Energy Department Invests Over $10 Million to Improve Grid Reliability and Resiliency

The Energy Department announced more than $10 million for projects to improve the reliability and resiliency of the U.S. electric grid and facilitate quick and effective response to grid conditions. This investment which includes six projects across five states- California, Hawaii, Missouri, North Carolina and Washington - will help further the deployment of advanced software that works with synchrophasor technology to better detect quickly-changing grid conditions and improve grid reliability.

Tollgrade and DTE Energy Team Up for Three-Year Smart Grid Project

Tollgrade Communications partnered with DTE Energy in a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment to action for a comprehensive grid modernization project in Detroit that will roll out over the next three years. DTE Energy is deploying Tollgrade's LightHouse MV smart grid sensors and predictive grid analytics platform at key substations and feeders within its distribution network.

Florida Power & Light Proposes Plan to Invest in Natural Gas

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) plans to invest in long-term natural gas supplies, which the company believes will save customers money and keep fuel costs lower. FPL is partnering with PetroQuest Energy, to develop up to 38 natural gas production wells in the Woodford Shale region in southeastern Oklahoma. PetroQuest will oversee and operate those wells. FPL will receive a portion of the natural gas produced from each well for its use.

Petra Solar Completes the Middle East’s Largest Smart Solar Project in Bahrain

Petra Systems, along with its partner Caspian Renewable Energy, completed the installation of the largest Smart Solar power plant in the Middle East. The 5-MW project will be owned by BAPCO (Bahrain Petroleum Company), a wholly owned subsidiary of NOGA (National Oil and Gas Authority) and will deliver in excess of 8,000 MWh of renewable energy.

Digest (July 2014)

Austin Energy awards Recurrent Energy a contract for Texas' largest solar power plant; Indianapolis Power & Light receives approval from IURC to invest $600 million in gas turbine power station; Tucson Electric Power to purchase solar power from Avalon Solar Project; Xcel Energy and SunPower sign a PPA for a 50-MW solar plant in Colorado; American Electric Power plans to replace existing wire on transmission line running from Ohio to West Virginia; Midcontinent ISO amends its tariff to allow for short-term variations in net load requirements; FERC approves ISO New England's "Pay-for-Performance" plan.

Wireless Sensor Technology

Equipment health monitoring for the modern utility.

Wireless sensors open new, novel applications for utilities, replacing expensive cabling network options to sense incipient equipment failures.

Hedging Your Bet on Cheap Gas

Portfolio theory points to energy efficiency as invaluable in resource planning.

Overlooked in planning, and undervalued by today’s low natural gas prices, energy efficiency offers a valuable hedge against fuel price volatility.

A Call for Consolidation

Electric utility mergers loom as the next step in restructuring.

The electric utility industry is inefficient: the firms are too small, lacking economies of scale achievable through mergers and acquisitions.

Intelligent Protection

Local network security in the age of microgrids and distributed generation.

With the local grid infused with distributed generation, static relay settings must yield to a more dynamic approach to ensure network security.

China's Leap Forward

China has invested billions in developing reactor prototypes.

China is currently the world leader in investment in and development of new nuclear power facilities.