In This Issue
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LOWER PRICES AND IMPROVED RELIABILITY
IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS we have seen a lot of discussion in Washington and throughout the country about investments in our nation's energy grid. Much of that discussion, rightly so, has been focused on what consumers get out of transmission investments. Consumers have every right to know what investments in our nation's infrastructure cost and the benefits they will receive from those investments...1 -
FROM 2011 AND ONWARD
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY needs a continuously available financing arm so projects emerging from research and development can access deployment capital. To that end, Congress should create the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA).Energy reform legislation should be broken into chunks because it has proven too difficult to pass comprehensive legislation. It would be better to let...1 -
MEETING THE RENEWABLE CHALLENGE
I HEAR A LOT OF TALK about a great desire to include renewable energy into the national energy mix, if it weren't for the issue of intermittency. Mother Nature decides when to make the wind blow or the sun shine. As the CEO of a renewable energy company with more than 500 megawatts of wind and solar installed in North America, I know we only build renewable energy projects in areas with the best...1 -
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION NEEDED
WHILE THE URGENCY to reduce carbon dioxide emissions has diminished somewhat in the United States for now due to the current political climate, many other regions of the world have strong reduction mandates in place. At the same time, some states are moving forward with their own initiatives.The bottom line is that a handful of pilot programs in the United States continue to evaluate technologies... -
FAST AND RESPONSIVE
THIS SUMMER, an innovative 20-megawatt capacity flywheel energy storage plant was officially opened in Stephentown, N.Y.The plant, the largest of its type in service in North America today, will be used by the New York Independent System Operator to help store excess energy when power generated exceeds the load. When load levels increase, the energy can be delivered back to the grid.Beyond acting... -
Gas Turbine Tweaks
OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, the use of natural gas to generate electricity has been growing at a higher rate than many other energy sources. That trend is expected to continue as natural gas plants are eyed for a prime role as load balancers as more renewable energy sources are added to electric grids.In recent years, use of natural gas seemed poised for additional growth because of the lower carbon... -
SECURING POWER FROM CYBER THREATS
AN APRIL 2009 Wall Street Journal story said Chinese and Russian cyberspies penetrated the U.S. electric grid and left behind software programs that could disrupt its operations. As reported in the Journal of Energy Security two months later, security firm IOActive told the Department of Homeland Security that a hacker with a $500 piece of equipment could take over a smart grid's two-way...1 -
WHERE WE ARE
THE HOUSE COMMITTEE on Homeland Security asked the Government Accountability Office to assess the extent to which the National Institute of Standards & Technology has developed smart grid cybersecurity guidelines. It asked GAO to evaluate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approach for adopting and monitoring smart grid cybersecurity and other standards. It further asked GAO to... -
CHANGING THE UTILITY WORLD
POLICYMAKERS AND EXECUTIVES face investment and adoption decisions for myriad innovative solutions. Although each utility may have the spirit to adopt many innovations, it will lack some combination of funding, extensive stakeholder involvement, regulatory commitment and customer acceptance. Some innovations will change the rules of the game, expand value creation to unheard of levels and make... -
HOW MUCH SMART GRID IS ENOUGH?WE ALL HAVE A FRIEND or relative who has to have the latest gadget. Whatever new i- or e-something becomes available is a must-have item. Well, that's fine when they're spending their own money, but when it's a utility that wants to spend ratepayers' money, that's a different story.The Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University, in collaboration with MSU's College of Engineering...
