Repowering Coal

This article highlights the recent signing between Microsoft and Terra Praxis to deliver a digital solution to support the repurposing of over 2,400 coal-fired power plants to run on carbon-free energy. “The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources, Microsoft. “We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale.”

From September 21 through September 23 Pittsburgh hosted the first Global Clean Energy Action Forum. Kirsty Gogan, Terra Praxis Co-Founder and Managing Partner, was invited to participate in several side events tackling with the toughest decarbonization challenges such as how to repower coal-fired power fleets and hard-to-abate sectors including fuels.

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Non-profit sustainability group Terra Praxis will partner with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution to support the repurposing of over 2,400 coal-fired power plants to run on carbon-free energy. Terra Praxis is looking to combine its expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power. The burning of coal causes more than 40% of global carbon emissions and more than 75% of emissions from electricity generation. As global carbon emissions rebounded in 2021 to their highest level in history, increased use of coal was the main driving factor, reaching an all-time high of 15.3 billion tonnes. According to the International Energy Agency, the world’s consumption of coal is set to rise yet again in 2022.

The Energy Disruptors Summit is a catalyst for bold, game-changing solutions to the world's biggest energy challenges. This year, Kirsty Gogan presented on Terra Praxis' work on REPOWER, an innovative solution which could put the world back on track to Net Zero by repurposing existing coal plant infrastructure with clean heat sources.

During this Climate Week briefing, Microsoft vice chairman and president Brad Smith emphasized their three-pronged agenda: advancing the sustainability of its business, providing the digital technology needed to build a sustainable world and supporting the societal infrastructure needed for a sustainable world. During the briefing, Microsoft and partners, including Terra Praxis, outlined compelling examples of how Microsoft-enabled digital technologies could accelerate the low-carbon energy transition. The first centered on its collaboration with TerraPraxis on REPOWER across the globe.

Climate Week started on September 19 in New York, in this article Forbes tells us what to expect and what to pay attention to during the week, including the Sustainability Deals Of The Week where the collaboration between Microsoft and Terra Praxis to repower coal plants is highlighted.

Terra Praxis is looking to combine its deep expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world’s largest sources of carbon to zero emissions. The relationship began during last year’s Microsoft Global Hackathon, where the team working with Terra Praxis won the Hack for Sustainability challenge sponsored by Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Terra Praxis, a non-profit organization focused on actionable solutions for climate and prosperity, has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution that will tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—repurposing more than 2,400 coal-fired power plants worldwide to run on carbon-free energy. "The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources, Microsoft. "We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale."

Microsoft and Terra Praxis, a nonprofit headquartered in the U.K., have joined forces to develop a software application that will help existing coal plants determine the best avenue for decarbonization. “The global energy transition requires partnerships and technology innovation like this one led by Terra Praxis to repurpose coal-based power plants with carbon-free energy generation,” Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy & Resources at Microsoft, said in a statement. “We look forward to our role in enabling Terra Praxis to accelerate this transformational solution economically, securely and at scale.”

Terra Praxis and Microsoft enter a strategic collaboration to tackle the world’s biggest problem: repowering coal-fired power plants with advanced heat sources. The signing ceremony was featured by Brad Smith, Microsoft President, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll, Co-Founders of Terra Praxis. "This is just the beginning of our shared mission - to develop these tools and bring them to market. We are really honored to be working with Microsoft, and to make repowering coal a reality with you at the speed and at the scale demanded by the climate emergency”, said Kirsty Gogan. Terra Praxis is looking to combine its deep expertise in energy with Microsoft to build and deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world’s largest sources of carbon to zero emissions.

A digital solution will tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—decarbonizing a global fleet of 2,400 coal plants to run on clean energy. Terra Praxis, a non-profit focused on actionable solutions for climate and prosperity, is collaborating with Microsoft to deliver a digital solution to tackle a significant decarbonization challenge—repurposing over 2,400 coal-fired power plants worldwide to run on carbon-free energy. The relationship began during last year's Microsoft Global Hackathon, where the team working with Terra Praxis won the Hack for Sustainability challenge sponsored by Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Terra Praxis will deploy a set of tools to automate the design and regulatory approval needed to decarbonize coal facilities with nuclear power, helping transition one of the world's largest sources of carbon to zero emissions. To do this, Terra Praxis intends to develop a software application with Microsoft that will analyze the existing coal fleet to determine the best avenue to retrofit the plants, saving coal plant owners time and money while giving their assets and the communities around them a new lease on life for decades to come.

This DOE report find hundreds of retiring coal plant sites could convert to nuclear, adding new jobs, increasing economic benefit, and significantly improving environmental conditions. This coal-to-nuclear transition could add a substantial amount of clean electricity to the grid, helping the U.S. reach its net-zero emissions goals by 2050.

We know that climate change is an energy problem. Now we have 28 years to replace fossil fuels and double our overall energy supply. As you reflect on our first  2021 Annual Review, we hope you will be as energized as we are by our success in mobilizing a broad coalition of public and private sector leaders and building momentum for innovative climate solutions (for coal plant conversion, flexible co-generation, clean hydrogen, and synthetic fuels production). Our programs could accelerate the reduction of global carbon emissions by repurposing trillions of dollars of existing infrastructure to supply clean, affordable, and reliable energy to billions of people.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions Podcast Kirsty Gogan, co-founder and managing partner of Terra Praxis and Ruediger Koenig, independent energy advisor, are interviewed by Pamela Largue discuss how the current need to ensure energy security in Europe has put nuclear energy's potential contribution in the energy crisis into perspective. As the experts talk about the overreliance on gas and the risks it entails when there is a supply shortage, Kirsty said: "When you start looking at your previous position about nuclear energy as being too risky, we don't like it, it is because -really- you didn't see any benefits that would make it worthwhile".