T&D

The final session of the annual meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in Austin ended on Nov. 11 on a “high note,” as outgoing president and Florida Commissioner Lisa Edgar had promised, with a panel titled “The Straight Dope on Energy & the Marijuana Industry.” The subtitle, “(Don’t laugh, it could […]

Following regulatory approval of a $10.6 billion transaction in over 20 countries and regions, GE’s acquisition of Alstom’s energy activities is now complete. GE and Alstom sealed the deal first proposed in early 2014 with the signing of a 1,500-page “master agreement.” GE had initially proposed buying Alstom’s lucrative business for €12.35 billion, but following […]

The Clean Power Plan could force the retirement of up to 4 GW of coal-fired capacity in the region served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) starting as soon as 2022, an updated analysis suggests.  The independent system operator that manages about 90% of Texas’ electric load acknowledged that fewer coal units are […]

Integrating California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) and PacifiCorp’s networks—the two largest high-voltage transmission grids in the West—could yield billions of dollars in shared cost reductions within the first 20 years alone through efficiencies, a new study says.  The report commissioned by PacifiCorp stems from a memorandum of understanding signed by the independent system operator (ISO) […]

Battery energy storage has exploded in deployment over the past several years, but the majority of it by capacity, especially in North America, is deployed at grid scale. That may be a problem, because a new study from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) suggests the greatest value to the system lies with behind-the-meter batteries—distributing battery […]

ABB in August commissioned the world’s first high- and medium-voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) bays that use a new “eco-efficient” gas mixture instead of sulfur hexafluoride, the greenhouse gas that is typically used. The 170/24-kV switchgear bays were supplied to Swiss utility ewz for a new 3 x 50-megavolt-ampere substation (Figure 5) in Zurich, Switzerland, which […]

The societal impact of a “Black Sky Day”—a term used by electric infrastructure security experts when discussing a collapse of the North American power grid—would be devastating, according to Dr. Daniel Baker, distinguished professor of Planetary and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Baker testified before two subcommittees of the U.S. House of […]

Broad, bipartisan energy legislation that would allocate federal funding to grid technology research and demonstration along with a number of other initiatives, including cybersecurity and the energy-water nexus, has cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with an 18–4 vote.  The committee’s chair, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) […]

When a large electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) event occurs—which, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), there is “100% certainty” will happen at some time in the future—as many as 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. could die. Johnson, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, […]

Five of Germany’s largest lignite power plants will be mothballed to allow the country that is already phasing out nuclear power to meet ambitious climate goals by 2020.  In what it called a “milestone decision,” the government on July 2 agreed to scrap plans to impose a controversial—and by some accounts, illegal—climate tax for conventional […]

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals surprising aspects about how federal subsidies for electricity have been distributed, how the power generation mix has shifted, and how consumption has transformed since 2001.  The June 29–released report, “Generation Mix has Shifted, and Growth in Consumption has Slowed, Affecting System Operations and Prices,” responds […]

Wind is no longer a niche alternative energy industry, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO Tom Kiernan told attendees at WINDPOWER 2015.  Despite policy hurdles, the wind sector has seen exponential growth and formidable cost reductions; it has the government’s endorsement for a low-carbon future; and it’s making up an ever-larger share of the nation’s […]

In contrast to the bitter partisanship that has paralyzed Congress for the past few years—especially with respect to energy policy—the Obama administration’s first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) received a mostly warm welcome from House GOP members, who echoed its concerns with the state of the nation’s energy infrastructure during a hearing on June 2. “Many […]

The Obama administration’s first installment in the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) drew a variety of responses in its first public hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on April 28. Chairman Lisa A. Murkowski (R-Alaska) opened the hearing with a nod to the still-in-limbo Keystone XL pipeline. She noted that though the QER […]

No one can accuse the officials who oversee California’s energy market of lacking ambition. Fresh on the heels of Gov. Jerry Brown’s January promise to raise the state’s renewable generation target from 33% in 2020 to 50% in 2030, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in April announced that it and Oregon utility and Berkshire […]

