a company specialising in equipment for the production of vertically integrated solar cells.”

=========================

10 American Made Solar Panels

Source: All American Made website

Mike M., the proprietor of this site, has taken on a mission to identify American-made goods. Here is his article about solar panels. Some of the panels he identifies are for portable use.

Link: 10 Panels article, All American Made website

Quote:

“This guide covers solar panel manufacturers with U.S. production or assembly, but solar supply chains are complex. Cells, wafers, modules, frames, glass, and inverters can come from different countries.

• Module assembly in the USA does not always mean the cells or wafers are U.S.-made.

• Residential buyers should verify the exact panel model, warranty, installer availability, and eligibility for incentives.

• Manufacturing footprints can change quickly as companies open or expand U.S. plants.”

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These three items have caught my eye as valuable in professional reading.

1. Remember all possible sources of incentives in Demand Management

2. Back-to Basics: Code compliance is a necessary part of pump selection

3. Vehicle-to-Home hardware and software is being demonstrated

Please add your name to my list of subscribers if you find these of interest to you, too, and choose the subscription level that fits you best as a working professional or a person with interests in energy use.

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1. ASK THE EXPERT - Maximizing DER Value: Key Considerations for C&I Sites

Source: EnergyTech

Demand Management programs pay incentive dollars when you can comply with the rules. In this three-page overview Alyssa Schmidt mentions possible income streams for curtailing demand and exporting power. She mentions specific opportunities in Texas, New England, California, PJM’s territory, and MISO’s territory. If you are keeping a checklist of steps in your project development process these ideas warrant a checkbox.

Link: White paper download

Quote:

“Any grid-connected item that generates, stores, or uses electricity is a distributed energy resource (DER). This includes customer-owned solar, storage, and gensets, as well as equipment that can be turned down or off when the grid needs more capacity, which means every electricity customer has DERs to leverage.”

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2. Specifying Pumping Systems for Potable Water Applications

Source: Pumps & Systems magazine

This is a back-to-basics article.

Project development engineers need to understand the operation of pumps and fans. Many times energy can be saved by adjusting a balancing valve to move the operating point on the pump curve closer to the Best Efficiency Point. Other times energy savings can be achieved by right-sizing the equipment and a new pump is called for.

This article goes over the basics of the pump selection process in the context of code compliance for drinking water.

Link: Code compliance article

Quote:

“Specifying a pumping system for potable water requires balancing multiple variables that affect not only submittal approval but long‑term reliability and operating confidence. Primary considerations include:

• Wetted materials – All surfaces in contact with potable water must meet NSF/ANSI 61 requirements for the intended operating conditions.

• System configuration – Certification often applies only to defined configurations; changes to seals, coatings or auxiliary components may impact compliance.

• Operating conditions – Pressure, temperature and flow must remain within certified limits.

• Service and maintenance – Replacement parts, lubricants and modifications can unintentionally compromise compliance if not reviewed for potable‑water use.”

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3. Puget Sound Energy is turning to EVs for backup power and grid support

Source: Smart Cities Dive

Batteries on both sides of the customer meter can be used to alleviate congestion on the grid.

This article describes a test program where six EVs are connected to the grid, just by plugging them in at the existing charging socket and using the existing cord. This technology is well-proven and in use in other places. Virtual Power Plants already can call on vehicle batteries as well as home batteries.

The key is the power electronics. A vehicle needs to have power electronics that will respond to requests to allow power to flow out of the battery as well as into the battery.

Link: Vehicle to Home article

Quote:

“Though most of its sales already come from clean sources, Puget Sound Energy has identified demand response as a key lever for integrating more carbon-free power. In 2023, it announced a partnership with Autogrid — now part of Uplight — to deploy 100 MW of virtual power plant capacity within two years. More recently, it inked a deal with BrightNight and Cordelia Power to purchase power from a 200 MW/800 MWh battery facility that a utility spokesperson said would help alleviate grid congestion and integrate more clean energy when it comes online, likely next year.”

Tag: Professional Reading

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1. An SMR serving as a CHP plant has achieved a regulatory milestone

2. Oregon has a new solar and battery rebate program, will sell out fast

3. EV battery swap stations in China are numerous. More are being added.

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1. Licensing milestone for Texas SMR plant

Source: World Nuclear News

The location is Dow’s Seadrift site in Texas. The site has nine production plants on 4700 acres. It produces 4 billion pounds of chemical products and plastics used as feedstocks in other processes. There is an existing natural gas-fueled CHP plant of approximately 156 MWe.

The new set of four 80 MWe units will have a combined rated output of 320 MWe.

For both technologies, natural gas and nuclear, the thermal heat energy is more than the electric energy generated.

Link: Texas SMR CHP plant

Quote:

“Long Mott Generating Station is tipped to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America. The Xe-100 units are engineered to operate as a single 80MW electric unit, and are optimised as a four-unit plant delivering 320 MWe: the reactor can provide baseload power to an electricity system or support industrial applications with 200 MW thermal output per unit of high-pressure, high-temperature steam.

