Will the Hydrogen Economy Take Off?
Hydrogen is hot, but whether it really will fly is another story.
Electric Power Research Institute
Face-Off: The Nuclear Non-Starter
Persistent economic and political issues continue to prevent the expansion of nuclear power.
People
New Positions:
New Positions:
Martin Crotty and Dr. Soumen Ghosh joined SeaWest WindPower Inc. as senior vice president of operations and maintenance, and senior product manager of data services, respectively. Most recently, Crotty was director of operations for the Western Region of NRG Energy. Ghosh spent more than five years at ABB System Control and more than nine years at CMC.
Technology Corridor
Can utilities make a credible play for power line communications?
It's Now or Never for Power Line Broadband
Bridging the Carbon Gap: Fossil Fuel Use for the 21st Century
Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.
Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.
Editor's Note Several of the sources for this article and accompanying sidebars are referenced numerous times.
Advanced Metering: Policymakers Have the Ball
Demand response could help solve some energy problems, but not without state regulators pushing for it.
Changing the Fuel Mix: Time for a Nuclear Rescue?
Gas-fired power is king today, but fuel diversity needs and new technologies may open the door for nuclear and coal.
By Lori A. Burkhart
Gas-fired power is king today, but fuel diversity needs and new technologies may open the door for nuclear and coal.
The nation's demand for electricity is expected to grow by over 40 percent in the next 20 years, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meeting that need will require a great number of new generating plants. The burning question is, what will fuel these new plants?
The Barriers to Real-Time Pricing: Separating Fact From Fiction
Real-time pricing has been hindered by the misperception that a shift to RTP will create new types of risks, without creating benefits for utilities or customers.
A Dynamic Mission: Protecting Utility Assets
State public service commissions are insisting that utilities adopt risk management programs, and are allowing less pass-through for those that don't.
Many electric utilities have been on high alert since Sept. 11 to protect the assets within their systems from cyber and physical attack. For instance, 21 U.S. nuclear reactors are located within five miles of an airport, but 96 percent of all U.S. reactors were designed without regard for the potential for impact from even a small aircraft.
Distributed Generation: Hype vs. Hope
Separating myth from reality in identifying DG applications.
Technological breakthroughs in distributed generation have not materialized as quickly as expected. Furthermore, manufacturers have continued to improve traditional generation technologies. So what role can DG play?