News Highlights from the Electric Power Industry
Here are some industry news and information articles from around the web, just for you.
Milwaukee Tool’s Intrinsically Safe Headlamp Lights Up Hazardous Locations
Milwaukee Tool continues to expand its rapidly-growing headlamp offering with a new solution for hazardous location personal lighting. The Milwaukee Intrinsically Safe C I, II, III / D 1 Spot/Flood Headlamp is a new product for this type of critical jobsite lighting by delivering greater visibility and higher light output without compromise on overall size and weight. >> Read more
Solar, wind energy struggle as coronavirus takes toll
The U.S. renewable energy industry is reeling from the new coronavirus pandemic, which has delayed construction, put thousands of skilled laborers out of work and sowed doubts about solar and wind projects on the drawing board. In locked-down California, some local agencies that issue permits for new work closed temporarily, and some solar companies furloughed installers. >> Read more
Cybersecurity Is More Important Than Ever Due to COVID-19
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced many companies to change the way they conduct operations. Leaders have had to divide employees into essential and non-essential categories. Essential employees must report to their worksites and perform required tasks to keep businesses in operation. Non-essential workers, while still important and needed for the continued success of companies, are often being allowed to perform their duties from home, at least in the short term, by working over an internet connection tied to their work computer or to a cloud-based system. >> Read more
As extreme weather spurs billions in utility resilience spending, regulators struggle to value investments
The clarity of hindsight has shown policymakers the value of investments against a pandemic or a Fukushima, but debates continue over extreme weather preparedness. Hurricane flooding in the East and South and wildfire mayhem in the West have taught electric utilities they must invest billions in resilience, but it is still not clear which investments are the best use of ratepayers’ money. “Measuring how well utilities are keeping the lights on and getting them back on when they go off is easier than the intellectual gymnastics of measuring the value of resilience for individual solutions,” former Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Brien Sheahan told Utility Dive. “Policymakers and regulators need to be more proactive, but the challenge is still the cost against an event’s likelihood.” >> Read more
Power-to-gas could be key to California’s long-duration storage needs, stakeholders say
California is aiming to supply all its electricity from carbon-free resources by 2045, and the big challenge is going to be meeting those goals while maintaining a very high level of reliability in a cost-effective manner, Jan Smutny-Jones, CEO of the Independent Energy Producers Association, said during the webinar.
The state’s current plan is to basically add a lot of solar and wind power, and back it up with battery storage. That strategy will likely lead to excess solar and storage which will then need to be managed, he said. Given this context, Wärtsilä’s proposal, to leverage excess renewables to produce hydrogen and methane, “is an interesting plan and worthy of further consideration as we think about our plan for meeting our 2045 goals,” he said. >> Read more
Be Prepared. Think Safety.
