USDA to Provide More Rural Electric Project Funding
Posted on Apr 30, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Technology | Comments Off on USDA to Provide More Rural Electric Project Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing funding for four rural electric projects in eight states to enhance reliable, affordable electricity for rural residents. These projects, which will employ smart grid technology, are the latest in approximately 650 rural electric utility projects funded since 2009. Specifically the USDA is providing more than $126 million in...
Information Sharing Cyber Security Bill to Go to Senate
Posted on Apr 23, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on Information Sharing Cyber Security Bill to Go to Senate
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, a bill that could help electric coops defend against threats, has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would encourage the sharing of cyber threat information between the federal government and the private sector, including coops. The next step is for the bill to clear the Senate. For more information, click...
Wind Projects Cause Instability in Vermont Grid
Posted on Apr 9, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Wind Projects Cause Instability in Vermont Grid
The CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has indicated that the coop will oppose any new large wind projects in northern Vermont because existing wind projects have introduced instability in the grid, prompting grid operator ISO-New England to order existing wind projects in Vermont and New Hampshire to curtail electricity output. As a result, wind farm turbines are not being...
Coop Enters the Computer Repair Business
Posted on Apr 9, 2013 in Corporate Governance, Project Development, Technology | Comments Off on Coop Enters the Computer Repair Business
Wyoming-based High West Energy, Inc., is getting into the computer repair business, through new subsidiary High West Digital Solutions. The coop, which provides electricity to 10,000 customers in Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado, believes there is unmet demand for computer repair services in its geographical area. High West Digital Solutions will repair computers, remove viruses, build...
Coops Ask DOE Chief to Drop Grid Restructuring Plan
Posted on Mar 11, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Coops Ask DOE Chief to Drop Grid Restructuring Plan
Coops and other utilities want the new Department of Energy chief, Ernest Moniz, to drop his predecessor’s requirements to integrate renewable energy into the grid. Utility groups want Moniz to rescind a plan proposed by outgoing DOE Secretary Steven Chu to restructure federally controlled power systems in the Western United States that would enable deployment of renewable energy,...
Montana Coop to Participate in Battery Test
Posted on Mar 5, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Technology | Comments Off on Montana Coop to Participate in Battery Test
Flathead Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (Flathead Electric) Kalispell, Montana, campus will be the first test site for the Zinc Air Inc. (Zinc Air) battery storage technology. The tests are expected to last about six months and will allow Zinc Air and Flathead Electric to assess applications for both utility and end-user benefits, such as peak demand reduction and load shifting. Click...
Montana Coop to Participate in Battery Test
Posted on Mar 5, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Technology | Comments Off on Montana Coop to Participate in Battery Test
Flathead Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (Flathead Electric) Kalispell, Montana, campus will be the first test site for the Zinc Air Inc. (Zinc Air) battery storage technology. The tests are expected to last about six months and will allow Zinc Air and Flathead Electric to assess applications for both utility and end-user benefits, such as peak demand reduction and load shifting. Click...
Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Posted on Mar 4, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Ongoing international demand for copper could result in another rise in copper prices, followed by a rise in copper theft, according to Maurice Martin, a program manager at NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network. Coops like Missouri-based N.W. Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. have tried multiple ways to thwart copper theft. For example, Northwest long ago switched to tin-coated...
Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Posted on Mar 4, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Ongoing international demand for copper could result in another rise in copper prices, followed by a rise in copper theft, according to Maurice Martin, a program manager at NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network. Coops like Missouri-based N.W. Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. have tried multiple ways to thwart copper theft. For example, Northwest long ago switched to tin-coated...
Texas Coop to Own and Operate Experimental Wind Energy Storage System
Posted on Feb 20, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Texas Coop to Own and Operate Experimental Wind Energy Storage System
South Plains Electric Cooperative will own and operate an experimental battery energy storage system at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock, Texas. The storage system will focus on combining utility scale energy storage with wind generation and will be installed by Samsung SDI and Xtreme Power as part of a $27 million smart grid demonstration project. To read more about the...
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