Demand Response-Opportunity and Value

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 specified that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determine the potential for demand response defined as: The ability for customers to change their electrical usage based on changes to price of electricity or in response to incentive payment programs, designed to encourage use of electricity during periods of lower demand. The desired...

LED Streetlights

Streetlights are an important public safety service that is expensive to maintain and consume a significant quantity on energy. Consequently, a number of U.S. cities, most notably Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, are embarking on programs to convert traditional street lights to light emitting diode (LED) lighting. These LED lighting systems are attractive because they: Do not consume as much...

Spray-on Solar Panels

Solar Panels According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), by 2020 photovoltaic (PV) technology will represent 15 percent of the energy consumed in the U.S. and the National Center for Photovoltaic (NCPV) expects that 10 percent of the power produced during peak times will be by solar energy. Solar energy is plentiful, clean, and renewable. In fact the amount of energy provided by...

Smart Grid – Driving Forces and Benefits

Electric Transmission Infrastructure Electricity provides over 40 percent of the overall energy consumed in the U.S. and it has a well-established relationship to GDP growth. Consequently, the strength and resilience of the electric grid is a matter of critical importance to the overall economy. The current U.S. electric transmission and distribution grid is generally considered to be aging,...

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve

 The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a federally controlled oil stockpile, that was created in 1975 as a result of the 1973-1974 oil embargoes. Its purpose is to reduce U.S. vulnerability to any interruptions to the oil supply, regardless of whether they are initiated by one of its supplying OPEC nations or a natural disaster (e.g. Hurricane Katrina). Procedural Framework for Releasing...

Offshore Drilling

Offshore Drilling Rigs Worldwide daily consumption of oil generally exceeeds 80-85 million barrels thereby driving the petroleum industry to continually search the planet for new reserves. Since the world’s oceans comprise almost 75 percent of the earth’s surface, it stands to reason that much of the world’s future new oil reserves will be discovered underwater. Underwater exploration,...

Basics of Electricity

Units of Electricity Electricity Grid  The most basic units in electricity are: Voltage (V): Measured in volts, voltage relates to the pressure of electric flow. Current (I): Measured in amps, current can be viewed as the amount of electricity flow Resistance (R): Measured in ohms, resistance, as the term implies, addresses the amount of constraint on the flow of electricity These units are...

Nuclear Power’s Role in Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Reducing CO2 Emissions is a Desirable Goal Regardless of one’s view of the significance or even existence of global warming, few dispute the notion that the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is both desirable and necessary from an environmental stewardship perspective. Recognizing that the generation of electricity from fossil fuels (e.g. natural gas and coal) is a major source in CO2...

Cyber Security – A Growing Priority for the Electric Grid

Cyber Security Requires a Change in Strategy Electric Grid With the electric industry trend toward implementing Smart Grid and AMI, the definition of electric grid security has broadened from guarding against weather-related outages to protecting against the possibility of cyber attacks. The challenge is even more pronounced as the nature of the threats is likely to evolve as the sophistication...

Network Planning for SmartGrid Communication

There are a number of factors that drive the plans and programs of a SmartGrid implementation; these include: Economic Pressures, Cyber Security, Overall System Reliability, Energy Efficiency, and Customer Participation However, one can argue that none of these factors is more important to overall success than the manner in which an electric utility incorporates communications into its Smart...