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Articles on Grid Integration of Renewables

• Middle East And North African Countries To Spend Billions On Smart Grids, Solar Integration
  Jun 25, 2014 - renewgrid.com
  
  Middle East and North African (MENA) countries will spend billions of dollars over the next decade to modernize their electric grids and add solar generation resources, according to a new study by Northeast Group LLC.
  
  
• COLUMN-Super-grid: China masters long-distance power transmission: Kemp
  Jun 19, 2014 - John Kemp - reuters.com
  
  (Reuters) - China's power engineers have become world leaders in ultra-high-voltage transmission systems connecting far-off power sources with cities hungry for electricity.
  
  
• EPRI Reveals Its Worldview on the Integrated Electrical Grid
  Apr 22, 2014 - Eric Wesoff - greentechmedia.com
  
  “What's happening at the edge of the grid will affect what’s happening at the transmission level.”
  
  
• Time to Rightsize the Grid?
  Apr 14, 2014 - Peter Fairlay - spectrum.ieee.org
  
  Last week a team of systems scientists known for counter-intuitive insights on power grids delivered a fresh one that questions one of the tenets of grid design: bigger grids, they argue, may not make for better grids.
  
  
• How to Build a Clean Energy Grid
  Jan 14, 2014 - John Jimison, Bill White and Ben Paulos - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  As part of their regional webinar series, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid is hosting a free webinar on transmission issues and opportunities in the PJM region. Register here for the January 24th session.
  
  
• India is now one nation, one grid - Jan 1, 2014
  Utpal Bhaskar, Amrit Raj, Arundhati Ramanathan - livemint.com
  
  New Delhi/Chennai: In a potential game-changer, South India has joined the national electricity grid, completing the integration of the entire country into one seamless network for delivering power to consumers.
  
  
• Good Electricity Grids Make Good Neighbors
  November 20, 2013 - Daniel Kammen of University of California - energyblog.nationalgeographic.com

  Today we face a different situation, where “front lines” of conflict have blurred and disappeared, and non-state actors dominate the threat-scape. Instability in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Somalia, and elsewhere requires a different form of engagement. Important steps have been made in peace-building and post-conflict resolution, but so far we have not taken advantage of a major opportunity to use some of our greatest infrastructure investments to build peaceful, prosperous, and cooperative regional economies.

  
  
• Renewable HVDC 'Supergrid' Concept Has Staying Power
  Oct 25, 2013 - bulletin.pbworld.com
  
  Modern electricity transmission grids use alternating current (AC) to transport energy from large, centralized generating plants – powered principally by coal, oil, gas, and nuclear energy – to the major load centers. However, as concerns have grown about the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and about the safety of nuclear installations, there has been a strong reciprocal escalation of political pressure to increase the amount of renewable energy used to power our world.
  
  
• Thousands of German Cities and Villages Looking to Buy Back Their Power Grids
  Oct 11, 2013 - Matthias B. Krause - greentechmedia.com
  
  What do Boulder, Colorado and Hamburg, Germany have in common? Boulder, Colorado and Hamburg, Germany don't seem to have too much in common. One is a small, green-minded city at the foothills of the Rockies, the other one is the second biggest metropolis in Germany with almost 1.8 million people, defined by its busy harbor.
  
  
• Virtual Power Plants: A New Model for Renewables Integration
  Sep 30, 2011 - Tildy Bayar, Associate Editor - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  With distributed energy generation growing and increasing amounts of renewable power coming onto the grid, new technologies and business models are helping to balance loads, smooth variability and integrate diverse resources.
  
  
• Building the supergrid
  May 21, 2013 - Peter Larsson - kth.se
  
  KTH Royal Institute of Technology researchers are helping to ensure that the power grids of the future meet the new demands created by renewable energy.
  
  
• The Best is Yet to Come: Electric Cars Connect to the Grid
  Apr 29, 2013 - SustainableBusiness.com News
  
  For the first time, electric cars are feeding electricity to the grid and making money on it!
  
  
• Qatar to add renewables to electricity grid
  May 24, 2013 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  Qatari energy distributor Kahramaa has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding granting approval for Qatar Foundation’s Solar Smart Grid Project Connectivity to be connected to Kahramaa's main grid.
  
  
  
• Elpipes for the High Capacity Backbone of an Asian Grid
  Roger Faulkner, President;Electric Pipeline Corporation, One Marina Park Drive, Boston MA USA roger.faulkner@elpipe.com - Now 2011
  
  Elpipes are polymer-insulated underground HVDC electric pipelines based on metallic conductors. Elpipes use relatively rigid extruded conductors designed for higher capacity and efficiency than are practical for overhead power lines. Rigid insulation may be used. In this paper, we discuss the technical trade-offs for elpipes, and application of elpipes to linking load centers to remote dispatchable hydro power, energy storage sites, and large dispatchable loads, to achieve load leveling through non-local storage and dispatchable loads, via the HVDC grid. Elpipes with voltage source converters (VSC) enable placing many AC/DC power taps on a single HVDC loop. It is advantageous to build up a continental scale HVDC grid from local loops that tie together 10-20 taps.
  
  
  
• RENEWABLE ENERGY: Clinton calls for rebuilding U.S. electric grid to carry more wind and solar power
  Dec 13, 2012 - Daniel Cusick - eenews.net
  
  CHICAGO -- Former President Clinton supports extending the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy as part of a plan to build a national electricity grid that could move hundreds of thousands of megawatts of trapped wind and solar power from sparsely populated states to urban markets.
  
  
• Germany’s $123 Million Power Line Aids Nuclear Exit, Merkel Says
  Dec 18, 2012 - Stefan Nicola - Bloomberg.com
  
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a $123 million electricity line that took a decade to develop will improve supply security, transmitting renewable energy from north to south and helping the nation phase out nuclear power.
  
  
• Ending India's Massive Power Grid Outages
  Nov 1, 2012 - Darchan Goswami - EnergyPulse.net
  
  On July 30th and 31st the world's largest blackout -- The Great Indian Outage -- stretching from New Delhi to Kolkata occurred. This blackout caused by northern power grid failure had put nearly 700 million people -- twice the population of the U.S. without electricity. A grid failure of this magnitude has thrown light on the massive demand for power in a country and its struggle to generate much-needed power supply.

• WGA seeks ways to add renewables
  Jul 15, 2012 - Bill Opalka - renewablesbiz.com
  
  Greater amounts of renewable energy are continually being added to the power mix in the Western states, so ways to integrate those resources are paramount.
  
  
• Germany Plans 3800-Kilometer, $25 Billion Transmission Network for Wind Power
  May 30, 2012 - Dave Levitan - spectrum.ieee.org
  
  Fresh off the record-setting solar weekend in Germany, the country's transmission operators say plans are in the works for a huge transmission line buildout to accommodate growing wind power resources.
  
  
• With changes, the grid can take it
  Dec. 5, 2011 - David L. Chandler - web.mit.edu
  
  MIT report shows that with new policies, U.S. electric grid could handle expected influx of electric cars and wind and solar generation..
  
