Political Ecology

Researchers at the Electric Power Research Institute, an independent nonprofit research organization for the utility sector, have designed a 140-pound, six-foot-long prototype of a robot that they plan to test for the first time at an outdoor lab later this month. The device uses rollers to clamp onto and move along a line. It can [...]

The interest on microgrid has increased significantly triggered by the increasing demand of reliable, secure, efficient, clean, and sustainable electricity. More research and implementation of microgrid will be conducted in order to improve the maturity of microgrid technology. Among different aspects of microgrid, this paper focuses on controls of microgrid with energy storage. A comprehensive [...]

EASTERN: In July 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published the findings of a year-long assessment of the costs, challenges, impacts and benefits of wind generation providing 20% of the electrical energy consumed in the United States by 2030. Developed through the collaborative efforts of a wide-ranging cross section of key stakeholders, that final [...]

The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study examines the benefits and challenges of integrating enough wind and solar energy capacity into the grid to produce 35 percent of its electricity by 2017. The study finds that this target is technically feasible and does not necessitate extensive additional infrastructure, but does require key changes to current [...]

The superconducting electric cable could reduce energy loss by 50% and even by 70% in some parts of the distribution network. Reduction in loss represents energy saving and a significant decrease in CO2 emissions in the present distribution of generation of the Spanish electricity system.The fact that superconductor technology transports a larger amount of electricity [...]

In this paper a revision about different techniques for islanding detection in distributed generators is presented. On one hand, remote techniques, not integrated in the distributed generators, are discussed. On the other hand, local techniques, integrated in the distributed generator, are described. Furthermore, it is discussed how the local techniques are divided into passive techniques, [...]

We explore the optimal size of the transmission line from distant wind farms, modeling the tradeoff between transmission cost and benefit from delivered wind power. We also examine the benefit of connecting a second wind farm, requiring additional transmission, in order to increase output smoothness. Since a wind farm has a low capacity factor, the [...]