New transmission is a major issue and permitting is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Overhead HV often takes 5-7 years to permit. HVDC lines take far less time, because they are laid underground and require only a small right-of-way, which speeds up the process to a two- to three-year average. Such lines also don’t have cooling or freezing issues and (more…)

The popular Spanish holiday destination will clean up its energy mix with an underwater connection to the mainland.

Back in October 2007 Siemens announced on its website that its Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) would connect the resort island of Majorca to the power grid on the Spanish mainland for the first (more…)

Plugging in an electric car is very well and environmentally good, but what about the emissions reductions of connecting a large yacht or even an entire cruise ship to the grid? Currently, ships must burn fuel to maintain onboard systems, even at port. Linking just one cruise ship at port to the electricity grid could (more…)

I am not going to lie — when I first heard about solar battery storage, I was not overly excited. Because I usually work with our efficiency programs – and communicating how our customers can conserve energy and save money – I was way out of my comfort zone. And I’d missed lunch, so I was cranky. (more…)

The sun is ready to go to work in the Empire State. Why, it can even clean a subway car. And these hot summer temperatures serve as a timely (and toasty) reminder that solar is ready and able to help today.

As was excellently articulated by ClimateProgress reporter Stephen Lacey last week, solar is a prime (more…)

At Connectivity Week in Santa Clara, recently, I took part in a series of panel discussions on data center energy efficiency. The discussions covered a wide range of issues from the practicalities of infrastructure optimization to the possible role of data centers in demand response schemes. There was a particular (more…)

Have you ever been on a sailboat when the wind kicked up and a big gust tossed you into the water? (Not that I have, of course. My friend maintains that he is an “expert captain.”) Or have you experienced the wind dying down and it’s like you’re going nowhere fast? (He’ll deny that one too.) Wind has a similar effect on the power grid (more…)

I think it would be a system operator’s nightmare. You’re responsible for keeping everyone’s lights on, but a passing set of clouds cuts the output from several solar arrays from 100% to 20% — and then raises it back up to 100% in less than a minute.

Fluctuations like that would put me in the (more…)

Of the 12 smart grid projects to win an award as part of the GE Ecomagination Challenge, one in particular caught my attention.

That is GE’s collaboration with Columbia University’s School for Engineering and Applied Science, FedEx Express and Con Edison to take Columbia’s patented (more…)

While others talk about the need to change our nation’s energy habits, GE is committing resources to find the best ideas and build a better energy grid.

GE and its partners announce the GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid, a $200 million investment in finding the best technologies, processes and business models to bring our energy grid into the 21st century. It’s about making clean energy real, bringing to market what works, right now.

In looking for the best ideas, GE is asking you to get involved in finding the solution.

You can submit an idea or vote for the ideas that you think are the most promising and play a part in defining the future of our energy grid.

There are three separate challenges to address how we create, connect and use energy, focused on: renewable energy, grid efficiency and eco homes/eco buildings.

(more…)