  
• Landau: Israel and Cyprus to link electricity grids
  Dec. 12, 2011 - Guy Katsovich - globes.co.il
  
  The Minister of National Infrastructures said that a cable joining the Israeli and Cypriot grids would provide mutual backup.
  
  
• How to build a better electric grid
  Dec. 5, 2011 - Ucilia Wang - gigaom.com
  
  Efforts to modernize the U.S. electric grid in recent years have emerged in the form of a hodgepodge of pilot projects, the installation of new technology and hefty financial backing from the U.S. government and private investors. How to plan for such a big change is a daunting task. MIT released a report on Monday that looks at some of the challenges (and opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and utilities) and solutions to solve them.
  
  
• Stormy sun could knock out power grids - report
  Dec. 2, 2011 - Ethan Bilby - in.reuters.com
  
  (Reuters) - An upcoming cycle of stormy solar activity risks causing damage to electrical transformers and threatening vulnerable energy infrastructure around the globe, a report by an insurance group says.
  
  
• Big Growth Expected For High-Voltage Transmission Sector
  Dec. 5, 2011 - renewgridmag.com
  
  Investment in high-voltage transmission (greater than 345 kV) in the U.S. is expected to top $41 billion over the next 10 years, with more than 40% of it being made in just the first three years, according to a study from IHS Emerging Energy Research.
  
  
• The Future of the Electric Grid
  Dec. 12, 2011 - glennmosier.com
  
  Grid research by MIT is a “must read” for San Diego."
  
  
• New Lab to Help Utilities 'See' Grid of the Future
  Dec. 6, 2011 - Heather Lammers - nrel.gov
  
  With the simple flick of a light switch, you are connected to "the machine."
  
  
• U.S. power grid needs cybersecurity shield: report
  Dec. 5, 2011 - Deborah Zabarenko - reuters.com
  
  (Reuters) - The threat of cyberattacks on the U.S. power grid should be dealt with by a single federal agency, not the welter of groups now charged with the electric system's security, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported on Monday.
  
  
• Sri Lanka Plans To Set Up Undersea Power Power Grid Link With India
  Aug. 29, 2011 - rttnews.com
  
  (RTTNews) - Sri Lanka is planning to set up a power grid connection between the island nation and India which is facing growing requirement for electricity, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam Sunday said in Bengaluru, reports said.
  
  
• Jinping- Sunan ±800kV UHV DC Transmission Project Progresses Smoothly
  Aug. 23, 2011 - Bai Minghui, Wang Xin - sgcc.com.cn
  
  " In order to ensure the timely delivery of the power from the hydropower station in Guandi and Jinping and alleviate the power shortage effectively in Eastern China, we will further clarify the objective of Jinping- Sunan ±800 KV UHV DC Transmission Project to ensure its bipolar operation in 2012." Vice Executive President Zhen Baosen made the request on August 1st, during the construction meeting in Yulong Converter Station in Xichang, Sichuan, where the project started.
  
  
• Jonathan Approves Construction Of 765KV Super Grid Network
  Jul. 9, 2011 - Juliet Alohan - leadership.ng
  
  President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the construction of 765KV super-grid transmission network to address the nation’s power challenge, Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has disclosed.
  
  
• The Need for a National Smart Grid
  Oct. 1, 2011 - Duncan Gromko - leadenergy.org
  
  GE recently announced a new phase to its six month, $200 million dollar smart grid challenge, this one bringing smart grid technology into the home. This follows Vice President Joe Biden’s 2009 declaration that $3.3 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would be invested in researching smart grid technology. These investments, both public and private, are critical to address the economic, security, and environmental risks that our current electrical power grid poses. However, investment alone is insufficient: better coordination between utilities and regulators is also needed to improve our national electricity grid.
  
  
• Interconnected European offshore grid will save billions of Euros
  Oct. 5, 2011 - elp.com
  
  New results on offshore electricity grid infrastructure in Europe: the EU "OffshoreGrid" project analysis reveals tremendous cost saving potential.
  
  
• European supergrid could slash cost of renewables
  Sept. 22, 2011 - Daniel Mason - publicserviceeurope.com
  
  The United Kingdom could more effectively balance its electricity supply and demand by connecting the network to a European supergrid – potentially cutting the cost of building offshore wind farms by a quarter, a group of MPs in the House of Commons said today..
  
  
• UK MPs hail cost and social benefits of North Sea supergrid
  Sept. 22, 2011 - Karl-Erik Stromsta - rechargenews.com
  
  An influential group of UK members of parliament warns that without a North Sea supergrid, the social and financial barriers to meeting Britain’s long-term renewables targets will be significantly higher – and potentially insurmountable.
  
  
• A Marshall Plan to Build a Smart Grid -- in China
  Sept. 18, 2011 - James Greenberger - theenergycollective.com
  
  I wrote in last week’s column about the three most interesting insights into the future of grid-connected energy storage offered last week at the 2011 NAATBatt Annual Meeting and Conference by David Mohler, chief technology officer of Duke Energy. It occurred to me after posting my article that I neglected one other important insight. The fourth insight came not from David’s speech but from where he went after his speech: David is in China this week exploring commercial opportunities, undoubtedly trying to find ways to monetize Duke’s expertise in power technology..
  
  
• Technology Cost Review: Grid Parity for Renewables?
  Sept. 2, 2011 - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Research from the University of Melbourne's Energy Research Institute predicts that the price of wind and solar energy will continue to fall. The Institute's Renewable Energy Technology Cost Review covers the current and future costs of three forms of renewable energy technology - photovoltaic (PV), wind and concentrating solar thermal (CST) - by comparing data from a range of international and Australia-specific studies.
  
  
• Electric Vehicles Present Challenges For Distribution Grids
  Oct. 16, 2011 - Dr. Russell Lefevre - renewgridmag.com
  
  Increased worldwide interest in electric-vehicle (EV) deployment has led many researchers to consider the effects wide-scale adoption will have on the electric grid. Most experts have concluded that there is enough generation and transmission capacity to accommodate the expected number of EVs, at least in the near term.
  
  
• Vehicle-to-Grid Technology: Electric Cars Become Power-Grid Batteries
  Oct. 27, 2011 - Lesley Evans Ogden - blogs.scientificamerican.com
  
  Imagine a car that runs quietly, burns no gas, produces no emissions, stores renewable energy, and sometimes even pays you back. Seem like a pipe dream? Soon it won’t be. Vehicle-to-grid technology allows networks of electric vehicles (EVs) to function like a giant battery with an intelligent software interface feeding power from car to grid or grid to car on an as-needed basis. It’s now one step closer to U.S. commercialization.
  
  
• Bangladesh and India shaping South Asia Power Grid
  Nov 17, 2011 - steelguru.com
  
  bdnews24.com reported that Bangladesh and India are working together to draw the contours of the proposed South Asia Power Grid, even as the two countries are set to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector during Indian prime minister Mr Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh on Sep 6 to 7.
  
  
• To Build a Better Grid
  Nov 4, 2011 - Mark McDonald - nytimes.com
  
  JEJU, SOUTH KOREA — Lim Ki-choo has lived most of his life in a modest stucco house on Jeju, this pleasant freckle of an island off the southern tip of South Korea. He was a village leader in days gone by, and before that he ran a bank for local fishermen. All of which suggests that Mr. Lim, 84, has a certain standing here. Yet, he says, he’ll be damned if he can figure out how to work the controller the electric company gave him that runs all the new gizmos in his house.
  
