The electric power industry has been looking at ways to improve transmission line performance for some time, exploring superconducting cables as well as ways to wring more power delivery capacity out of traditional cables currently in place. Now, wind researchers at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) say monitoring the weather can do quite a lot… Keep reading →
Popular electric car manufacturer Tesla is augmenting its electric vehicle charging station services with an experimental foray into battery swapping. The idea behind the battery swapping trial is much faster than fully charging an electric car. Tesla Gigafactory, Carson City, NV. Credit: Tesla Motors Tesla already has its supercharger stations at several locations and owners… Keep reading →
Numbers remain low It may not come as a complete surprise, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration has confirmed that California leads the country in electric vehicle adoption. However, all-electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles still represent a small percentage of new vehicle sales. There were roughly 174,000 EVs and PHEVs on the… Keep reading →
Successful integration of ever-growing amounts of renewable energy into electric grids has been a constant quest for utilities over at least the past few years. Dr. McGrath outlines today’s challenges in renewables integration, the contributing factors utilities are or should consider in their planning, and a selection of available solutions. While her article is far… Keep reading →
Rural electric utilities may serve a different type of customer base and may have different concerns and challenges from their much larger counterparts, but they share a common interest in improving and upgrading their services and offerings. One of those concerns for rural utilities is they must provide and services and offerings to meet higher… Keep reading →
SunEdison, already a very big solar developer, will become even bigger when it purchases First Wind, one of the major wind energy developers in the country. The acquisition of First Wind transforms SunEdison and TerraForma Power, an indirect subsidiary, into diversified renewable energy and will make SunEdison the leading renewable power plant developer in the… Keep reading →
Denmark has joined the club of European countries that have planned to become much more or completely reliant on renewable sources for their energy needs. The country plans to have 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050, and to eliminate fossil fuels in vehicles by that deadline too. Denmark already relies on wind turbines for… Keep reading →
In its assessment of EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan released this week, the North American Electric Reliability Association (NERC) says it will take more analysis to determine if the targets can be achieved in EPA’s time frame without affecting the reliability of the bulk power system. The NERC assessment, Potential Reliability Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Clean Power… Keep reading →
Utilities are generally pessimistic about their future role in the effort to expand the U.S. electric grid and make it stronger. They believe they will be on the losing end as new competition becomes increasingly involved in the initiative. But they disagree strongly about what the future of energy transmission will look like and how… Keep reading →
Over the next 10 years, emerging nations will account for $13.6 billion in smart grid infrastructure investment as they roll out massive electric grid modernization programs to meet growing demand. “Smart grid investment over the next decade will shift from North America and Europe to emerging market nations,” said Ben Gardner, Northeast Group president. “Southeast Asian countries… Keep reading →
