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White House Calls for Additional Spending on Nation’s Power Grid

The Obama Administration has released a report on the costs of power outages, which calls for increased spending on the nation’s electric power system.  According to the report, power outages cost the economy $18 billion to $33 billion per year.  Seven of the ten most costly storms in U.S. history occurred between 2004 and 2012, during a time when the U.S. electric grid was...

John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Named Plant of the Year

The new 600-MW John W. Turk, Jr. coal-fueled plant in Arkansas has been named Plant of the Year by POWER Magazine.  The plant, which is co-owned by Southwestern Electric Power Company, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, East Texas Electric Cooperative and Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, received this award for overcoming a number of regulatory hurdles and legal obstacles. ...

Debate Arises over Issue of Sustaining Net Metering Projects

Some coops in the Northeast are concerned about the legal ambiguities of financing small renewable energy projects.  Coops in Vermont are subject to a law that requires utilities to credit customers 20 cents for every kWh they produce through small renewable energy systems, or net metering systems, unless a utility’s total net metering surpasses 4 percent of its peak demand from the...

South Canal Hydro Project Goes Online in Colorado

Colorado-based Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) brought its South Canal Hydro project online in late June.  The project was funded by the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation with $22 million in New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), and it will divert flow to generate an estimated 27 million kWh annually.  Click here for more details on this...

Kentucky Coop Proposes Innovative Solution to Air Emission Standards

East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) plans to install ductwork to tie a scrubber between two coal-fired generation units at the Cooper Station plant.  Rather than install separate scrubbers or convert to natural gas, the $15 million tie proposal will provide an affordable alternative that effectively meets new air quality regulations.  EKPC plans to have the tie in operation by...

USDA Announces Latest Round of Funding for Rural Electric Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced more than $188 million in loan guarantees to upgrade the rural electric grid, including more than $18 million for smart grid initiatives.  This latest round of funding is part of a larger USDA effort to improve the reliability and affordability of rural electric service.  Click here for the full story.

SMECO to Collaborate with LS Cable in Underground Cable Network Project

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) will soon be getting underground cables and connectors for the power transmission and distribution networks SMECO operates, thanks to LS Cable’s $12.7 million deal to supply high-voltage underground cables to the United States.  The project will create an extra high-voltage cable network across the Patuxent River for a length of 1.5...

NRECA Asks FCC to Rethink Waivers for Technology

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has voiced concerns that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to allow the use of certain broadcast technology may be premature given the potential for interference in the operation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, given the key role that SCADA systems play in the management of...

Cooperative Research Network Studies Potential Uses for Coal Ash

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Cooperative Research Network (CRN) and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research have spent more than two years conducting research on coal ash.  The research is important because coops rely heavily upon coal-based generation, and the Environmental Protection Agency has raised the possibility of regulating coal ash...

Coops Rise to Meet New Data Center Load Challenges

The deserts of the Pacific Northwest have become popular locations for data centers, and this trend is changing the way some electric coops do business.  Companies including Google, Amazon, and Facebook have chosen locations in or around Oregon because of the state’s tax breaks, cheap abundant power, and cool, dry weather that can accommodate large-scale data centers.  To maintain 24/7...

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