  
• Butte College to Become First Grid-Positive College in the US
  Nov 4, 2011 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  Butte College, located in Northern California and resting on a 928-acre wildlife refuge, has been recognized over the last few years as a national community college leader in sustainability. By May 2011, the college will move to the head of its class--as the only college in the nation that is grid positive--producing more clean energy from sustainable on-site solar power than it uses.
  
  
• Switched on to mini grids
  Oct 20, 2011 - Simon Rolland - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  A BILLION AND a half people around the world still don't have access to electricity. Could hybrid mini grids be the best way to provide electricity – particularly to rural, often isolated, areas?
  
  
• Son launches Japan renewables push with Asia 'supergrid' call
  Oct 5, 2011 - rechargenews.com
  
  Launching the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF), Masayoshi Son, Softbank’s founder and chief executive, claimed the country could shift 60% of its power production to renewables over the next two decades with the help of a ¥2 trillion national onshore and offshore transmission network.
  
  
• Power import from India as planned
  Oct 5, 2011 - thedailystar.net
  
  The import of 250 megawatt electricity from India will go ahead as planned, the government said yesterday, dispelling media reports that it could be delayed due to opposition over use of land in Paschimbanga for installing power transmission line.
  
  
• Guest Post: The $200 Billion Energy Question
  Sep 27, 2011 - Rosalind Jackson - greentechmedia.com
  
  The U.S. stands at an energy crossroads. With or without new direction from policymakers, huge sums will be invested in the electricity system as aging infrastructure is replaced and new infrastructure is built to meet our country’s growing energy needs. In the 11 states that comprise the Western Interconnect, that amounts to more than $200 billion over the next two decades.
  
  
• Solar power boost to National Grid
  Sep 12, 2011 - Chamikara Weerasinghe - dailynews.lk
  
  Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday said they have arranged to introduce the first main grid connected solar power plant in the Hambantota District.
  
  
• More Than 1200 MW Set To Enter European Grid
  Sep 1, 2011 - Meg Cichon - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Grid connectivity is a lingering issue for renewables. Many ideal sources for renewable power tend to be in remote areas with no line access or densely populated areas with undersized, or already over-powered transmission.
  
  
• U.S. BLM Approves Four Projects Use of Public Land to Connect Renewable Energy to Power Grid
  Aug 19, 2011 - Eboom Staff - energyboom.com
  
  The United States Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management approved four new projects to run transmission lines through public land to transport electricity from large-scale renewable energy projects to the power grid.
  
  
• Department of Energy Commits Support for Landmark Rooftop Solar Project
  Aug 9, 2011 - globalenergywatch.com
  
  Largest Rooftop Project in U.S. History Will Enable Wide Distribution of Solar Power Across Country While Creating at Least a Thousand Jobs
  
  
  
• Solarcentury connects UK's largest solar system to national grid
  Aug 5, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  Solarcentury has broken new ground in the UK solar industry by connecting the nation's largest solar system to the grid. The 748kW array is comprised of over 3,000 panels and will produce enough electricity to power one-quarter of the Oxfordshire business park in which it is located.
  
  
• First College in US Generates Income Selling Solar to the Grid
  Aug 3, 2011 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  Butte College, near Sacramento, California is the first college in the US to be ‘grid positive' - it generates more electricity than it needs from its solar arrays and thus can deliver energy to the electric grid, making a tidy profit.
  
  
• South Asia’s energy quest could reshape region
  Jul 14, 2011 - Rama Lakshmi - washingtonpost.com
  
  New Delhi — India and its Himalayan neighbor Nepal are set to build a massive power transmission line across their border, a step toward addressing rising energy needs in a region that analysts say has been held back economically by political distrust.
  
  
• Plugging High-Speed Rail Into Germany’s Power Grid
  Jul 13, 2011 - Michael Scott Moore - miller-mccune.com
  
  Using rail lines for the energy grid may help a suddenly nuclear-shy Germany transition to wider use of renewable sources.
  
  
• Viewpoints: How electrical 'microgrids' might revolutionize power transmission
  Jul 2, 2011 - Peter Asmus - sacbee.com
  
  The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has long been seen as a clean technology pioneer. After all, this is a utility that shuttered a nuclear reactor after a public vote in 1989 and has since blazed trails on wind, solar and energy efficiency.
  
  
  
• U.S. smart grid to cost billions, save trillions
  Jun 29, 2011 - reuters.com
  
  (Reuters) - A planned modernization of the U.S. national power grid will cost up to $476 billion over the next 20 years but will provide up to $2 trillion in customer benefits over that time, according to industry experts.
  
  
• Maui selected for smart-grid demonstration
  June 5, 2011 - mauinews.com
  
  WAILUKU - Maui has been selected as the site for a "smart grid" renewable energy demonstration project, with an investment of approximately $37 million from the Japan-based New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Hawaiian Electric Co. announced Wednesday afternoon.
  
  
• California's Grid Plan Ready for Renewable Power Influx
  June 5, 2011 - energycentral.com
  
  The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) Board of Governors yesterday approved the 2010-2011 Transmission Plan that includes 33 grid upgrades for addressing future reliability and policy-driven needs worth $1.2 billion. The approval provides a timely decision that will aid renewable power projects seeking financing. The ISO accelerated its planning process by six months so that American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects could meet eligibility criteria.
  
  
• How Will the California System Operator Cope With 33% Renewables?
  June 5, 2011 - greentechmedia.com
  
  To meet California’s new standard requiring the state to get 33 percent of its power from renewables by 2020, the grid operator will have to stop talking about the weather and do something about it. The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) just brought its Mission Critical Wing, a new high tech control center, on line to do that.
  
  
• Energy Grid Integration
  Mar 27, 2011 - energybiz.com
  
  NREL Integration Effort Focused on the Market
  
  
• California ISO Board Approves Two Ways to Green the Grid
  May 18, 2010 - Business Wire
  
  The California ISO Board of Governors today approved two key changes that will help integrate renewable generating resources like wind, solar and geothermal onto the power grid faster and more efficiently. As California adds more renewable generation, these resources will replace some of the conventional generation that California has relied on for decades. The shift promises significant environmental benefits, but it also poses challenges because renewable resources are often located in remote areas. Additionally, wind and solar produce energy intermittently.
  
  
• Keeping the Lights On While Transforming Electric Utilities
  Feb 19, 2010 - Lena Hansen & Amory B. Lovins - Rocky Mountain Institute
  
  Electric utilities operate now much as they did a century ago—but the environment in which they operate is changing dramatically.
  
  
• Plugging Highway Vehicles into the Electric Grid
  Feb 19, 2010 - Lauren Morello - Climatewire   
  
  If enough plug-in electric vehicles communicate with the grid, they could provide cheap storage for excess electricity
  
  
• Planning the 'smart grid'
  Feb 8, 2010 - Billings Gazette, Billings, renewablesbiz.com
  
  Borgquist doesn't build wind farms, rather he's got a plan for collecting and transmitting wind power. Ultimately, he hopes to gather enough wind-generated electricity to equal the output of Hoover Dam, or two coal-fired power plants at Colstrip.
  
