Interconnections With Renewables Turn Existing Power Plants Green

Demand for electricity is up in the United States, and so is its price. One way to increase supply and lower costs is to build new power plants, but that can take years and cost a fortune. Talgat Kopzhanov is working on a faster, more affordable solution: the generator replacement interconnection process.The technique links renewable energy sources to the grid connections of shuttered or underutilized power facilities and coal plants. The process uses the existing interconnection rights and infrastructure when generating electricity, eliminating the years-long approval process for constructing new U.S. power facilities.Talgat KopzhanovEmployerMiddle River Power, in ChicagoJob titleAsset managerMember gradeSenior memberAlma maters Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and Indiana University in BloomingtonKopzhanov, an IEEE senior member, is an asset manager for Middle River Power, based in Chicago. The private equity–sponsored investment and asset management organization specializes in U.S. power generation assets.“Every power plant has its own interconnection rights,” he says, “but, amazingly, most are not fully utilizing them.” Interconnection rights give a new power source—such as solar energy—permission to connect to a high-voltage transmission system.“We build the new renewable energy resources on top of them,” Kopzhanov says. “It’s like colocating a new power plant.”He recently oversaw the installation of two generator-replacement interconnection projects, one for a solar system in Minnesota and the other for a battery storage facility in California.A fast-track approach that cuts costsArtificial intelligence data centers are driving up demand and raising electricity bills globally. Although tech companies and investors are willing to spend trillions of U.S. dollars constructing new power facilities, it can take up to seven years just to secure the grid interconnection rights needed to start building a plant, Kopzhanov says. The lengthy process involves system planning, permit requests, and regulatory approvals. Only about 5 percent of new projects are approved each year, he says, in part because of grid reliability issues.The interconnection technique takes about half the time, he says, bringing cleaner energy online faster. By overcoming interconnection bottlenecks, such as major transmission upgrades that delay renewable projects, the process speeds up project timelines and lowers expenses.Power Engineers Are in Short SupplyIf you want to work in a secure, recession-proof industry, consider a career in power engineering, Kopzhanov says—especially in an unstable job market, when even Amazon, Microsoft, and other large companies are laying off thousands of engineers.The power industry desperately needs engineers. The global power sector will require between 450,000 and 1.5 million more engineers by 2030 to build, implement, and operate energy infrastructure, according to an IEEE Spectrum article based on a study conducted this year of the power engineering workforce by the IEEE Power & Energy Society.One of the reasons for the shortage, Kopzhanov says, is that the power sector doesn’t seem exciting to young engineers.“It has not been popular because the technologies we’re implementing nowadays were invented quite a long time ago,” he says. “So there were not too many recent innovations.”But with new technologies being introduced, such as the generator replacement interconnection process, now is a great time to get into the industry, he says.“We are facing lots of different kinds of interesting and big challenges, and we definitely need power engineers who can solve them, such as the supply and demand situation facing us,” he says. “We need right-minded people who can deal with that.“Until this point, the marvelous engineering systems that have been designed and built with close to 100-percent reliability are not going to be the case moving forward, so we have to come up with innovative approaches.”Just because you have a power engineering degree, however, doesn’t mean you have to work as a power engineer, he says.“Most students might assume they will have to dedicate themselves to only being a power engineer for the rest of their life—which is not the case,” he says. “You can be on the business side or be an asset manager like me.“The power sector is an extremely dynamic and vast area. You’ll have many paths to pursue along your career journey.”Kopzhanov explains the technique in an on-demand educational webinar, Unlocking Surplus Interconnection Service. Colocating Renewable and Thermal Power Plants, hosted by the IEEE Power & Energy Society. The webinar is available to the public for a fee.Kopzhanov has been involved with several recent generator replacement interconnection installations. In May the Sherco Solar project in Sherburne County, Minn., replaced a retiring coal plant with approximately 720 megawatts of solar-powered generators, making it the largest solar-generating facility in the region. The first 460 MW of capacity is expected to be operational soon.Another new project, developed with Middle River, is a battery system installed in April at California’s Hanford Hybrid Energy Center, a natural gas reliability facility. It used existing and incremental interconnection capacity to add the storage system. The surplus renewable energy from the batteries will be used during peak times to reduce the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Silicon Valley Clean Energy article about the installation.“These projects are uniquely positioned to be colocated with existing power plants,” Kopzhanov says. “But, at the same time, they are renewable and sustainable sources of power—which is also helping to decarbonize the environment and meet the emission-reduction goals of the state.”Influenced by Kazakhstan’s power industryBorn and raised in Taraz, Kazakhstan, Kopzhanov was surrounded by relatives who worked in the power industry. It’s not surprising that he has pursued a career in the field.Until 1991, when the country was still a Soviet republic, most Kazakhs were required to help build the country’s power and transmission systems, he says. His mother and father are chemical engineers, and his grandfather was involved in the power industry. They told him about how they designed the transformers and overhead power lines. From a young age, he knew he wanted to be an engineer too, he says.Today the Central Asian country is a major producer of oil, gas, and coal.Kopzhanov left Kazakhstan in 2008 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind.After graduating in 2012, he was hired as an electrical design engineer by Fluor Corp. in Farnborough, England. He oversaw the development of a master plan for a power project there. He also engineered and designed high-voltage switchgears, substations, and transformers.“Every power plant has its own interconnection rights but, amazingly, most are not fully utilizing them.”In 2015 he joined ExxonMobil in Houston, working as a project manager. During his six years there, he held managerial positions. Eventually, he was promoted to asset advisor and was responsible for evaluating the feasibility of investing in decarbonization and electrification projects by identifying their risks and opportunities.He decided he wanted to learn more about the business aspects of running a company, so he left in 2021 to pursue an MBA at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, in Bloomington. During his MBA program, he briefly worked as a consultant for a lithium-ion manufacturing firm, offering advice on the viability of their proposed projects and investments.“Engineers aren’t typically connected to the business world,” he says, “but having an understanding of what the needs are and tailoring your future goals toward that is extremely important. In my view, that’s how you’ll become a great technical expert. I definitely recommend that engineers have some kind of understanding of the business side.”He joined Middle River shortly after graduating from Indiana with his MBA in 2023.The power of membershipKopzhanov was introduced to IEEE by a colleague at ExxonMobil after he asked the member about an IEEE plaque displayed on his desk. The coworker explained the activities he was involved in, as well as the process for joining. Kopzhanov became a member in 2019, left, and then rejoined in 2023.“That was one of the best decisions I have made,” he says.A member of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, he says its publications, webinars, conferences, and networking events keep him current on new developments.“Being able to follow what’s happening in the industry, especially in the space where you’re working, is something that has benefited me a lot,” he says.An active IEEE volunteer, he is the founding chair of the Power & Energy Society’s Chicago chapter, which has about 400 members. He is on the chapter’s executive committee, and he helps organize conferences, update the website, and review research papers.“It’s those little things that have a significant impact,” he says. “Volunteering is a key piece of belonging to IEEE.”