What we know: a lot of the world’s industrial advancements were built on the expansion of mining, coal, and coal-fired power sources. There is no denying it brought us to the world we know today. As for the future? That’s a story that remains to be told. The global conversations around energy security bring together the good and the bad, the tech we need to focus on versus what we already invested in.
Most of our customers are under ever-increasing pressure to reduce emissions and improve efficiency, which can be an expensive line to walk. And while there is no shortage of people who would love to see any carbon-emitting practices shut down immediately, we know there are still massive opportunities to advance future tech with our existing infrastructure.
Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)
Many power plants are experimenting with CCS systems. The idea is that carbon emissions are captured long before it gets released into the atmosphere. To comply with regional regulations, we work with plants to remove harmful mercury (Hg) and acid gasses/heavy metals (SO2, SO3, HCl, etc.) from their emissions with activated carbon injection (ACI) and dry sorbent injection (DSI) solutions. Every plant needs something a little different; give us a call today to find out what might work best for you.
Biomass Co-firing
Wood, agricultural waste, yesterday’s newspaper – some plants attempt to offset carbon releases by supplementing their coal with other combustibles. Depending on how it is sourced, biomass fuels can be more expensive than coal but may burn a bit cleaner. However, some of these plants may still fall under State or EPA regulations for dioxin/furans or Hg emissions. We can help you determine if your plant might fall into one of these categories or, if you are already required to comply and have questions, we can help you choose the solution(s) that works best for your plant.
Hybrid power plants
A little of this, a little of that – hybrid plants are exactly what you expect them to be. The demand is all the same: people need electricity and most of them aren’t thinking about where it comes from. Some hybrid plants are a mix of coal or natural gas and wind or solar. They take advantage of the robust power of traditional energies while supplementing the potential of renewables. Other hybrid plants are a mix of always-on generation and capacitors/batteries – producing for now, saving for later.
Hybrid sources are like having a hybrid car: battery for small trips or when you’re coasting, but the combustion engine is still there for when you need extra power. This kind of flexibility is essential for a power grid when demand suddenly increases.
Research and Development
Laboratories are great because they can host a vast number of experiments to gather data and try out new ideas. Legacy plants can do the same. There is always innovation happening throughout plants and energy producers, and the existing grid and production sites are fantastic labs to find ways to increase efficiency and figure out what’s next. On the plus side: if you can sell the product (power) while you experiment, the cost of your experiment goes down.
In all, the challenges facing power producers are everywhere and unending. Every solution we experiment with doesn’t necessarily “solve” a problem. Instead, it sets up a way to ask more questions about the next challenge we’re approaching.
Motus Group works on the philosophy that there isn’t a single-sized solution that works for everything. You may be able to throw a switch to turn on the light in your kitchen, but we can’t necessarily throw a switch to decide where our energy needs come from. The solution we create for one client rarely matches what we do for another – and we’re proud to deliver that kind of flexibility.