  
• No wires, no juice
  Jan 19, 2010 - Bill Opalka - renewablesbiz
  
  After nearly two years of speeches, announcements and attention from all parts of the energy and other media, oilman and wind power booster T. Boone Pickens last week shelved his plans for a massive wind-power project in Texas when he cut his order for GE turbines in half, from 667 units to 333. So I asked a transmission group what it would take to get projects like Pickens and others moving again. After all, large, sometimes multi-state transmission projects are what's needed to deliver energy from massive wind farms to load centers. Naturally, we focused on a discussion of pending federal energy legislation and regulations, which will also be considered at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum.
  
  
• NV Energy and Great Basin Transmission bring Nevada transmission in line with renewables
  Jan 12, 2010 - NewNet
  
  NYSE-listed holding company NV Energy and Great Basin Transmission, an affiliate of LS Power, have signed an agreement to jointly own a 500KV transmission line, which will provide access to isolated renewable energy resources in parts of northern and eastern Nevada.
  
  
• California processing 244 proposals for renewable energy facilities
  Jan 04, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says the projects represent 70,000 MW of capacity that will help the state meet its 2020 goal of one-third of power from renewables.
  
  
• China's green energy goes to waste in distribution bottleneck
  Dec 22, 2009 - Xinhua
  
  Green electricity from north China's growing wind power generators is being wasted because the country's power grid cannot absorb it, power experts have said.
  
  
• SGCC plans to build mega power carrier in Inner Mongolia
  Dec 16, 2009 - Xinhua
  
  State Grid Corp of China(SGCC), a major power grid operator, plans to build next year an ultra-high volt-age carrier that will transmit electricity generated by wind and thermal power plants in Inner Mongolia to Jiangsu Province, China Daily reported Thursday.
  
  
• NM shows snapshot of energy transmission potential
  Dec 2, 2009 - Susan Montoya Bryan - The Associated Press
  
  State legislators, utilities and energy producers now have the first snapshot of how renewable energy sources fit with New Mexico's transmission potential thanks to months of data gathering by the state Renewable Energy Transmission Authority.
  
  
• FERC Enters a Maze of Questions About Renewable Energy Transmission
  Nov 23, 2009 - Peter Behr - The New York Times
  
  The spread of wind and solar power is being held back by fragmented policies on paying for new transmission lines to carry renewable energy, said a group of leading transmission providers in a petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
  
  
• Tom Konrad: We need transmission!
  Nov 22, 2009 - Marc Gunther - The Energy Collective
  
  Today’s guest post comes from Tom Konrad, Ph.D., an investment analyst specializing in clean energy.  Tom, who is 40, and calls himself a policy wonk, lives in Denver and writes about stock market investments in clean energy at his excellent blog, AltEnergyStocks.com. Tom wrote this article  in response to a column by John Farrell (which we published here) arguing that localized, distributed renewable energy sources are preferable to  massive transmission lines. Tom’s response  first appeared on his blog Clean Energy Wonk, where he writes about energy policy and economics.  John replied in the comments there if you want to dig deeper into this controversy.
  
  
• Making Renewables Reliable
  Nov 18, 2009 - Matthew L. Wald - Teh New York Times
  
  TECHNOLOGY and policy are coming together to promise electricity as abundant as sunshine and as freely available as the breeze — and about as fickle.
  

• Wind energy companies looking for lines
  Nov 13, 2009 - UPI - DES MOINES, Iowa,
  
  Proposed multistate transmission lines carrying wind-generated electricity from the Midwest are a vital next step in U.S. energy efforts, experts say.

• Rooftop solar cells blossom, posing new challenges for power grid
  Nov 09, 2009- North County Times
  
  Solar power installations are sprouting on California rooftops like leaves in the spring, but all that renewable energy poses new problems for the aging power grid.
  

• Hawaii plans undersea power cable
  Oct 30, 2009 - Mark Niesse - The Associated Press
  
  Hawaii is moving forward with plans to build an undersea cable to carry wind-generated electricity from Maui County to power-hungry Honolulu.

• Wind energy's success creates a power grid challenge
  Oct 29, 2009 - Matthew Preusch - Oregon Live.com
  
  The rows of white turbines spinning over wheat fields and ridgelines in eastern Oregon are ample evidence that renewable energy from wind is real and growing.

• GE, Whirlpool and Others Launch Smart Green Grid Initiative Aimed at Including Smart Grid in Copenhagen Meetings
  Oct 20, 2009 - Smart Green Grid
  
  GE, Whirlpool Corporation and a number of other companies today announced the creation of a new collaborative effort aimed at demonstrating the role of smart grid technologies and practices in the achievement of climate change goals. Called the Smart Green Grid Initiative (SGGI), the effort will include educational events at the upcoming climate change meetings in Copenhagen. SGGI has been approved by the United Nations to be an official smart grid delegation to the Copenhagen meetings. SGGI will also be sponsoring educational events in the U.S. in the weeks preceding the meetings in Copenhagen.

• Plan connects U.S. grids to transport solar, wind
  Oct 13, 2009 - Martin LaMonica - cnet.com
  
  A proposal to use superconducting cables to transport renewable energy across the United States will be unveiled Tuesday.
  
  
• IREC Releases the 6th Edition of its Connecting to the Grid Guide
  Oct 7, 2009 - IREC
  
  The sixth edition of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's (IREC) Connecting to the Grid Guide is now available online. This guide provides a comprehensive introduction to a span of topics that relate to grid-tied renewable energy sources. The sixth edition has been revised to include information on IREC's recently updated model procedures, alternative billing arrangements for net metering, energy storage and several other emerging issues in the field. This guide is designed for state regulators and other policymakers, utilities, industry representatives and consumers interested in the development of state-level interconnection and net metering policies.
  
  
• Wind expert: Maine needs transmission upgrades
  Oct 6, Glenn Adams - The Associated Press
  
  A wind energy expert on Tuesday added his voice to those who say upgrading Maine's power transmission system is critical for the state to reach its wind-power potential.
  
  
• Conference Tackles Interstate Transmission
  October 5, 2009 - NREL
  
  More than 50% of the best class 5 - 7 winds in the Western U.S. occur in southern Wyoming. Southern California's population is expected to grow by 74% by 2030 to 23 million residents, and will need all the low-cost renewable power it can get. How do you build a transmission line to carry that clean electricity across mountain ranges, sensitive wildlife habitat and 1,000 miles of public and private property in as many as five states?
  
  
• PG&E Signs Suite of Power Agreements for Clean, Reliable Energy
  Oct 1, 2009 - PRNewswire
  
  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced a suite of new power agreements, totaling more than 2,000 megawatts (MW), that are expected to provide many years of clean, reliable electricity for the 15 million people it serves in northern and central California.
  
