From improving the resiliency of the electric grid to devising new ways to integrate low-carbon sources of energy, the Energy Department’s National Labs are at the forefront of modernizing and securing our nation’s electricity infrastructure. To help drive this innovation, the scientists at the National Labs use some of the most cutting-edge facilities in the world — many of… Keep reading →
EDF’s Energy Innovation Series highlights innovations across a broad range of energy categories, including smart grid and renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency financing and progressive utilities, to name a few. This Series helps illustrate that cost-effective, clean energy solutions are available now and imperative to lowering our dependence on fossil fuels. Find more information on this featured… Keep reading →
As Americans brace for warmer weather – and the tornadoes, droughts and hurricanes that come with it – the question remains: are utilities prepared to handle the stress of ever increasing inclement weather? Like weather patterns, every utility requires unique ingredients to successfully navigate storm-related outage prevention and restoration strategy. However, at the foundation of… Keep reading →
Deregulation and privatization are driving the separation of generation, transmission and distribution in Europe. Alstom’s Philippe Paelinck examines EU goals on energy security and unification and how these have played out in Germany thus far. Although the European Super Grid he discusses seems like an enormous undertaking, Paelinck says it would be cheaper than the… Keep reading →
New legislation has been proposed to increase US military energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel reliance. This shift, however, is driven more by troop safety and operational security than a desire to be “green.” “The bill, called the Department of Defense Energy Security Act of 2014, was announced yesterday by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) and… Keep reading →
Cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly important issue for utilities and other energy companies as more business tasks are connected to online environments in various ways. To better address these risks, President Obama issued Executive Order 13636, “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,” which called for the development of a voluntary risk-based Cybersecurity to enhance the security and resilience… Keep reading →
How does Demand Response reduce electricity use? from Environmental Defense Fund Clean energy resources, like wind, solar, and energy efficiency, have certain key advantages over traditional, fossil fuel-based resources: they don’t require expensive, polluting fuels or large capital investment, consume little to no water, generate negligible carbon emissions, and are easily scalable. To take full advantage of… Keep reading →
At the recent staging of the Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition 2014 in Düsseldorf, Germany, more than 850 experts from politics, business and research representing 46 countries discussed the most recent worldwide developments in energy storage. At the accompanying exhibition with almost 70 stands, visitors were able to get information about the latest state-of-the-art technology and… Keep reading →
Quick Take: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducted a worldwide survey of CIOs from many different industries. They recently released a comparison that shows how utility CIOs think of themselves, and how that differs from other CIOs. It’s interesting stuff. In many ways, utility CIOs are doing a bit better than average. Yet many of them rate their own… Keep reading →
Have you ever heard of a synchrophasor? It may sound like a word out of science fiction, but these mailbox-sized devices are already changing the electrical grid as we know it. The grid was born over a century ago, at a time when our needs were simpler and our demand much lower. More complex needs are… Keep reading →
