Electrical Engineering Articles & Analysis

Pacific Gas and Electric Company recently reported that the company is working to serve approximately 5.5 gigawatts of new data center energy demand over the next decade, with 1.4 GW currently in final design and projected to come online between 2026 and 2030. To put this in perspective, 1 GW is enough power to serve the demand of about 750,000 homes at once. The 1.4 GW of new data center load ...

By Smart Grid Observer

SYSADVANCE NORTH AMERICA has been selected to supply a biogas upgrading system for the Middlesex County Utility Authority in Sayreville, NJ. The Methagen LF biogas upgrading system was chosen by CEM Engineering and Concord Engineering Group because of its proven capability to upgrade highly contaminated landfill gas while guaranteeing to meet pipeline specifications at market leading efficiency. ...

By American Biogas Council (ABC)

Consumers Energy’s investment in smart technology for Michigan’s electric grid is paying off, keeping the lights on for over 72,000 customers who would have otherwise lost power at some point this year.Devices known as automatic transfer reclosers, or ATRs, have provided this benefit to customers. They’re an example of a leading-edge technology that detects a power outage remotely and, like ...

By Smart Grid Observer

PA Consulting, the global innovation and transformation consultancy, announced Con Edison is the winner of its 2024 National ReliabilityOne Award for providing the most reliable electric service in the nation. PA Consulting also selected Con Edison for its for Outstanding Reliability Performance in the Northeast Region Metropolitan Service Area.“Con Edison has provided New Yorkers with reliable ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), which commemorates its 10th anniversary next month, is reporting that it has achieved $6.25 billion in cumulative economic savings for market participants, while also providing increasingly significant energy transfers to support reliability across the West.During the third quarter, which saw two significant heat waves that affected California and much ...

By Smart Grid Observer

FirstEnergy is among the first in the electric utility industry to deploy a new program that helps predict and reduce tree-related outages before they occur across the company’s six-state service area. The company’s vegetation management team engineered the AI-driven program to calculate where trees pose the most risk to the electric system, particularly ahead of winter and summer storm ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Entergy Louisiana representatives and local officials gathered in Lake Charles this week to mark the start of phase one of the company’s comprehensive grid resilience plan that will result in customers experiencing shorter and lesser amount of power outages when severe weather strikes. The groundbreaking ceremony, set against a backdrop of bucket trucks and utility workers, heralds a new era of ...

By Smart Grid Observer

A recent report from the from the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Atlas Public Policy provides seven key recommendations for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructurestate program leads based on applicant feedback from the first round of NEVI awards. The report’s findings are based on a ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Section 6 (Electric Power/Energy Systems) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) have published a report, Evolving Planning Criteria for a Sustainable Power Grid (also available on NERC's website), on electric reliability criteria for grid planning. The report summarizes the proceedings and actionable recommendations from a ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Energy Central is proud to present this illuminating interview with Dr. Leonid Lev, a pioneering figure in the utility sector and a selection from Energy Central’s Champions of Innovation for 2024. Dr. Lev, Israel Electric Corporation’s CTO of Cyber Entrepreneur and Business Development, brings with him a career that began in the development of SCADA systems and has since expanded to ...

By Energy Central

Swiss-based Alpiq has placed an order with Merus Power to build a 30 MW/36 MWh energy storage facility in Valkeakoski to be connected to Fingrid's grid. Merus Power has carried out the project development work and is responsible for the overall supply of the energy storage facility. In addition, the parties have concluded a contract for operation maintenance services. ...

By Energy Central

This week (June 18), the U.S. Department of Energy released new Supply Chain Cybersecurity Principles, developed in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory. The principles establish best practices for cybersecurity throughout the supply chain that supports energy infrastructure.Developed for manufacturers and end users alike, the principles create a framework to strengthen key technologies ...

By Smart Grid Observer

As part of its EVs2Scale2030TM initiative, EPRI announced earlier this month (June 4) an expansion of its eRoadMAPTM, providing load hosting capacity, or power capacity, for 10 large utilities in five states, with plans to expand nationwide. This information can help fleet operators, logistics providers, and charging site developers identify available capacity that is more likely to accommodate ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Wojciech Paruzel is an electrical engineer and a Wrocław University of Science and Technology graduate with an MBA in Business Management. His career spans over 25 years, with experience in the construction, automotive, and technology industries. He was previously the COO of the J.S. Hamilton Group, where he improved operational efficiency with selected strategies across Central and Eastern ...

By Tyre & Rubber Recycling

Lower-income communities across the United States have long been much slower to adopt solar power than their affluent neighbors, even when local and federal agencies offer tax breaks and other financial incentives.But, commercial and industrial rooftops, such as those atop retail buildings and factories, offer a big opportunity to reduce what researchers call the “solar equity gap,” according to ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Caterpillar Inc. announced this week that Liberty - New Hampshire, a local electric provider, has selected Caterpillar to supply turnkey virtual power plant (VPP) solutions for Liberty’s battery storage pilot.Under the initiative, Liberty has installed 2,600 kWh of lithium-ion battery storage at 100 homes to charge overnight when demand and rates are low, reduce peak load during times of high ...

By Smart Grid Observer

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved Hawaiian Electric's $190 million Climate Adaptation Transmission and Distribution Resilience Program application, which will help defend against the increasing threat of wildfires and harden its five island electric grids against severe weather-related events fueled by climate change. The decision is an essential regulatory step enabling ...

By Smart Grid Observer

Four Twelve Renewables is unveiling its inaugural utility-scale solar facility in Greene Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The 46-MWDC facility, known as BE Pine, is made up of approximately 98,000 bifacial solar panels. BE Pine is the first project in Four Twelve Renewables’ portfolio. Four Twelve is an energy developer seeking to use clean, abundant natural resources to generate ...

By Solar Power World

FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) filed a new infrastructure improvement program with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Nov 9 that would strengthen the backbone of its local electric system and provide the foundation for smart grid capabilities in the future. Known as EnergizeNJ, the five-year, $935 million proposal includes key investments in ...

By Smart Grid Observer

This week (Oct 18), SMUD announced it's been awarded a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership program (GRIP) for new technologies to increase reliability, efficiency and flexibility of the electric grid. SMUD's Connected Clean PowerCity project includes a cost share of $100 million and encompasses a number of ...

By Smart Grid Observer