With unprecedented changes and challenges facing the U.S. energy sector, the Department of Energy has spearheaded a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s energy policy. Released the same day as ELECTRIC POWER 2015 opened, the first installment of this review was highlighted in the conference’s keynote address. U.S. energy infrastructure needs not just substantial investment for […]

Duke Energy announced on May 19 that it will construct a new 650-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle power plant (CCPP) and retire its 375-MW Asheville coal power plant by early 2020. The plan also includes the addition of solar generation at the site as well as construction of a new substation and 40-mile transmission line […]

At Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), repeated generation transitions have marked the giant public power utility’s long history, from hydro, to coal, to nuclear. The latest resource plan points to natural gas, along with renewables and energy efficiency, as the basis for the agency’s generating future. At the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), generation transitions are nothing […]

In the opening move of what is certain to be a long and contentious process, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, introduced a suite of bills covering a broad range of energy issues, from infrastructure to regulatory reform to civil enforcement. Along with several others introduced by […]

In his May 6 appearance on Comedy Central’s Daily Show, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz addressed both the military and civilian energy issues that the Department of Energy is responsible for. His discussion with host Jon Stewart ranged from the recent negotiations with Iran over that nation’s capability to enrich fissile material to domestic energy […]

Europe—and especially Germany—has been struggling with how best to integrate large amounts of renewable generation while maintaining grid stability. While considerable attention has been devoted to expanding national transmission systems, new links between those national grids are growing in importance. The biggest project so far took a step forward when, on March 19, the consortium […]

The wireless transmission of power by microwave over long distances is viable, Japanese technology firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has proved in a recent ground demonstration test. The company has been developing the new technology for use in space solar power systems (SSPS)—which it says will be “the power generation systems of the future.” As […]

Investor-owned electric utilities in the U.S. spent $16.9 billion in 2013 to build transmission infrastructure, a report recently released by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) shows. The ninth annual publication of the EEI’s Transmission Projects: At a Glance  highlights a cross-section of more than 170 major transmission projects completed in 2014 or planned over the […]

The U.S. energy infrastructure needs not just substantial investment for the future but also considerable rethinking about its role and functions in order to be positioned to deal with a rapidly changing energy landscape and evolving threats from cyber attack and climate change. That was the message from William F. Hederman, Jr., Department of Energy […]

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and Portland, Ore.­–based utility PacifiCorp announced on April 14 that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the possibility of PacifiCorp joining the ISO as a participating transmission owner. The move would be a big one for both entities. PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), […]

A dip in voltage prompted temporary power cuts to the White House, Capitol Hill, the State Department, and other parts of Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon.  D.C. utility PEPCO said in a statement that the disturbance that affected about 8,000 customers and left a wide swath  of the nation’s capital in the dark was caused […]

The consortium behind the Nordlink high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link between Germany and Norway on Mar. 19 awarded the construction contract for the project to Swiss firm ABB. The $2 billion, 525-kV transmission line will be, at 623 kilometers (km), the longest HVDC connection in Europe. It will transit the North Sea across the Skagerrak strait, […]

As the global electric power industry continues to develop clean, high-quality energy capacity for sustainable development, the position of small hydropower has changed. In the past few decades, small hydropower development in China has experienced positive momentum, but there are still problems to be solved. To solve these problems, various relationships within the small hydropower […]

E.ON—a major investor-owned energy supplier that manages facilities across Europe, Russia, North America, Brazil, and Turkey—announced this week that it will embark on a new corporate strategy focused on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions, while combining its power generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production businesses into a new, independent company. “We are […]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) completed an evaluation of a plan to export power to Mexico from the Frontera Generation Station, located in Mission, Texas. Although the results indicated that the power system could operate effectively during normal conditions without Frontera’s capacity, ERCOT says it has concerns with power supply sufficiency and transmission […]