Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Ensuring State Emission Reduction in Clean Power Plan
Strong public policy favors giving states credit for the carbon reductions they make while the Plan’s legality is pending.
Minnesota
Microgrids and Battery Storage
In search of enlightened policy to build a solid business case.
A smart grid expert searches for a solid business case – and tells how to create enlightened policy to make it happen.
CEOs are Charged Up
But guiding their companies in times of change is a challenging task.
It’s a new era for utilities and their consumers. Today’s leaders are atop those economic, political and technological happenings.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Acquires 78-MW Minnesota Wind Project from Geronimo Energy
Submitted by aburr on Sun, 2015-05-03 20:20Sempra U.S. Gas & Power acquired the Black Oak Getty wind project in Minnesota from Geronimo Energy.
Securing the Smart Grid
Questions and answers on consumer privacy and threats to the grid – both physical and cyber.
The economic argument for investments in the smart grid is clear: the payback from those technologies in the U.S. is likely three to six times greater than the money invested, and grows with each sequence of grid improvement.
Digest (March 2015)
Pacific Gas and Electric and automaker BMW are teaming up to test the ability of EV batteries to provide services to the electric grid; MidAmerican Energy completed work on four of five wind farms across Iowa that make up its Wind VIII project; GE received an order from the Tennessee Valley Authority to supply two high-efficiency 7HA.02 gas turbine generators for the new combined-cycle Allen plant; Appalachian Power plans to rebuild the existing South Bluefield-Wythe 69-kV transmission line; Bechtel partnered with Westinghouse Electric to provide decontamination and decommissioning services for nuclear power plants throughout the U.S.; SunEdison and Omnigrid Micropower signed a framework agreement to develop 5,000 rural projects, representing 250 MW of electricity, throughout India; The Tennessee Valley Authority and DuPont partnered to generate power and steam at TVA's Johnsonville site in Tennessee; and others.
The Case for Smart Grid
Funding a new infrastructure in an age of uncertainty.
The world’s electricity supply will need to triple by 2050 to keep up with demand. What follows is a look at where we are, and what may lie ahead, with a focus on the the scope of the problem, regulatory reform initiatives now underway, and how to go about rethinking the business models that might evolve.
Digest (February 2015)
Europe’s largest battery-storage project was officially opened in England; CODA Energy announced operation of the largest behind the meter lithium-ion energy storage system in the Los Angeles basin; FERC approved construction of Constitution Pipeline’s natural gas pipeline to New York and New England markets; FERC approved a facilities construction agreement for Minnesota Power’s Great Northern Transmission Line; General Electric received an order from the Tennessee Valley Authority for two high-efficiency 7HA.02 gas-fired turbine generators; A Renewable Energy Southern Company subsidiary plans to develop a 131- MW PV solar project in Georgia; GE Global Research and others partnered on a research project to improve reliability and resiliency of electricity delivery in northern New York; Duke Energy Renewables acquired the Halifax Solar Power Project from Geenex and ET Solar Energy; Dominion Resources agreed to purchase Carolina Gas Transmission from SCANA Corp.; and others...
FERC Approves a Construction Agreement for the Great Northern Project
Submitted by aburr on Thu, 2014-12-18 12:55Minnesota Power's Great Northern Transmission Line received another approval. FERC approved a facilities construction agreement required to build this 500-kV, 220-mile line that will run from the Canadian-U.S. border northwest of Roseau, Minn. to an expanded Blackberry electric substation east of Grand Rapids, Minn. The Great Northern Line, under development by Minnesota Power and the Manitoba Hydro subsidiary, has an anticipated in-service date of June 1, 2020.
Xcel Energy to Close Coal-fired Generation at Black Dog Plant in 2015
Submitted by aburr on Thu, 2014-10-23 12:50Xcel Energy notified Minnesota regulators and MISO of its intent to stop generating electricity with coal at its Black Dog plant in Burnsville in April 2015, due to changing environmental regulations. The notification is the last step in a multi-year resource planning process. Black Dog's two coal units currently generate 232 MW of electricity. The company will continue to operate the 300-MW natural gas unit located at the Black Dog site. The coal units' retirement will trigger a multi-year decommissioning project.