Clean Energy News

Next-Gen Grid Architecture: a breakdown of smart grid systems

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In a series of articles about smart grid systems, a primer explains grid coordination involving the different systems that make up grid distribution and delivery:

Next-Gen Grid Architecture: A grid coordination primer

One of the pressing issues facing the power industry is the integration and coordination of distributed energy resources (DER) to provide electricity delivery.

The issue was not well-recognized until recently, although some forms of coordination have been around a long time such as commercial and industrial (C&I) demand response (DR) and bulk generation in deregulated industry segments.

Learn about industry structure at Electric Light & Power.

HydroVision International keynote: Hydropower boosts grid support to wind and solar

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At the annual HydroVision International conference, held July 23-25 in Portland OR, keynote speaker Janet Harron, COO of Bonneville Power, stressed the importance of telling the hydropower story. Harron said that hydropower is able to provide grid support to wind and solar, which are growing energy sources.

“We are looking at a world where hydropower has the winning combination, because it is 100 percent carbon free and dispatchable,” she said.

Harron also stressed the importance of workforce development and how the new generation of grid and hydro operators will bring new ideas to the technology.

Read more at Renewable Energy World.

PGE launches Smart Grid project

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Portland General Electric Co. launched its Smart Grid Test Bed, a project that will integrate smart grid technology and accelerate PGE’s vision for a clean energy future.

PGE’s test bed spans three distinct neighborhoods within its service area. Through the test bed, the company is preparing more than 20,000 customers to take advantage of special demand-response signals as well as incentives for using smart-home technologies, giving them greater control over their energy use and carbon footprint.

With this pilot, PGE is building the roadmap to a virtual power plant — one powered by customer devices and behaviors rather than traditional generation — that will help address climate change, empower communities in how they consume energy and create a more resilient power system, all while saving customers money.

Read more »

FWEE academy trains the next generation hydropower workforce

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The Foundation for Water and Energy Education (FWEE) held its second annual Hydropower and STEM Career Academy in Wenatchee in June. The academy, which is hosted by the Chelan County PUD, aims to teach high school students about the job opportunities and benefits of working in hydropower.

» Learn more about FWEE on our K-12 Resources page »

The week-long academy gives more than 20 students the opportunity to see hydro plants in action, talk to diverse employees – including divers, electrical engineers, civil engineers, fish biologists, and more – who work in the industry, and complete hands-on projects to better understand how hydro works. For example, all students build a generator and turbine to generate electricity to power a string of lights.

Read more at publicpower.org.

PNCECE Director position open

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Applications are currently being accepted for the Director of the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy (PNCECE) at Centralia College. Priority applications must be submitted no later than July 30, 2019.

Centers of Excellence are guided by industry representatives to lead collaborative and coordinated statewide education and training efforts to build a competitive workforce in a global economy.

Washington’s Centers of Excellence are flagship institutions that build and sustain the state’s competitive advantage through statewide leadership. Each Center focuses on a targeted industry that drives the state’s economy and is built upon a reputation for fast, flexible, quality education and training programs. A targeted industry is identified as one that is strategic to the economic growth of a region or state.

To apply or find out more about the position, go to the Director, Center of Excellence position announcement.

Washington state noted for clean energy economy by U.S. News & World Report

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Cleaner energy along with its tech sector are helping Washington state to lead the nation in the 2019 U.S. News Best States ranking.

According to the U.S. News’ Best States ranking of economic growth, cheap, climate-friendly electricity drives Washington’s economy. The tech-heavy state’s expectedly strong broadband network sits atop one of the nation’s best electrical systems, one well-positioned as the country shifts away from coal- and natural gas-generated electricity. The state expects to be coal-free by 2025, while still charging rates among the nation’s lowest.

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BPA to open apprentice jobs in May 2019

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Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will post job vacancy announcements May 6-21, 2019, for Apprentice Linemen, Apprentice Electricians, and Apprentice Substation Operators.

The vacancies will be merit promotion announcements, so military veterans qualify as do current and former federal employees, and diversity candidates are welcome.

The vacancies will be posted on USAJOBS.GOV (search ‘Bonneville Power Administration’).

As a federal agency, the BPA hiring process can be lengthy. Candidates are pre-screened for minimum qualifications, and eligible candidates will take the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) test on June 28 or 29.

Interviews will be held during the week of August 26, 2019.

The official start date will be January 19, 2020.

More information: BPA Careers

Oregon company designing for small scale nuclear

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Jose Reyes, a nuclear engineer and cofounder of NuScale Power, in Portland, Oregon, says he and his colleagues can revive nuclear by thinking small. Reyes and NuScale’s 350 employees have designed a small modular reactor (SMR) that would take up 1% of the space of a conventional reactor. A typical commercial reactor cranks out a gigawatt of power, and each NuScale SMR would generate just 60 megawatts. For about $3 billion, NuScale would stack up to 12 SMRs side by side.

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1700-acre solar project proposed near Columbia River

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One of the Northwest’s most ambitious solar projects has been proposed for 1,700 acres of private and public land in Klickitat County near the Columbia River.

The project by Portland-based Avangrid Renewables is one of the largest yet proposed for Washington. The site would include an operation and maintenance building and a collector substation. The plan calls for an estimated 515,700 solar modules.

The surge in interest of building solar farms in the Pacific Northwest and expanding wind power has been helped along by state lawmakers’ consideration of legislation to require utilities to clamp down on carbon emissions generated by coal and natural gas fired power plants.

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