  
• Department of Energy Announces Start of Western Area Power Administration Recovery Act Project
  Sep 16, 2009 - U.S. Department of Energy
  
  WASHINGTON, DC – With the goal of bringing new jobs and green power to the West, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today a large-scale transmission project to be financed using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Western Area Power Administration will use borrowing authority under the Recovery Act to help build the $213 million Montana-Alberta Tie Limited (MATL) transmission project between Great Falls, Montana, and Lethbridge, Alberta. Almost two-thirds of the 214-mile transmission line will be located on U.S. soil, creating American jobs and allowing for the continued expansion of renewable energy production.
  
  
• Study for New England Governors Shows Region Has Significant Potential to Develop Renewables
  Sept 15, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  At the request of New England's six governors, ISO New England Inc., the operator of the region's bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets, recently released the results of a months-long study evaluating renewable resource potential in the region and beyond, as well as the economic and environmental impacts of that development.
  
  
• Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Launches Renewable Energy Gateway
  Sep 4, 2009 - North American Windpower
  
  The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO) has launched the Renewable Energy Gateway, an information hub focusing on renewable energy sources in the Midwest ISO region. The site looks at renewable sources such as wind, biomass and hydro and provides information supporting integration of these resources into the region.
  
  
• Phase 2A Final Report-Conceptual Transmission Plan for Access to Renewable Energy Announced
  Aug 13, 2009 - Energy Central
  
  The Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) today announced the availability of its Phase 2A Report -- a conceptual transmission plan that evaluates the usefulness of potential transmission lines in accessing and delivering renewable energy. The plan is intended to help enable development and approval of renewable energy infrastructure in ways that minimize the economic cost, environmental impacts, and number of new transmission facilities.
  
  
• Will electric cars wreck the grid?
  Aug 13, 2009 - Colin Sullivan - Scientific American
  
  Plug-in electric cars could destabilize the distribution of power, a utility executive cautioned at a conference here this week.
  
  
• Northwestern Transmission Line to Carry 575 Megawatts of Wind Power
  Aug 12, 2009 - NREL
  
  DOE announced on Monday that construction is underway for the McNary-John Day transmission project in Oregon and Washington, funded by $343 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project, part of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission system, is expected to deliver more than 575 megawatts (MW) of wind-generated power across the West by early 2012. The 79-mile McNary-John Day line will run from the McNary Substation in Oregon, across the Columbia River into Washington, and back into Oregon, where it will end at the John Day Substation. It is one of four proposed transmission lines that together would add 225 miles of high-voltage power transmission to the Pacific Northwest, delivering about 2,800 MW of renewable energy to the region. See the DOE press release and the BPA fact sheet on the proposed projects (PDF 109 KB).
  
  
• West Texas wind power waits for power lines
  Jul 25, 2009 - Jason Whitley - WFAA
  
  For decades, the census brought bad news to Sweetwater. The population of this West Texas town about 40 miles west of Abilene had been sliding since the sixties.
  
  
• Intermittency not a problem for wind power, say reports
  Jul 14, 2009 - Sam Bond - edie newsroom
  
  Sometimes the wind blows, and sometimes it doesn't. This has, for a long time, been one of the key hurdles for the widespread adoption of wind power but, according to a flurry of reports, it's an argument that does not hold water.
  
  
• MDU Resources Intends to Help Develop Green Power Express Transmission Project
  Jul 7, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) announced today that it intends to participate with ITC Holdings Corp. in developing the Green Power Express transmission project, which would transport renewable energy from wind-rich Plains states to major metropolitan markets.
  
  
• Upgraded Power Grid is Vital for Alternative Energy in Kansas
  Jul 5, 2009 - The Wichita Eagle
  
  Behind every graceful wind farm generating power stands the decidedly less-glamorous high-voltage lines transporting it.
  
  
• Toward a renewables-friendly-grid
  Jun, 2009 - Susan Arterian-Chang - IEEE Spectrum
  
  A great deal of money and deep technical expertise are now in place to get the U.S. transmission system ready for lots more wind and some more solar. But radical reform of management and regulation will also be required.
  
  
• How utilities integrate wind energy
  Jun 29, 2009 - Jeff Anthony - Renewable Energy World.com
  
  The U.S. wind energy industry in 2008 shattered previous records by installing 8,435 MW of new generating capacity (generating enough electricity during a year to serve more than 2 million homes), making wind power a mainstream generating technology for electricity. New wind projects completed in 2008 accounted for more than 40 percent of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally last year. U.S. wind energy generating capacity stands at 25,246 MW, producing enough electricity each year to power the equivalent of some 7 million households and strengthening the nation's energy supply with a clean, inexhaustible, homegrown source.
  
  
• Eletric vehicles on the grid
  Jun 23, 2009 - Pike Research
  
  Residential, Public, Private, and Workplace Charging Stations, EV Charging Business Models, and Vehicle to Grid Technology.
  
  
• Clean Energy Increase Depends on Transmission Upgrade
  Jun 8, 2009 - AAP Finance News Wire
  
  A multi-billion-dollar upgrade of transmission networks will be required for South Australia to deliver on new renewable energy targets, the Clean Energy Council says.
  
  
• NRG poll finds transmission constraints a barrier for US wind
  Jun 3, 2009 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Transmission/interconnection constraints have been identified as the greatest barrier to wind energy development, according to a poll conducted by NRG Systems at the recent Windpower 2009 Conference.
  
  
• Electric Vehicles Could Surpass Grid or Support It
  May 28, 2009 - Jeff St. John - greentechgrid.com
  
  If a quarter of America's cars went electric, they could store more energy than that produced for the nation's entire electricity grid, an expert on electric transportation says. Making them a backup power source for the grid faces significant challenges, however.
  
  
• Renewables challenge utility interconnections
  Apr 29, 2009 - Bill Opalka - EnergyBiz insider
  
  When wind farm developers lined up at a grid operator's or utility's door a few years ago, plans to add a new project didn't cause undue concern. After all, 10 megawatts here, 50 megawatts there, weren't going to significantly change the scheduling.
  
  
• PJM Launches Dashboard on Renewable Energy
  Apr 28, 2009 - PRNewswire
  
  Amid the debates on Capitol Hill regarding climate change and the growing interest in renewable energy, PJM Interconnection is launching a one-stop resource to better understand renewable energy resources on the PJM power grid.
  
  
• Green Superhighway: Overhauling the Grid to Accommodate Renewables
  Apr 23, 2009 - Elisa Wood - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Efforts are needed to promote transmission and distribution expansion in the US if the country is to realize its full potential. Elisa Wood explains.
  
  
• UTS Hails Electric Car That Pumps Energy Back into Grid
  Apr 23, 2009- AAP General News Wire
  
  Australian engineers have developed a plug- in hybrid electric car that not only generates power but can pump it back into the grid, potentially reducing running costs.
  
  
• Growing wind, solar power challenge US grid - study
  Apr 17, 2009 - Eileen O'Grady
  
  The push to add more renewable wind and solar megawatts to the US electric mix will force changes in the way the power grid operates to keep electricity flowing reliably, said an industry watchdog Thursday.
  
  
• AWEA welcomes findings of NERC integration study
  Apr 16, 2009 - Energy Central
  
  The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is pleased with the findings of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC’s) Integrating Variable Generation Task Force (IVGTF) report. This is an excellent roadmap for the grid planning and operations changes needed for America’s future electric generation portfolio.
  