Dow is one of several tech giants and other major energy users to have signed the Large Energy End Users Pledge, supporting the goal of at least tripling nuclear energy by 2050.”

2. Oregon’s solar and battery rebate program opens soon. Funds may go fast

Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting

The State of Oregon is providing incentive money for residential solar and battery installations. The money will go fast!

Link: Oregon solar incentive article

Quote:

“Qualifying projects include new solar installations, new solar installations that include a battery storage system, or battery storage systems added to an existing solar installation.

In all, Headley said the agency expects to issue up to 350 rebates, and he hopes that people pursue the battery rebates.

Duard Headley is the Energy Incentives Manager at the Oregon Department of Energy.”

3. China launches first battery-swap truck network with 120-second recharge system

Source: Interesting engineering

Multiple battery-swap systems are in use already. This announcement involves a leading battery manufacturer and a truck-using delivery company.

With a battery swap the vehicle can be back on the road quickly. The batteries can be charged any time, and especially valuable feature when energy prices vary throughout the day.

Link: Battery-swap article

Quote:

“According to the company, over an eight-year vehicle life cycle, the system can save more than 2,000 hours of refueling time. CATL also said the energy replenishment cost is approximately half that of a conventional fuel-powered light truck.”

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If you have lost a family member or someone in your life you have my condolences. All my family members have returned from wars back to the Civil War, although one has severe injuries he will carry the rest of his life.

Here are three items that caught my eye.

1. A free webinar hosted by Wood Mackenzie, tomorrow morning, 9:30 am Central Time.

2. Federal funds awarded for SMR deployment, possible business opportunity for small business.

3. Ford Energy business financing details.

Wood Mackenzie is hosting a free webinar panel discussion of the Strait of Hormuz

Source: Wood Mackenzine newsletter

The Strait of Hormuz is in the news. A panel of four experts will discuss possible outcomes for opening the strait. Register below

Link: WoodMac summary, Strait of Hormus

Link: WoodMac webinar registration

Quote:

“In response, in this month’s Horizons report, we set three distinct scenarios – Quick Peace, Summer Settlement and Extended Disruption – each mapping different timelines for reopening the Strait and the resulting impacts across oil, gas, LNG and the global economy.

Horizons Live will bring together our experts to unpack the scenario outcomes and answer your questions.”

aaaaa

US federal funds awarded to spur SMR deployment. Site development work may be an opportunity.

Source: World Nuclear News

Eight companies have been selected in a $94 billion federal cost-sharing program. Half the money is for site selection and development work that has not yet happened. This article names the recipients and the scope of their projects.

Link: Federal funds articel

Quote:

“Roughly half of the funding has been allocated to projects related to SMR site selection and preparation. Constellation SMR Development LLC will receive USD17.3 million to pursue a US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved Early Site Permit (ESP) for a location in New York to support the future deployment of Gen III+ SMRs, while Nebraska Public Power District will receive USD27.9 million to obtain an NRC approved ESP for a location in Nebraska to support the future deployment of Gen III+ SMRs.”

Ford Energy splits from BlueOval SK in Kentucky, restructures EV business.

Source: EV magazine

Ford Motor Company and SK On had a joint venture company they have now dissolved, BlueOval SK. It owned two factories, one in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. Each parent company took one in the settlement. Ford’s is the Kentucky location. The Kentucky plant will be the source of stationary batteries for the new Ford Energy business.

This article discusses details of Ford’s strategy.

Link: EV article - Ford battery plans

A quote:

“Ford’s Broader EV Restructuring

The BlueOval SK dissolution and Kentucky pivot are part of a wider pullback from Ford‘s original EV ambitions.

Late last year, the company announced a $19.5 billion write-down related to its electric vehicle strategy.

By then, Ford said it would restructure its EV business to focus on lower-cost models built on a new Universal EV Platform.”

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Meta, Enbridge to build solar, storage for Wyoming data centers

Source: ESG Dive Newsletter

I have argued whether renewables can be used for data centers. I say yes because solar is used in multi-source grids.

Here is a grid-connected case with solar and batteries installed at the customer site and owned by the customer. The batteries are behind the meter but Cheyenne Light, Fuel, and Power uses them as a dispatchable resource.

Link: Wyoming solar and storage

Quote:

The tariff “[allows] the utility to provide market and renewable energy options to data centers without impact on retail rates,” Enbridge said. “The [baterry energy storage system] capacity is contracted under a long-term, battery tolling agreement with [Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power] under the same LPCS tariff.”

Publicly traded SpaceX suppliers

Source: Grokipedia

With an IPO for SpaceX in the news and stock not yet traded I wondered who else benefits from the success of SpaceX. Here is an article about two suppliers.

