An Ignoble Experiment

2. Increasing the revenue potential of wind farms

Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas have issued a request for proposal together to build and operate a second major wholesale natural gas pipeline into North Carolina, with a capacity of as much as 900 million cubic feet per day, to meet growing demand for the fuel in the Carolinas and, potentially, surrounding states.

This past winter's extremely cold temperatures and, subsequently, high natural gas demand underscores the need for additional natural gas pipeline capacity. Further, the replacement of closed coal plants with natural gas-fired power plants has significantly increased demand for natural gas.

Duke Energy's increasing reliance on natural gas to generate electricity, coupled with Piedmont's growing customer demand, warrant investment in a new pipeline that would bolster reliability and diversity of natural gas supplies, according to the solicitation. Further, it says that a new pipeline would expand Duke Energy's and Piedmont's "access to competitive, secure, diverse and abundant supplies," and "enhance the reliability of future natural gas deliveries into the state."

North Carolina is currently served primarily by a single major wholesale interstate natural gas pipeline that runs through the state. The companies are looking for a new pipeline route that provides geographical diversity relative to the path of North Carolina's existing pipeline, and one which would allow for future low-cost expansions with minimal environmental impact.

Duke Energy has opened five new natural gas-fired power plants in North Carolina since 2011 to replace older, less efficient coal-fired power plants. Piedmont pipelines supply natural gas to all five plants. Duke Energy also has proposed a new natural gas-fired power plant in South Carolina.

If all goes well, the in-service date for the pipeline should be late 2018.

For more:
- see this article

Related Article:
The shifting economics of coal-fired generation

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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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3. Nation's largest nuclear fleet gets bigger

Many considerations go into the design of a wind farm, a huge one being their physical design -- spacing and orienting individual turbines to maximize efficiency and minimize any wake effects where the swooping blades of one reduces the energy in the wind available for others. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have developed a new way to study these wake effects.

Credit: Walter Siegmund/Wikimedia Commons

Simple computer models have traditionally been used to determine the best turbine design, which works well for small wind farms, but is less precise for larger wind farms where the wakes interact with one another and the overall effect is harder to predict.

The new method takes into account the airflow both within and around a wind farm and challenges the conventional belief that turbines arrayed in checkerboard patterns produce the highest power output -- important considerations for increased power output, especially in places with strong prevailing winds. Optimally spacing turbines allows them to capture more wind, produce more power and increase revenue for the farm.

"It's important to consider these configurations in test cases," said Richard Stevens, one of the researchers. "If turbines are built in a non-optimal arrangement, the amount of electricity produced would be less and so would the revenue of the wind farm."

Common test cases are wind farms in which turbines are either installed in rows, which will be aligned against prevailing wind, or in staggered checkerboard-style blocks where each row of turbines is spaced between the gaps in the previous row. Staggered farms are generally preferred because they harvest more energy in a smaller footprint, but the research shows that the checkerboard style can be improved in some cases. Specifically, better power output may be obtained through an "intermediate" staggering, where each row is imperfectly offset like a checkerboard that has slipped slightly out of place, the research indicates.

For more:
- see this article

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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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4. SMUD launches EV charging pilot

Three nuclear energy plants owned by Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC (CENG) have joined Exelon Generation's nuclear fleet, which includes five reactors capable of generating more than 4200 MW at full power. The fleet was already the nation's largest commercial nuclear operation.

Credit: Exelon

The reactors include R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, N.Y., a single 583 MW pressurized water reactor; Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, N.Y., two boiling water reactors totaling 1937 MW; and Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Md., two pressurized water reactors totaling 1768 MW.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that Exelon meets the agency's financial and technical qualifications requirements, and concluded that public health and safety will not be adversely affected by the transfers.

The consolidation, an organizational and operational realignment as opposed to a purchase or transfer of assets, follows the March 2012 merger between Exelon and Constellation Energy Group Inc., expanding Exelon's fleet of reactors to 23 nuclear generating units at 14 locations in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. In total, the units have the capability to generate more than 22,000 MW.

Electricite de France (EDF) and Exelon remain co-owners of CENG, with Exelon owning 50.01 percent of CENG and EDF 49.99 percent. Through the merger, Exelon became EDF's joint venture partner in CENG with one of the cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets in the nation.

For more:
- see this fact sheet

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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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5. Businesses complacent on water risk mitigation

Drivers of electric vehicles need not fear running out of juice too far from home in the Sacramento area. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has launched a new electric vehicle (EV) charging pilot using technology that charges most fast-charge EVs in less than 30 minutes funded by the sale of carbon credits.

The SMUD charging station features the only fast charger in the region with dual capability to accommodate most types of EVs and is one of the first fast-charge stations in the U.S. installed by a utility. Credit: SMUD

The station features the only fast charger in the region with dual capability to accommodate most types of EVs manufactured by domestic and foreign automakers, and is one of the world's first commercial installations of certified DC fast-charge hardware that meets the new industry standard. It is also one of the first fast-charge stations in the U.S. installed by a utility.

The pilot is the next step in a 25-year effort by SMUD to improve local air quality by advancing clean alternative-fuel transportation and cleaner power sources.

SMUD provides a special rate, one of the lowest in the state, to make plugging in more attractive than pumping gas, with rates equaling 60 cents per gallon for charging after midnight, as well as annual savings in upward of $1,800 compared to a traditional car.

SMUD has partnered with a host of major automakers, entrepreneurs, universities and other technology developers over the years, providing Sacramento with a knowledge base to support the current wave of electric vehicles. SMUD currently operates 15 plug-in electric vehicles and will be purchasing nine additional vehicles by the end of the year. SMUD plans to increase its fleet to 54 by 2017.

For more:
- see this report

Related Article:
SMUD testing national big-rig plug-in program

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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