  
• NERC: Renewables Can Be Integrated With System Changes
  Apr 15, 2009 - Bill Opalka - Energy Central
  
  Large quantities of renewable energy can be integrated into the nation's transmission grid without impairing reliability. But there will have to be changes in the planning and operation of the grid, according to a highly anticipated report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
  
  
• Western U.S. Entities Move Quickly on Geothermal Mapping
  Apr 1, 2009 - Charles W. Thurston - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Several large geothermal resource mapping projects are heading toward conclusion so that finally, the power source can be more accurately considered in siting new electricity transmission lines for renewable power development.
  
  
• Building a better grid
  Mar 26, 2009 - R. James Woolsey - Renewable energy world.com
  
  In the midst of economic meltdown and oil price declines, it is hard to remember that -- for national security reasons -- the need for electricity to be more reliable and secure and the strategic dangers produced by our oil dependence are just as pressing as they were before.
  
  
• UK announces plans to plug offshore wind into electricity grid
  Mar 24, 2009 - New Energy World Network
  
  Plans to connect vast amounts of future UK offshore wind energy to the national grid were firmed up, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Ofgem announcing a new regulatory framework to connect offshore renewable projects to the onshore grid.
  
  
• ITC chief seeks rule change for 'Green Power Express'
  Mar 13, 2009 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Dave DeWitte The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  
  ITC Holdings Corp. Chairman Joseph Welch asked for federal rule changes Thursday to make the company's proposal to build a major renewable energy transmission route more feasible.
  
  
• Study Finds Wind Power Economically, Environmentally Advantageous When Coupled With Grid Improvements
  Mar 12, 2009 - PRNewswire-FirstCall
  
  Wind-generated electricity from the upper Midwest will become cost-competitive with power generated from more conventional fuel sources like coal, while providing substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions when connected to the nations electricity grid via new extra-high voltage transmission lines, a new study by The Brattle Group (www.brattle.com) has concluded.
  
  
• From AC to DC: Going green with supergrids
  Mar 11, 2009 - David Strahan - New Scientist
  
  THOMAS EDISON might have relished the irony. Just as his most famous legacy, the incandescent light bulb, heads for extinction, his other great passion, direct electric current, is set to boom. The bulb that has dominated lighting for more than a century is now a pariah in the era of climate change and banned in many countries. Meanwhile, direct current - defeated by alternating current in the race to capture the electricity market in the 1890s - could help us hold back global warming.
  
  
• NERC Chair: Integrating Renewable Resources a 'Priority'
  Mar 3, 2009 - William Opalka - Energy Central
  
  Discussions have percolated for several years about the need to integrate renewable resources but with jump-starting the transmission build-out on everybody's mind, the talk has become more urgent.
  
  
• AWEA Statement on NERC, FERC focus on Integrating Renewables
  Mar 2, 2009 - AWEA
  
  American Wind Energy Association Policy Director Rob Gramlich today released the following statement: "The U.S. wind energy industry applauds the significant new focus by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) on the need to modernize America's electricity transmission system to adapt to renewable resource development."
  
  
• Green Transmission Superhighway Needed for Renewable Energy to Reach Full Potential
  Feb 27, 2009 -RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have released a white paper titled "Green Power Superhighways: Building a Path to America's Clean Energy Future," detailing current inadequacies of the U.S. electric transmission infrastructure and offering policy solutions to address them.
  
  
• IBM Joins EDISON Project to Build Smart Grid for Electric Cars
  Feb 25, 2009 - MARKET WIRE
  
  IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced its membership in the EDISON research consortium, a Denmark-based collaborative aimed at developing an intelligent infrastructure that will make possible the large scale adoption of electric vehicles powered by sustainable energy.
  
  
• Envisioning a new, interconnected energy system
  Feb 22, 2009 - Tribune Reginal News
  
  It's a summer day a few years from now. Some things are familiar -- for one, you're stuck in a Philadelphia heat wave. Other things aren't.
  
  
• US power grid needs expansion to tap renewables - Industry groups
  Feb 18, 2009 - Dow Jones Newswires
  
  The U.S. electric grid should be expanded to link areas of the country rich in renewable resources like wind, solar and geothermal power, to populated areas, according to a report released by the nation's top wind and solar industry groups on Wednesday.
  
  
• Energy plays big role in stimulus plan
  Feb 17, 2009 - UPI
  
  A smart electric grid and the development of clean, renewable energy to power a 21st century U.S. economy are part of the stimulus plan, the White House said.
  
  
• Transmission for 20% Wind Would Save Consumers $12B Annually: Study
  Feb 13, 2009 - Wind Energy Weekly
  
  An investment in the power grid to enable wind to supply 20% of the electricity needs of the eastern U.S. would save consumers $12 billion annually, recovering capital costs in as little as seven years while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making the power grid more reliable, according to a study released this week.
  
  
• Study: Billions Needed to Deliver Wind Power to Eastern Interconnection
  Feb 9, 2009 - PRNewswire - Reuters
  
  The Joint Coordinated System Plan (JCSP'08), the first step of a transmission and generation system expansion analysis of the majority of the Eastern Interconnection, estimates the electricity sector will need over $80 billion in new transmission infrastructure to obtain 20% of the region's electricity from wind generation.
  
  
• FERC: Electric Vehicles Must Be Integrated Into Grid
  Jan 26, 2009 - Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
  
  Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said Monday regulators and the automobile industry must integrate electric vehicles into the national power grid.
  
  
• Delaware Town Becomes First U.S. City to Use Cars for Grid Power
  January 22, 2009 - Ariel Schwartz - GreenBiz.com
  
  Earlier this month, the Delaware town of Newark became the first U.S. city to use Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology. V2G relies on electricity-powered vehicles to store energy and improve grid reliability.
  
  
• Montana’s got wind, needs power lines
  Dec 29, 2008 - Ben Arnoldy - The Christian Science Monitor
  
  But environmentalists worry that an expanded grid will help carry more dirty power. Gov. Brian Schweitzer envisions a day when New Yorkers will be driving cars powered by the wind that howls across the Montana prairie. The Democrat recently called on the federal government to spend $15 billion to build a next-generation transmission grid to link such far-flung regions.
  
  
• AESO To File for Transmission Development to Connect Wind in Southern Alberta
  Dec. 16, 2008 - Marketwire
  
  Calgary - The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), as planner of Alberta's electric transmission system (or "grid"), will recommend the construction of a 240 kilovolt (kV) Loop system to connect up to 2,700 megawatts (MW) of wind power proposed throughout southern Alberta over the next ten years. The AESO will file its assessment and recommendation with the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) by the end of this year.
  
  
• High-Voltage Transmission for Wind Moving Forward in Kansas, Oklahoma
  Dec 15, 2008 - Wind Energy Weekly
  
  Two high-voltage transmission lines that could integrate up to 5,800 MW of wind power took a significant step forward recently with approval of the projects’ transmission rate incentives by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
  
  
• Already Subscribed With Wind, Wyoming-Colorado Intertie Offers More Capacity Wind Energy Weekly
  Nov 25, 2008 - Wind Energy Weekly
  
  Less than three months after deeming its open season capacity auction a success when wind developers jumped to secure space on the planned transmission line, the Wyoming-Colorado Intertie (WCI) announced it is making available the remaining 265 MW of unsold capacity.
  
