Become a PUF Member Organization

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

Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2015-08-03 13:20

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

Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2015-08-03 13:18

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

Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2015-08-03 13:17

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

Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2015-08-03 13:16

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

Submitted by aburr on Mon, 2015-08-03 13:16

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.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

Read Entire Article

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.
Byline: 

Ken Silverstein

Read Entire Article

To Reach Our Energy Future

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2015-07-30 11:53
The new initiative from New York state – Reforming the Energy Vision, or “REV” – will redesign the power grid, making it more secure, efficient, resilient, and economic for electric utility customers.

As anyone knows who works in the energy industry, changes are coming in the way we generate, distribute, and use electricity.

From New York to California to Hawaii, lawmakers are calling for more renewable energy. They're welcoming new technologies into grid systems for energy management. They're encouraging formerly monopolistic and slow-moving utilities to reinvent themselves - as smart and nimble player-coaches in a newly dynamic and pluralistic energy marketplace.

Let's Have Full Disclosure on Harvard's New Health Study

Submitted by meacott on Wed, 2015-07-22 12:31
A recent health study provoked a sharp divide between advocates and contrarians on either side of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. On one hand, no one in the major media has questioned the study’s claims. On the other hand, contrarians just want full disclosure from all the relevant parties.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

That's the lesson one might well draw from the remarkable but yet not so surprising coincidences that have emerged regarding (A) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its "Clean Power Plan" to reduce carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants, and (B) an academic study released two months ago by some half-dozen PH.D's from Harvard, Syracuse University, and other schools and NGOs that purports to justify the CPP.