February 10, 2010

Stop the transmission lines. That's the decision by some major utilities, which reached their conclusion based on the fact that the demand for power has slowed and reduced the sense of urgency needed to get their projects built.

The latest line to be delayed is the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP). Prior to that, the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) pulled its application in a key state. In both cases, however, the utilities behind them say that their delays are only temporary and that the grids in the respective areas will become constrained.

Ford Motor Co. this week is unveiling the all-electric version of its Truck of the Year, the Ford Transit Connect, at the Chicago Auto Show.

The truck is outfitted with the Force Drive battery electric powertrain from Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics Corp. and advanced lithium-ion battery technology from Johnson Controls-Saft, a joint venture of Glendale, Wis.-based Johnson Controls Inc. and the French battery maker Saft Groupe S.A.

The all-electric, zero-emission Transit Connect Electric has targeted range of up to 80 miles per full charge, and will be rechargeable in six to eight hours using either 240-volt or standard 120-volt outlets. It will accelerate at a similar rate as the gas-powered Transit Connect and will have a top speed of 75 mph.

February 08, 2010

The strains to our transmission system have been evident for some time.

"The U.S. transmission system is under tremendous strain and only marginally stable," Wayne Brunetti, the former chief executive officer of Xcel Energy, observed in 2002. "It was designed as a regional system and has been forced to function as a national system, a function for which it was not designed and does not handle very well."

January 13, 2010

Restructuring of the electricity sector has gotten lost in the national energy debate. But the matter is still important in many states and especially Pennsylvania and Texas.

The freeing of wholesale energy markets to allow generators to sell their power to other utilities or other industrial sites has borne fruit but the success of competition in the retail sector has been an ongoing question. Advocates say that open access has brought down prices and given consumers more choices. But critics say that it has only benefited a few well-healed energy marketers while raising rates for most.

January 11, 2010

Round One of the Copenhagen Accord is now finished. And so the real work must be done -- to hammer out the details on just how global temperatures can be kept in check. One issue that must be resolved is that of nuclear energy and the role it will play.

Decision-makers are now challenged with how to cut the rate of greenhouse gas emissions while also becoming more self-reliant. As they gather in the coming months they will take into account that nuclear power has relatively few such releases associated with it while the uranium used to create the electricity is plentiful.