  
• Boosting Renewable Energy; The Sources of National Grid's Power
  Nov 24, 2008 - Providence Journal
  
  Enclosed with this month's electricity bill from utility company National Grid, customers will find an invitation to pay more for electricity than they're already paying.
  
  
• Rush to Green Generation Fuel Mix Endangers Grid, NERC Warns
  Nov 17, 2008 - California Energy Markets
  
  The West, including California and the Pacific Northwest, will need to spend $127.5 billion over the next 21 years to meet the region's thirst for electrons, according to a new Brattle Group study released at the Edison Electric Institute's annual financial conference held Monday in Phoenix.
  
  
• Whipping up Support for Transmission
  Nov 7, 2008 - Ken Silverstein - energybizinsider.com
  
  Supporters of wind power are whipping up support for new transmission. Without a notable increase in the capacity to carry such energy, the optimistic forecasts for more renewable power will never happen.
  
  
• Ocean grids around Europe
  Nov 3, 2008 - By Frederik Groeman, Natalia Moldovan & Peter Vaessen, KEMA - leonardo-energy.org
  
  Several European countries have a policy to encourage the development of renewable en-ergy sources. This is identified in e.g. the European green paper Energy strategy for a sus-tainable, competitive and secure energy supply (March 2006). In the transition towards a European sustainable energy system for the future and to reduce the dependency of im-ported primary energy sources such as oil and gas, the development of offshore wind power is an essential element. EWEA assumes that almost 120,000 MW offshore wind power will be realized in the next two decades, amounting to 10% of the installed generating capaicty. Apart from offshore wind energy other offshore renewable energy sources such as wave en-ergy, tidal energy and some experimental technologies of offshore energy have been con-sidered.
  
  
• NYISO Readies the Grid for More Wind
  Sep 24, 2008 - BUSINESS WIRE
  
  Rennselaer, N.Y. - The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has introduced system and operating changes to better utilize New York State's existing wind resources, and pave the way for continued growth of economical, emission-free, renewable power resources in the Empire State.
  
  
• Google, GE combine powers to bolster energy grid
  Sep 17, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  NEW YORK - Google Inc. and General Electric Co. said Wednesday they will work together to improve the nation's energy network, including the development of a "smart grid."
  
  
• A North Sea Electricity Grid Revolution
  Sep 3, 2008 - eubusiness.com
  
  A new Greenpeace report has for the first time revealed how a regionally integrated approach to the large-scale development of offshore wind in the North Sea could deliver reliable clean energy for millions of homes.
  
  
• Four Colstrip Transmission System Partners Announce Agreement to Evaluate Potential Upgrade to 500kV Lines to Accommodate Renewables
  Sep 2, 2008 - PRNewswire-FirstCall
  
  NorthWestern Energy today announced that it and three other ownership partners in the Colstrip Transmission System (CTS) have agreed to proceed with a study of potential upgrades to the existing 500-kilovolt (kV) system in Montana. NorthWestern Energy, Puget Sound Energy , PacifiCorp, and Portland General Electric will work together to identify and evaluate one or more potential system upgrades that may accommodate the transmission of wind and other renewable generation.
  
  
• The Energy Challenge: Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
  Aug 27, 2008 - MATTHEW L. WALD - New York Times
  
  When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.
  
  
• Host of New Pylons to Carry Wind Farm Power
  Aug 3, 2008 - Jonathan Leake - The Sunday Times
  
  Pylons are on the march. Britain’s electricity transmission and distribution companies are to announce plans for a £10 billion rewiring of Britain.
  
  
• Getting Smarter About Electricity
  Aug, 2008 - Transmission & Distribution Automation, Vol. 3 issue 16
  
  With an increasing focus on developing and utilizing alternative energy sources to ensure a secure and reliable energy supply, the need is becoming abundantly clear for a modernized energy infrastructure capable of facilitating such innovation and enhancing America’s resilience. The U.S. electrical power grid is a critical component of our national defense and infrastructure, but it is quickly reaching the end of its design cycle. Instead of relying on energy-inefficient fixes to mend an overburdened and outdated system, modernization of the grid that enhances national resilience, energizes the economy, and empowers consumers must become a priority. The practical adoption and implementation of a next-generation electrical power grid – Smart Grid – will reduce the consequences of the electrical grid being targeted by terrorists or adversely affected by a natural disaster while improving energy efficiency and reliability.
  
  
• Interstate Transmission Superhighways: Paving the Way to a Low-carbon Future
  Jul 30, 2008 - Michael Goggin - AWEA
  
  Imagine, for a moment, that today's Interstate superhighway system did not exist. Coast-to-coast delivery time for all sorts of goods we take for granted, from automobiles to asparagus, would take much longer and cost substantially more. Some goods might even be priced out of reach.
  
  
• Wind Power Waiting on Transmission-Line Boom
  Jul 25, 2008 - Dave Englander - greentechnmedia.com
  
  Transmission lines are becoming the single-largest obstacle to the continuing growth of U.S. wind power. But some investors, such as T. Boone Pickens, view the barrier as an equally large opportunity.
  
  
• Grids Ready for Solar
  Jul 25, 2008 - RenewableEnergyFocus.com
  
  FREIBURG, GERMANY - Two reports compiled by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE show how municipal electricity grids can accept large amounts of photovoltaic (PV) electricity.
  
  
• Tidal Feeds Electricity to Grid
  Jul 28, 2008 - RenewableEnergyFocus.com
  
  BRISTOL, UK - What is said to be the world’s first commercial-scale tidal current turbine project in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, has delivered electricity onto the grid for the first time.
  
  
• Utilities say grid can handle rechargeable cars
  Jul 22, 2008 - Tom Krisher - Associated Press
  
  San Jose, Calif. - Which draws more juice from the electric grid, a big-screen plasma television or recharging a plug-in hybrid car?
  
  
• Texas Approves a $4.93 Billion Wind-Power Project
  Jul 19, 2008 - Kate Galbraith - New York Times - Business
  
  Texas regulators have approved a $4.93 billion wind-power transmission project, providing a major lift to the development of wind energy in the state.
  
  
• California Moves To Speed Solar, Wind Power Grid Connections
  Jul 17, 2008 - Cassandra Sweet - CNN
  
  The operator of California's electric grid has a plan for improving the way new renewable power facilities can connect to it, but solar and wind power developers say the plan falls short.
  
  
• BLM gets array of input on solar-farms siting
  Jul 9, 2008 - Tom Beal -The Arizona Daily Star - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
  
  Solar energy may be clean and green, but it requires electrical transmission lines, uses water and takes up land that provides habitat for plants and animals.
  
  
• Companies competing to upgrade electric grid
  Jul 3, 2008 - John Hanna - The Associated Press
  
  Industry and government officials agree the U.S. needs what amounts to a new interstate highway system for electricity if it is to fully harness wind power.
  
