Grid Security & Reliability
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PJM floats options for fast-track interconnection for shovel-ready projects
The plan may face challenges at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in courts for giving a preference to certain generating projects, some PJM stakeholders said.
By Ethan Howland • Updated Oct. 21, 2024 -
DOE selects nearly $2B in projects for grid resilience funding
The projects will boost transmission capacity by more than 7.5 GW, accelerate interconnection for clean energy and spark over $4.2 billion in public and private investment, according to DOE.
By Ethan Howland • Oct. 18, 2024 -
Trendline
Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive
The U.S. energy transition is facing challenges around grid interconnections, project permitting and power system reliability, but state, federal and other solutions are emerging.
By Utility Dive staff -
Opinion
Achieving energy resilience: Deep insight into threats, assets and national policy is the first step
While many energy companies maintain business continuity plans, true resilience requires moving beyond this standard approach to become more innovative and adaptive in this heightened threat environment.
By Brian Harrell and Mark Freedman • Oct. 18, 2024 -
Supreme Court rejects calls to put a hold on EPA power plant carbon rule
Utilities asking the court to stay the rule included American Electric Power, Duke Energy, MidAmerican Energy, PacifiCorp and Southern Co.
By Ethan Howland • Oct. 17, 2024 -
Sponsored by Black & Veatch
Are utilities ready for data centers’ big AI energy?
Amidst challenges of renewable integration and aging infrastructure, Black & Veatch’s new report signals data center power demands may test utilities’ capacity planning.
By Phil Fischer, Black & Veatch, Data Center Client Executive • Oct. 14, 2024 -
Hurricane Milton slams Florida, leaving 3.4M utility customers without power
About 71% of Tampa Electric’s customers were without electricity Thursday morning after the hurricane hit land on Florida’s west coast.
By Ethan Howland • Oct. 10, 2024 -
DOE offers microgrid funding with focus on Alaska, Hawaii, indigenous tribes
“DOE plans to work closely with rural and tribal communities to develop microgrid technologies that will lead to more reliable, affordable energy in isolated regions,” science and innovation chief Geri Richmond said.
By Ethan Howland • Oct. 7, 2024 -
Sponsored by Energy Exemplar
Why decarbonization, reliability and affordability depend on co-optimized planning
Holistic planning can highlight opportunities for gas and power systems to optimize their interdependence, as well as help avoid dangerous disruptions in supplies of energy.
Oct. 7, 2024 -
In areas hardest hit by Helene, rural cooperatives could need weeks to restore power
Mudslides, flooding and downed trees are challenging utilities in remote areas as they work to restore power. So far, supply chains have kept pace with the need for replacement equipment.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 2, 2024 -
Utility conferences to watch in 2025
Start planning for 2025’s biggest power sector events, which will cover the clean energy transition, the impact of the 2024 elections and more.
By Larry Pearl, Ethan Howland, Robert Walton, Diana DiGangi • Oct. 1, 2024 -
PJM artificially inflates capacity prices by billions, complaint alleges
The PJM Interconnection is artificially boosting its capacity prices by not accounting for reliability must-run power plants in its capacity market, the Sierra Club and other groups told FERC.
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 30, 2024 -
Sponsored by GridX & Uplight
Virtual power plants and time-varying rates: The next big power move for a smarter grid
The energy system is fundamentally changing. There is a major need for new grid management strategies to handle this transition and the challenges that come along.
By Rachel Bryant, Senior Director of Regulatory & Policy Business Development at GridX and Alex Lopez, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Uplight • Sept. 30, 2024 -
Millions without power after Hurricane Helene rocks Southeast
The storm struck Florida as a Category 4 and moved inland. More than 4 million customers lacked power Friday morning.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 27, 2024 -
Opinion
5 ways utilities and other climate planners can tackle extreme heat
As climate change causes extreme heat to spread and become more frequent, the health and energy insecurity impacts faced by vulnerable populations will grow, too.
By Judsen Bruzgul and Mason Fried • Sept. 27, 2024 -
NERC sounds alarm over winter gas supplies, potential grid impacts
December could be colder than normal across the northern and midwestern U.S., and grid operators and the natural gas sector say they are preparing.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 19, 2024 -
Sponsored by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors
Go big or go home? How utilities can win the energy transition race
By leaning into change and driving the transition forward, energy providers can come out of this transition as leaders.
Sept. 9, 2024 -
WestTEC to develop West-wide ‘actionable’ transmission plan
The initiative aims to develop interregional and interstate transmission portfolios across the West on 10- and 20-year timeframes.
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 6, 2024 -
Ratepayer advocates urge PJM to include RMR power plants in capacity auctions
PJM should hold a stakeholder process to include reliability-must-run plants and, if needed, delay the next auction, set to take place in December, to avoid “unjust and unreasonable” prices, they said.
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 3, 2024 -
Opinion
Getting real about reliability in PJM
The July capacity auction for the 2025/26 delivery was the first auction in over five years that sent a message to power suppliers: We need you to stay, and we need you to bring some more friends.
By Glen Thomas • Aug. 29, 2024 -
Better grid edge visibility is key for load forecasting, cost control: Heatmap Labs panel
Advanced metering infrastructure is already enabling more effective distribution grid operation and planning, but regulatory support and proactive utility investment is needed now, panelists said.
By Brian Martucci • Aug. 28, 2024 -
Sponsored by Southwire
How software and AI bolster grid resilience
Grid resilience has never been as critical or as challenging as it is today.
Aug. 26, 2024 -
New England may need ‘vast renewable build-out’ by 2050 to meet state decarbonization goals: ISO
By 2045, wind and solar resources are projected to meet just 10 GW of the 51 GW peak gross load during peak winter demand, according to the grid operator’s modeling.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 23, 2024 -
Data center vacancy rate hits record low in H1 2024 as power supply challenges persist: CBRE
Demand for high-power computing is driving a significant price gap between new data centers and legacy facilities, which lack the infrastructure to support workload demands, the firm says.
By Joe Burns • Aug. 22, 2024 -
Deep Dive
California pioneers new ways to ease interconnection of large DERs
Limited generation profiles in California will schedule limits to DERs during system constraints. New York, Illinois, Colorado and others are testing more flexible approaches.
By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 21, 2024 -
With 10 new climate resilience centers, DOE aims to translate research into local action
Researchers will work on actionable science and tools to help local stakeholders combat extreme heat, flooding, drought and more, the U.S. Department of Energy announced last week.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Aug. 20, 2024