Alstom Grid to Supply Substation Automation Solutions for Three UK Offshore Wind Farms

Alstom was awarded substation automation contracts for three of DONG Energy’s offshore wind farms. The systems will be fitted at the Race Bank project off the Norfolk Coast, the Walney Extension in the Irish Sea and at the Burbo Bank Extension in Liverpool Bay. All three projects are currently at various stages of development. All projects will feature Alstom Grid’s DS Agile, the company’s next generation digital control system for smart substations.

PowerStream Introduces New Energy Management Program to Customers

PowerStream launched a pilot to a limited number residential customers living in the utility's service territory. With funding from the Ministry of Energy's Smart Grid Fund, the Residential Energy Management (REM) pilot tests technologies that help consumers reduce energy consumption and manage costs while giving them more control over their day-to-day usage. The project is funded by Ontario's Smart Grid Fund and is structured to act as a template for other Ontario distribution companies to follow once the pilot is complete in 2016.

ABB Wins $450 Million Order for Norway-UK HVDC Interconnection

ABB won an order worth $450 million to link the power grids of the United Kingdom and Norway. The order was placed by Statnett, the state-owned network operator in Norway, and National Grid, an international electricity and gas utility from the UK. ABB will supply HVDC converter stations at both ends of the North Sea Network (NSN) Link between Norway and the UK. The NSN link will have the capacity to transmit 1,400 MW of power.

Dominion Virginia Power Receives 2015 Southeastern Electric Exchange's Industry Excellence Award

Dominion Virginia Power was recognized by the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE), a nonprofit organization of investor-owned electric utility companies, for successfully and innovatively rebuilding a critical 96-mile, 500-kV transmission line from Mount Storm, W.Va., to Doubs, Md. The SEE selected the project based on excellence in achievement, innovation, improvements, requirements and technical complexity.

Abengoa and Starwood Energy Win a 114-mile Transmission Line in the Southwest, US

Abengoa and Starwood Energy’s joint venture was selected by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) as the approved sponsor to finance, construct, own, operate and maintain the Delaney to Colorado River 500-kV transmission line project. Abengoa and Starwood Energy will undertake joint development of the 114-mile transmission line, reinforcing the electrical interconnection between both California and Arizona. Abengoa will undertake construction, operation and maintenance of the transmission line.

Jacobs Selected for EDF Energy's UK Hinkley Point C Project

Jacobs Engineering Group was selected as a preferred bidder by EDF Energy to support its proposed new 3,200-MW nuclear power generation plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, United Kingdom. Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is to provide project management for the building and civil work on the main construction site including the marine works.

OSI to Provide New Energy Management System for Cross Texas Transmission

Open Systems International (OSI) was selected to provide a new SCADA/EMS to Cross Texas Transmission (CTT) based on OSI's monarch platform. CTT is a new Texas electric transmission utility selected by the Public Utility Commission of Texas to design, build and own transmission facilities for the interconnection of renewable generation in the Panhandle of Texas, one of the areas in which the Public Utility Commission designated Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ).

Climate, Carbon, Fuel, and the Future

The view from Oregon and Portland General Electric.

Fortnightly speaks with Jim Piro, president and CEO of Portland General Electric. Piro serves as a member of Oregon’s Global Warming Commission. He’s also active in the Electrification Coalition, a national group of business leaders advocating for policies that support electric vehicles.

Is Nuclear Energy Still Viable?

Cheap natural gas is not just hurting coal. It’s doing the same to nuclear.

As the nation strives for cleaner air and less carbon emissions, nuclear – the most promising carbon-free power source – faces stiff competition from natural gas, which is cheap, abundant, and a lot easier to get permitted and built than a conventional reactor.