Tag: Electric
The KJ Show Episode 9: Electric Vehicles: Hope or Hype?
Every week, I host 'The KJ Show,' which offers a mix of breaking news and practical advice on how the energy industry affects the consumer. During this fast-paced show, I combine weekly energy updates with conversations with leaders in the energy efficiency community. After each show, I'll share it here with the Energy Central Community in case you were..
Energy Central…
Edison Electric Institute Foresight on Software Supply Chain Cybersecurity is Profound
In May 2020, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) published a model procurement contract for cybersecurity supply chain risk, which is available for download. The foresight shown by EEI in this 2020 artifact is astute and profound on several fronts, as these concepts are now considered mainstream best practices for software supply chains in 2022. The May 2020 release of this contract model..
Energy Central…
The Billion-Dollar Bet on Electric Vehicles
President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Nov. 15, which allocates $ 550 billion in new spending over the next five years to improve U.S. infrastructure, including critical investments in the energy sector. These investments will cover power grid infrastructure, electric vehicles (EVs) and charging stations, renewable energy, nuclear power, hydropower, and cybersecurity with the goal to strengthen the energy industry, support emission-free power generation, and bolster emerging technologies.
COMMENTARY
The Act earmarks $ 7.5 billion to build a national network for EV charging to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.
Along with the funds, the Act establishes a 25-member EV working group, which will be led by the secretaries of Transportation and Energy, to provide federal guidance and strategy for the development, adoption, and integration of electric vehicles into the U.S. transportation and energy systems. As part of this group, the Secretary of Energy will conduct a study on the cradle-to-grave environmental impact of EVs and on the impact of forced labor in China on the EV supply chain.…
DOE Steps Up Investments into Electric Generation Technology Research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over the past two weeks has made a string of funding announcements, including nearly a half-billion dollars of new investment in power-related initiatives. The funding backs advancements in cybersecurity, advanced nuclear, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal, and energy storage.
$ 25 Million for Cybersecurity.On April 16, the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems program issued a $ 25 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA),seeking applications to conduct research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) for innovative approaches to advance cyber-resilient energy delivery systems.
The project hones in on five areas: redesign of cyber-resilient architecture for the power and oil and natural gas (ONG) subsectors; cybersecurity for the ONG environment; cybersecure communications; cybersecure cloud-based technologies in the operation technology environment; and innovative technologies that enhance cybersecurity in the energy sector. Applications are due by June 18, 2018.
$ 105 Million for Solar Technology. On April 17, the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office said it would fund about 70 projects to advance both solar PV and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies and help them secure facilitated integration into the grid.…
Tampa Electric Will Convert Big Bend Coal Plant to Natural Gas
An executive with the parent company of Tampa Electric said the utility plans to seek regulatory approval to convert its Big Bend Power Station in Florida, the oldest and last major coal-fired facility in its fleet, to natural gas.
Rob Bennett, speaking at a breakfast gathering in Tampa on January 12, said an engineering analysis of the switch has been underway for a few years. “It’s a big decision,” said Bennett, who was named CEO of newly formed Emera Technologies last month after overseeing Emera Inc.’s integration with TECO Energy, which Emera Inc. acquired in July 2016. TECO has operated Tampa Electric for many years. “It has to work. It has to make sense for 35 or 40 years,” Bennett said of the plan.
Big Bend has four coal-fired units, the first of which came online in 1970; Unit 4 began operation in 1985. The 1,730-MW plant in Apollo Beach, south of Tampa across Tampa Bay, has a troubled history; most recently, five workers at the plant, including a senior plant manager and four contract workers, were killed in an accident June 29, 2017, which occurred as the workers were trying to clean hardened slag, a by-product of burning coal, from the bottom of a tank where slag cools.…