The risk of catastrophic consequences in wildfire-prone areas of Southern California Edison’s territory should be reduced after the company completes its 2023-2025 wildfire mitigation strategy, which includes installing covered conductors, protective devices, and performing other grid hardening activities. SCE said it has reduced the probability of catastrophic wildfires associated with its equipment by about 75%-80% since 2018 through proactive measures. The company’s new three-year wildfire plan outlines critical work ahead. The wildfire mitigation plan (WMP) calls for the installation of mo ..read more

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — States are doling out more cash than ever to lure multibillion-dollar microchip, electric vehicle and battery factories, inspiring ever-more competition as they dig deeper into their pockets to attract big employers and capitalize on a wave of huge new projects. Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas have made billion-dollar pledges for a microchip or EV plant, with more state-subsidized plant announcements by profitable automakers and semiconductor giants surely to come. States have long competed for big employe ..read more

Portland General Electric is taking bold action in its march to a clean energy-powered grid, releasing a new, first-ever, Clean Energy Plan in addition to its Integrated Resource Plan, which both focus on the addition of more community based renewable energy (CBRE). In a video summary, Kristen Sheeran, Director of Resource Planning and Sustainability outlined the five basic components of the plan, which include: New utility scale renewable projects like wind and solar installations, both in-state and out-of-state. Non-emitting capacity such as batteries. CBRE resources, small distributed ener ..read more

When Matt Carrara took over three months ago as President of diagnostic test equipment provider Doble Engineering, he realized that years and years of historical data could help solve today’s supply chain problem. All utilities are suffering from extra-long wait times for equipment and Doble is no exception. “Our backlog is 30% higher than it was a year ago” said Carrara, who spoke with Powergrid International on the sidelines of the company’s 90th International Client Conference in Boston.  To counter supply chain problems that could impact on its ability to supply equipment to customers ..read more

By Paul Ciampoli, News Director, American Public Power Association Efficiency standards for distribution transformers proposed by the Department of Energy would worsen current distribution transformer supply shortages and, to the extent that they are even feasible, would impose significant costs on consumers, the American Public Power Association said. The March 27 comments filed by APPA come in response to a DOE notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) on Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers issued late last year. If the rulemaking is adopted, almost all transformers produc ..read more

Buildings are a large contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with energy-related emissions from both residential and commercial properties representing 34% of total emissions in the US, according to some estimates. New York’s Climate Mobilization Act, which goes into effect in January 2024 seeks to cap emissions from kilowatt-hours and therms used by multifamily buildings and residents and a new partnership between Logical Buildings and Keyframe Capital should help lower those emissions. The entities have established a $110M virtual power plant (VPP) project facility that will be used ..read more

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and its research partners completed a multi-year study to help the state’s solar industry deploy weather forecasting technology to better anticipate power generation and improve electric grid reliability.  The project addressed challenges raised by the uncertainty related to solar output by offering advanced forecasting methods and making a roadmap to help maintain grid reliability, optimize production of renewables, and reduce operating costs.   High quality weather forecasting models “will be vital” to the operations of utilities and indepen ..read more

An 11 MW/11 MWh battery storage system is now operating in North Carolina, the state’s largest system to date. The battery storage facility, located in Onslow County, was developed by Duke Energy alongside an existing 13 MW solar farm on leased land within Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The two sites can also be operated independently. Both projects are connected to a Duke Energy substation and will be used to serve all Duke Energy Progress customers. Future work could enable the solar and battery systems to improve the resiliency of MCB Camp Lejeune against outages. GO DEEPER: FlexGen CCO Ya ..read more

Sea-surface temperatures have continued to warm across much of the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the past month. Temperatures are now closer to average across much of central Pacific and are running 1 to 2 degrees warmer than average in parts of the western and eastern Pacific. These trends indicate that the La Nina phase has fully transitioned into a neutral phase. The latest long-range climate models suggest that this neutral phase will persist through the spring and transition into an El Nino phase sometime this summer into early fall. However, based on the recent few weeks of warming tha ..read more

Almost 80 percent of Ukrainian substations have been damaged by Russian attacks and Ukrainian grid operators are seeking help in the form of decommissioned equipment donations from utilities all over the world. Having first spoke about the initiative at DISTRIBUTECH International in February 2023, the President of the Ukrainian World Congress, Paul Grod, was in Boston this week presenting the Energize Ukraine initiative at the 90th International Conference of Doble Clients. Grod spoke as part of the keynote session on Monday, February 27 to the audience of utility asset managers. “Since Octobe ..read more