Moving smart grid to the field: Important considerations when moving beyond smart metering

While a wide variety of applications have been associated with smart grid technologies, to date only advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has seen widespread deployment in the field. As North American electric utilities look to implement additional applications, such as distribution automation, outage management, demand response, renewable integration and electric vehicle (EV) support into production, key concerns must be addressed. This article discusses five critical considerations to help speed rollouts and maximize return on investment. >> Read more

The path to greater efficiency 

Enrique Santacana, Chief Executive of ABB Inc & head of North America Operations, recently sat down for an interview with Power Engineering to discuss the future of power generation in North America and efforts to expand the Demand Response industry, which is the business of creating capacity through the use of smart grid technologies. >> Read more 

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Afterlife of electric vehicle batteries 

Once they've finished powering electric vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles, it may not be the end of the road for automotive batteries. Researchers believe they can provide continued benefits for consumers, automakers and the environment. Five used Chevrolet Volt batteries are at the heart of the Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORML) effort to determine the feasibility of a community energy storage system that would put electricity onto the grid. >> Read more

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Incipient faults: Can they be seen?

A thousand customers just lost power because a bushing failed out on a feeder. Did it just happen or were there early warning signs? Could the failure have been predicted in advance or, better yet, prevented? Pickwick Electric Cooperative (PEC) and Arizona Public Service (APS) have been working with a new technology that enables them, for the first time, to avoid faults by detecting incipient problems and responding proactively. >> Read more

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"The battle of the currents, take II" - AC versus DC in the data center

The battle over AC vs DC is spilling into the mainstream of society. 130 years and countless gigawatt hours of AC power later, we have un-dusted the history books and once again engaged in fierce arguments that would have made Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison proud. And as the 21st century battleground for the revival of this centennial argument, we chose one of the most advanced and power intensive fields of modern technology - data centers. >> Read more

>> I'd like to talk to someone about data centers