Transmission

Siemens Receives Grid Connection Order for Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

Siemens received an order for the turnkey delivery of the grid connection for the Dudgeon offshore wind farm. The customers are the Norwegian utilities Statoil and Statkraft, which are jointly implementing the wind farm off the coast of the U.K. Siemens will supply the entire power transmission system, including the two transformer substations - one onshore and one offshore - for the 402-MW project. Siemens had previously received an order in August to deliver 67 wind turbines in the new 6-MW class as well as to maintain the wind farm.

Her Next Hurdle

ITC’s Linda Blair on where to build tomorrow’s grid.

Linda Blair, executive v.p. and chief business officer for grid giant ITC, discusses how ITC plans to navigate the new transmission landscape and where ITC might turn for its next major transmission project.

In the Crosshairs

Protecting substations and transformers after the PG&E Metcalf attack.

The latest fallout from the April 2013 Metcalf incident: the unprecedented assault with high-powered rifles on PG&E’s Metcalf substation, in Silicon Valley, which disabled 17 of 20 large transformers.

Big Wind in the Big Oil State

ERCOT readies for renewable market integration.

ERCOT readies to integrate a large future influx of wind generation and finds need for new, more flexible resources to provide ancillary services – preferably a zero-to-five-minute ramping resource which, unfortunately, does not correspond to any currently existing technology or market product.

Unwinding the Death Spiral

Rooftop solar, net metering, and the perils of utilityspeak.

The Sierra Club accuses utilities of trying to snuff out rooftop solar. Attorney Donald Sipe recommends RTO/ISO markets for natural gas.

ABB Wins $40 Million Order to Provide Cable Link for Offshore Wind Farm

ABB won an order worth around $40 million from Energinet.dk, the Danish transmission system operator, to build an AC power cable system that will help integrate and transmit power from the 400 MW Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm. ABB´s project scope includes the technical design, engineering and production of the high-voltage cable system including accessories and installation. Energinet.dk is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state as represented by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building.

Scare Tactics

New England’s proposed capacity market reform would force generators to ‘Be There or Else.’

Facing worries about resource adequacy, ISO New England proposes changes that would penalize generators that fail to perform when needed -- for any reason. Market players say it can only work if the system operator allows for reasonable exceptions.

Life in the Transco Age

The competitive transmission genie is out of the bottle.

FERC Orders 890 and 1000 have opened the doors to independent transcos, heralding an era of innovation to solve reliability and capacity problems.

Siemens Completes Estlink 2 Transmission Project

Siemens Energy completed the EstLink 2 project, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link consisting of converter stations in Anttila, Finland, and Püssi, Estonia. Power is now being transmitted by Fingrid, the transmission system operator in Finland and the Estonian transmission system operator Elering. The new joint transmission capacity between the two countries is now increased from 350 MW to 1000 MW. Siemens was responsible for designing the HVDC system as a monopolar connection with metallic return conductor.

Entergy, ITC Discontinue Pursuit of Transmission Spin/Merger

Entergy and ITC Holdings mutually agreed to end their pursuit of a spin/merger of Entergy's transmission business with ITC. The companies formally terminated the merger agreement and filed pleadings to withdraw the remaining transaction approval applications with Entergy's retail regulators, as well as the Missouri Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The companies originally announced the deal on Dec.