GridTalk

Investing in Electricity Solutions of the Future

Andrew Jones — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:00:16 +0000

Last month, S&C officially announced its strategic partnership with The University of Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC), which was opened by Scotland’s First Minister on the 15th May. We’re very excited to be a part of this initiative—the PNDC is the first center of its kind in Europe, and provides a purpose-built platform for [...]

Grid Connectivity – And What It Means to S&C

Mike Edmonds — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:11:49 +0000

Recently, S&C decided to rename our communication systems business. We’re now calling this part of our portfolio “Grid Connectivity” solutions. The question that naturally arises is: why did we make the change? At S&C, our smart grid portfolio is focused on developing solutions for today’s power delivery challenges. Consistent with our history and expertise, we [...]

Another First as Energy Storage Adoption Continues

Troy Miller — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:00:59 +0000

Last week, I was pleased to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the deployment of a new energy storage system. PG&E and the California Energy Commission introduced the Yerba Buena Battery Energy Storage System Pilot Project, for which S&C served as engineering-procurement-construction contractor and provided our PureWave® Storage Management System. The system is currently the largest [...]

Setting a Goal of Real-Time Response – Not Just Real-Time Analytics

Mike Edmonds — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:06 +0000

The amount of data that smart grid devices can generate is indeed vast, as commentator after commentator will tell you. The big hurdle is leveraging that data to deliver real value for utilities and the customers they serve. Using data to enable not just real-time analytics, but real-time grid control decisions, remain a major goal. [...]

The Story on CO2 Cleaning

Spencer Zirkelbach — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:16 +0000

You can watch a video of how CO2 cleaning works. For decades, CO2 cleaning has been used to disinfect and clean the interiors of food processing machines, strip paint off of ship hulls, and remove graffiti from walls. It is an extremely fast and effective form of cleaning that is widely used in a variety [...]

The Biggest Topic of Conversation at Windpower 2013

Dan Girard — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:53:22 +0000

The U.S. federal government’s production tax credits (PTCs) for wind energy were undoubtedly the topic of conversation at Windpower 2013. The unpredictability surrounding the PTCs—from the rules around what investments will qualify for the current PTCs, to questions about whether the PTCs will again be extended—continue to impact the U.S. wind energy in a big [...]

Maximizing Renewable Energy Plant Investment with Energy Storage Systems

Dan Girard — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:52:07 +0000

Energy storage solutions offer great benefit for power grids by shaving peak demand and improving power quality and reliability. They can also mitigate the effects of intermittent wind and solar energy generation on power systems. But renewable energy plant owners and operators—who don’t necessarily operate utility power systems—may ask: how can energy storage help improve [...]

Three Solutions for Integrating Renewable Energy to the Grid

Kristin McInnis — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:52:20 +0000

With Earth Day 2013 this week, we saw renewed focus on what actions should be taken to protect the planet against the effects of climate change. Not surprisingly, increasing global use of clean energy sources ranks high on the list. It’s a pressing goal for anyone who wants to reduce carbon emissions, particularly as worldwide [...]

Achieving Five Nines Link Availability for Smart Grid Communication Systems

Jim Hong — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:08:35 +0000

The smart grid is rapidly becoming a reality in many areas—which in turn is driving a need for highly reliable data communication systems. This communication system should reliably report network state and performance, resulting in more efficient electricity generation and distribution as well as usage forecasting. Designing a reliable grid connectivity system that meets these [...]

The Modern Microgrid: Three Major Benefits

Kristin McInnis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:53:46 +0000

As we’ve written previously on this blog, microgrids are not a new concept. They have existed in one form or another for decades. But microgrids today provide new capabilities that offer great promise, and have sparked significant interest. Here are three major benefits offered by modern microgrids: A more resilient energy supply. Particularly following Hurricane [...]