  
• Texas grid owners form consortium to build wind transmission projects
  Jul 2, 2008 - Electric Transmission Texas LLC (ETT) - Power News
  
  Barely a week after the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) selected a $4.9 billion scenario, a number of transmission providers have formed a consortium and filed to jointly build the new transmission lines and facilities proposed to enhance the state's massive wind power potential.
  
  
• Green Power Will Be Trapped If Maine Doesn't Unlock Grid
  Jul 1, 2008 - Portland Press Herald
  
  A Lack of Transmission Capacity Will Interfere With the Development of Renewable Energy
  
  
• Lack of new power lines threatens renewable growth
  Jun 23, 2008 - Reuters
  
  While companies scramble to drive down the price of power produced by sun and wind, many say a dearth of transmission lines in remote areas ideal for wind farms and solar plants is a bigger impediment than cost to spurring U.S. growth of renewable energy.
  
  
• Key barrier seen to 'green' power - Need for power lines seen in remote areas
  Jun 18,2008 - Steve Tetreault - Stephens Washington Bureau
  
  WASHINGTON -- The dearth of power lines in remote areas where the wind blows hardest and the sun shines brightest stands as a major barrier to the nation's use of renewable energy, a Senate committee was told on Tuesday.
  
  
• Reid Statement on Bill to Build Renewable Energy Transmission Lines in Nevada
  Jun 17, 2008 - Joseph K. Cooper - politickernv.com
  
  Washington, DC-Nevada Senator Harry Reid made the following statement today at a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to look at solutions for installing renewable energy transmission lines in Nevada and across the West. A strong renewable energy industry will create thousands of good-paying jobs, increase rural economic development opportunities, and help our environment.
  
  
• Utility finds foes to renewable energy line plan
  Jun 16, 2008 - Elliot Spagat - The Associated Press
  
  It seems like an idea any environmentalist would embrace: Build one of the world's largest solar power operations in the Southern California desert and surround it with plants that run on wind and underground heat.
  
  
• Texas wind farms choked off from grid due to insufficient power lines
  Jun 3 , 2008 - Stephen Foley - The Independent
  
  Thousands of wind turbines in the US are sitting idle or failing to meet their full generating capacity because of a shortage of power lines able to transmit their electricity to the rest of the grid.
  
  
• Panhandle to Austin: Plug us in
  Apr 25, 2008 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kevin Welch Amarillo Globe-News, Texas
  
  About 300 people attended a committee meeting Thursday where the message to Austin was to plug the Panhandle in.
  
  
• Texas Study: Benefits of Wind Transmission Outweigh Costs
  Apr 11, 2008 - Michael Goggin - AWEA - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  A long-awaited study identifying the transmission infrastructure needed to link wind-rich areas in western Texas with population centers in the central and eastern parts of the state concludes that such transmission could be built at modest cost to ratepayers.
  
  
• Firms look to data to unlock grid
  Apr 4, 2008 - Sustainable Industries
  
  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and key wind industry stakeholders are gathering pieces that could help solve the Western states' transmission troubles [see "Gridlock on the Western plains," SI, January 2008]. The Western Wind Integration Study, a two-year project funded entirely by the U.S. Department of Energy, would help utilities determine the costs and operational needs of meeting 30 percent of their load by wind energy.
  
  
• NYISO Wind Forecasts to Help Green the Grid
  Apr 3, 2008 - Business Wire
  
  The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) will incorporate a centralized wind forecasting system to better accommodate wind power in New York's bulk electricity grid.
  
  
• Texas ratepayers' price tag for new wind-power lines in billions
  Apr 3, 2008 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - R.A. Dyer Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
  
  Texas ratepayers could be on the hook for $3 billion to $6.4 billion to build new transmission lines so wind-power turbines can connect to the state power grid, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday.
  
  
• EU's Piebalgs says grid infrastructure needed quickly for offshore wind energy
  Mar 31, 2008 - Thomson Financial News
  
  BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs said a maritime grid infrastructure must be developed quickly for the development of offshore wind energy.
  
  
• ABB to Create Transmission Link Between Offshore Wind Farm and German Grid
  Mar 24, 2008 - Datamonitor
  
  Swiss automation and power engineering major ABB will provide the technology to link what is claimed to be the world's largest offshore wind farm to the German power grid, in a contract valued at more than $400 million.
  
  
• Gridlock on electric 'highways' could stymie renewable generation
  Mar 10, 2008 - Norma Love - The Associated Press
  
  Northern New England is turning to the sun, wind and waste wood for clean, renewable power, but there's a serious problem: the threat of gridlock on electricity "highways."
  
  
• Southern California Edison Starts Construction on the Nation's Largest Wind Transmission Project
  Mar 7, 2008 - Business Wire
  
  In the most recent demonstration of its national leadership role in renewable and alternative energy, Southern California Edison (SCE) has begun construction of the largest wind transmission project in the United States.
  
  
• Imera Announces EUR4.4 Billion Pan European Electricity Grid Project
  Feb 3, 2009 - Electric Energy Online.com
  
  Imera has announced that it will build North Sea and Atlantic electricity grids, connecting key markets and offshore wind farms as the foundation for a pan-European offshore electricity network. The EuropaGrid will enable the development of a true European integrated power market and greatly enhance electricity security of supply.  
  
• Integration of Renewable Resources (pdf)
  Nov 2007 - The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO
  
  Transmission and operating issues and recommendations for integrating renewable resources on the California ISO-controlled Grid.
  
  
• New Study on Integrating Wind into the Power Grid
  May 26, 2005 renewableenergyaccess.com How wind impacts the operating costs of the non-wind portion of a power system is the focus of a recently released assessment on integrating wind generation into utility power systems. The Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) introduced the document's findings that design and operation are essential at the IEEE Power Engineering Society Transmission and Distribution Conference in Dallas.
  
  
• 'Green Apple' Renewable Energy Program to Help NY's Electric Grid
  Dec 7, 2000 - PRNewswire
  
  Journalists are invited to attend a joint announcement by Allen L. Thurgood, the chairman and chief executive officer of 1st Rochdale Cooperative Group, Ltd., and Jim Bausell, the chief operating officer of Touchstone Energy®, unveiling 1st Rochdale's ``Green Apple'' Renewable Energy Program to alleviate New York City's overburdened electric grid through energy management and renewable and sustainable sources such as solar power and gas turbine, microturbine, and fuel cell technologies.
  
  
• New Sandia control method opens doors for more photovoltaic systems being safely linked to electric grid
  Sep 26, 2000 - Sandia
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A new way to safely, simply and effectively connect electricity-producing photovoltaic (PV) solar systems to utility company power grids has been developed by the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories. Already several manufacturers have adapted it into their systems.
  
  
• Electrical Transmission
  ABB Power Systems, Sweden
  
  A more effective use of the world's considerable potential of renewable energy resources is an alternative to decrease pollution. Electrical transmission has to be used since electric power must be transported.
  

Related GENI Resources

GENI Transmission Library

Renewable Energy Resource Maps

National Energy Grid Maps

 

Links

IREC Connecting to the Grid (Interstate Renewable Energy Council)

CIGRE: International Congress on Large High-Voltage Electric Systems

IEEE/PES International Practices Committee panel sessions