Link: Grokipedia

Quote:

“Publicly traded SpaceX suppliers refer to companies listed on major stock exchanges that provide components, services, or related resources to SpaceX, the privately held U.S. aerospace firm known for developing reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite internet constellation, despite SpaceX’s emphasis on vertical integration and its policy of not disclosing a comprehensive supplier list.”

STMicroelectronics, STM

Has co-designed electronic parts with SpaceX.

EchoStar, SATS

EchoStar owns SpaceX stock.

Why you should (almost) always look on the bright side of life.

Source: The Economist

Here is an article about how your mind works and why pessimism about new ventures is our natural state.

Link: Economist - bright side

A quote:

“Loss aversion, a strong behavioural bias against giving up what you already have, means that the scales are already tipped against risk-taking.”

In my 13-minute video I show you the facts that caught my eye as a project development engineer. I then use the PV Watts program to show the pattern of monthly electricity production you can expect.

Photo by Ford

Ford has announced that they expect to lose $4 billion on their EV business in 2026. They are building out factories for new products.

Ford held an earnings call on February 11, 2026. Jim Farley made these points about EVs and the utility battery business.

1. The conversion of the Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky from ICE cars to Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle platform is ongoing. No products are being built yet but that is coming.

2. Ford is entering the electric utility stationary battery business. Tesla, BYD, and Volkswagen are already there. Tesla’s energy division is growing in gross profit. I think Ford noticed.

3. The conversion of the Dearborn truck plant to make the EREV series-hybrid 2027 F150 Lightning pickup is ongoing. The EREV configuration has a battery you can charge through a cord and a gas tank you fill at a gas station. The motor will be sized for towing and heavy loads. With a light load, a full gas tank, and a full battery the range is expected to be 700 miles.

Below is one page from the earnings call transcript.

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One source for information on the status and future of the EV charger market is the quarterly publication “Get Connected” from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The Alliance is a trade group of car and car parts manufacturers. The members of this group have a strong interest in the status of the EV charger network to support their EV products.

The 27-page Fourth Quarter 2025 issue of Get Connected is available here:

Get Connected, Q4 2025

The section on chargers starts on page 15.

The two types of chargers tracked are DC Fast Charging, and Level 2 Charging.

The cost for charging

This quote mentions cost per kWh. The report cites it sources.

“Cost remains a parallel concern. Multiple analyses find that charging away from home – particularly via DC fast chargers – costs two to three times more per kilowatt-hour than residential charging, with average home rates around $0.17–$0.18/kWh compared with $0.40–$0.50/kWh or higher for public fast charging in many regions. These higher costs are driven by capital expenses, utility demand charges, and limited competition at many charging sites.”

Location of the cars

The locations that are most likely to need chargers are where the cars are. They are concentrated in a few wealthy counties.

How few? 42.

How wealthy and where? The chart below uses a county map with a tower shape for each county. Where the cars are is shown on the map by percent EV ownership as the height of county’s tower, and the income by its color.

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Link to Clean Technica article

Wind-sourced electricity is generated in sparsely-populated areas, many of which are also places were ammonia fertilizer is used.

Ammonia, NH3, can be made using nitrogen from the air and hydrogen, H2, which can be made by the electrolysis of water.

To make ammonia with these inputs you need a processing pla…

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Link to article in Energy Connects

Here is a story of a wind farm operator who committed to provide power whether the wind turbines generated it or not. This proved to be inadequate risk management.

By the terms …

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Link: NRC Press Release on Terrapower

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I have become a skeptic about new nuclear power being a viable business. Part of my skepticism is the track record of slow construction. Another part of my skepticism is the number of licenses an owner must obtain from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. None of the other sources has a regulatory agency devoted to i…

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Source: rondo.com

How can a factory in need of steam take advantage of solar energy?

Heinekin and others are using a refractory brick heat-storage system from Rondo Energy.

An article in Facilities Dive explains the technology and contract.

Link to Facilities Dive article

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Click here to read the full article in PV Magazine

This Battery Energy Strorage System (BESS) is in the category Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES).

Here is a quote:

“While lithium-ion batteries are effective for 4-hour shifts, they cannot handle the multi-day storage. Form Energy said its iron-air batteries can store renewables-sourced electricity for 10…

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Click here for the ASHRAE Position Document pdf

I am a member of ASHRAE, the professional society for air conditioning engineers. A Life Member actually, a designation you get if you hang around for 30 years.

Carbon dioxide concentration is inexpensive to measure and modern electronic control systems in buildings routinely have …

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Image Source: Grok

I was in the commenting section on a blog and I was challenged on several points of my view of energy, one point at a time. I wrote out this response. It includes some of my personal history starting with the oil embargo of 1973.

I wrote:

Here is my view of things.
- I was on the receiving end of an embargo in 1973. It hurt me personall…

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https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-largest-loan-department-history-delivering-over-7-billion

I don’t see how $300 million per year in interest savings on Southern Comany’s books translates to $7 billion savings for consumers, but I guess that is the nature of press releases.

I can calculate a rule of thumb. The $26.5 billion gets…

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