The Dept. of Energy has selected 32 projects to receive a total of $620 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to advance and evaluate new technologies to make the nation's electricity grid more effective. The DOE funding will be complemented by more than $1 billion in private-sector matching funds for those projects. Related Links: Smart Grid Demo List Grid Modernization Will Mean Construction DOE Awards $3.4 Billion for 'Smart Grid' Upgrades The "smart grid" funding awards, announced Nov. 24, include energy-storage pilot projects, as well as plans that involve smart metering and distribution and transmission monitoring equipment. If
The cause of a massive electrical blackout that darkened large portions of Brazil in early November is still being investigated despite initial reports from the national grid operator that lightning and strong winds affected the transmission grid in southern Brazil. Photo: Germano Luders Itaipu hydro plant, on the border of Paraguay and Brazil, stayed in operation following Nov. 10 storms, officials say. Transmission lines serving the Brazilian grid did not fare as well. At 10:13 p.m. on Nov. 10, the lights went out in Brazil. For almost three hours a massive swath of the South American country, including 18 of
Europe’s largest energy project, Nord Stream, this month received vital approvals from Sweden and Finland when they gave their OKs for the twin underwater pipelines to pass through their exclusive economic zones in the Baltic Sea. + Image Image: Nord Stream AG The natural gas pipeline across the Baltic sea Nord Stream will carry natural gas 1,220 km, from Vyborg, Russia, near St. Petersburg, to Greifsburg, Germany. It will cross the territories of four other nations: Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Poland. Only Russia and Germany still have to approve the project, but that is considered a formality. The 1,220-km offshore
As the U.K. begins to fast-track nuclear power permitting, its safety regulator and those of Finland and France have sent Europe’s main nuclear plant supplier back to the drawing board. Already grappling with construction delays at its first EPR pressurized water reactor project—Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) plant—Areva Np., Paris, must now also rethink key safety systems. In an unusual joint move, nuclear safety regulators in the U.K., Finland and France recently revealed safety concerns about the EPR’s control and instrumentation (C&I) systems. Photo: TVO Delays Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant may be started much later than the June 2012 deadline.
Consulting engineers and construction contractors alike are looking forward to participating in the single-largest investment ever for modernizing the U.S. electric grid. The $3.4 billion of grant awards announced late last month by President Obama will be matched by utilities in 49 states for a total of $8.2 billion to install “Smart Grid” technologies. The Energy Dept. hopes that investment will put the country on a path to obtain 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and shave more than 1,400 MW off peak power demand. On the long-heralded Smart Grid, customers and electricity providers will be linked
A joint venture to develop up to 100,000 MW of solar power in Middle Eastern and North African deserts by 2050 was formed on Oct. 30 in Munich. The group DII GmbH is owned by 12 major firms, most of them based in Germany, including Siemens A.G., Deutsche Bank A.G. and the DESERTEC Foundation. DII ultimately aims to supply as much as 15% of Europe’s electricity demand and a substantial part of local needs.
NRG Energy Inc., Princeton, N.J., has purchased Bluewater Wind, Newark, Del., the first U.S. developer with a purchase agreement for the sale of power generated from an offshore wind farm. The deal brings the financial strength of NRG, which had $6.8 billion in sales last year, to Bluewater, helping the startup firm realize its dream to develop a $1-billion, 79-turbine commercial wind farm off the Delaware coast.
Development of two new nuclear units in Texas could be delayed or put further at risk after estimates for the reactors rose 30% last month to $17 billion. The price escalation shocked San Antonio, Texas, municipal utility CPS Energy, which has a 40% stake in the South Texas Project in Matagorda County. The company’s board of trustees ordered an investigation into whether information about the price escalation for the 1,358- MW advanced boiling water reactor units was kept hidden. “A cost estimate that exceeds our preliminary total project cost of $13 billion is not acceptable and will result in CPS
A new power-transmission project on the Texas-New Mexico border will facilitate movement of power throughout the U.S. from booming alternative-energy developments in the Southwest. One of those developments, a 600-MW Texas wind farm, will be built with funds and equipment from China. The announcements last month of the two projects strengthens the region’s position as a leader in renewable energy and highlights China’s growing U.S. investment. + Image Source: American Superconductor Corp. Tres Amigas Superstation The Tres Amigas SuperStation in Clovis, N.M., will link the Texas Interconnection to the nation’s other two electrical grids, the Eastern and Western interconnections. With
The Dept. of Energy has awarded $3.4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to modernize the electric power grid and boost its efficiency and reliability. Related Links: Grant Awards by Category (141 KB) Smart Grid Grant Locations (568 KB) The federal money will be supplemented by more than $4.7 billion in private-sector matching funds, DOE said. President Obama, announcing the 100 "smart grid investment grants" on Oct. 27 at a Florida Power & Light Co. solar energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., called the spending "the largest-ever investment in a smarter, stronger and more secure electric grid."