Find out which cities have the highest winter storm impact rating as snow, ice and wind combine to cause hazardous conditions.

In response to increasing energy demand because of extreme weather and the rapid growth of data centers, Dominion Energy plans to build a natural gas plant in Chesterfield, VA. But

Power System Fault Detection and Classification Using Deep Neural Network=========================================================This video focuses on the d...

Pennsylvania's Electric Grid Faces Growing Challenge from Data Centers A recent report by PJM Interconnection highlights a pressing issue for the region's electric grid: an anticipated surge in power demand driven by growing data center activity. According to the study, three transmission zones in Pennsylvania - wholly or partly located within the state - are set to experience sharp increases in electricity usage over the next few years. These zones are expected to feel the impact of both existing and new data centers, with PJM Interconnection attributing the majority of the increase in demand to these sources. As a result, policymakers and industry stakeholders must now consider ways to mitigate this strain on the grid. One potential solution being explored is the development of additional Marcellus-fired power plants. These plants, which harness natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation, have the potential to provide a reliable source of electricity for the region's growing data center sector. By investing in more Marcellus-fired power plants, Pennsylvania can help ensure that its electric grid remains capable of meeting the increasing demand posed by data centers. This forward-thinking approach will be crucial in supporting the continued growth and development of the state's technology industry.

North America’s electricity grid faces unprecedented challenges. Supply constraints, surging demand, and aging infrastructure threaten grid reliability, and major regions like the PJM Interconnection…

YouTube video by Wendover Productions

Some data centers need as much energy as a small city, turning companies that promised a clean energy future into some of the most insatiable guzzlers of power

The 13th biennial Energy Efficiency as a Resource conference will focus on policies and programs to reduce energy waste as we build the utility system of the...

Process monitoring is considered to be one of the most important problems in process systems engineering, which can be benefited significantly from deep learning techniques. In this paper, deep neural networks are applied to the problem of fault detection and classification to illustrate their capability. First, the fault detection and classification problems are formulated as neural network-based classification problems. Then, neural networks are trained to perform fault detection, and the effects of two hyperparameters (number of hidden layers and number of neurons in the last hidden layer) and data augmentation on the performance of neural networks are examined. The fault classification problem is also tackled using neural networks with data augmentation. Finally, the results obtained from deep neural networks are compared with other data-driven methods to illustrate the advantages of deep neural networks.Fault detection Accuracy : 100 %; Fault Classification Accuracy : 90.1 %

Discover cybersecurity threats targeting the electric grid—from ransomware to state-sponsored attacks—and explore resilient defenses like NIST frameworks and MITRE ATT&CK. Essential insights for SOC analysts and CISOs to safeguard critical infrastructure against blackouts and disruptions. Stay vigilant in the cyber siege.

===========================================================Design of PID controller for DC-DC Buck Converter=================================================...

Fleet electrification has a power problem. A new report from Dunsky explores regulatory reforms needed to scale fleet decarbonization

Fleet electrification has a power problem. A new report from Dunsky explores regulatory reforms needed to scale fleet decarbonization

As Pennsylvania's growing data center industry continues to expand, with investments reaching $20 billion, lawmakers are grappling with the significant impact on the state's electric grid, raising concerns about potential cost increases for residents and risk of widespread blackouts. A proposed regulation aimed at addressing these issues would require data centers to develop their own electricity generation facilities, establish minimum contract terms with utilities, and contribute annually to support low-income households, as lawmakers weigh the economic benefits of the industry against the need for grid stability.

Warning, long text ## Power Outage in Spain – An Analysis Solar energy comes out of your panels as direct current (DC). That’s all well and good, but homes and grids run on alternating current (AC). Enter the *inverter* – the humble box that turns solar wizardry into household juice. Now, inverters aren’t just fancy plug adapters. They have to *sync up* with the grid – which means they generate exactly the same frequency as the rest of the system. No grid? No syncing. In that case, the inverter goes into what’s called *island mode* and produces power only for local use. So, if my solar system isn’t connected to the external grid, it can’t run the house – but it *can* still power two little emergency sockets. Cheers, I guess. Normally, the grid runs at 50 Hz – that’s hertz, not some obscure Scandinavian metal band. But this frequency can wobble a bit. Physically and technically speaking, it *rises* when there’s too much power and not enough consumption, and *falls* when there’s a hungry grid and not enough electricity to feed it. To keep the grid safe, inverters have an emergency shutdown feature: if the frequency goes over a set limit (apparently around 50.2 Hz), they also jump ship and go into island mode. Spain’s energy mix is a bit unusual: lots of nuclear, lots of renewables – and a large chunk of those renewables are solar. Makes perfect sense in a country where “cloudy” means three fluffy cotton balls drifted by. Now, nuclear energy comes with two charming quirks. First, you can’t change its output quickly – it’s not a dimmer switch, more like a cruise ship rudder. Second, nuclear plants cost nearly the same to run at half speed as they do at full throttle. So, naturally, you want to keep them purring along at max capacity. Then came Monday, with weather conditions perfect enough to make a solar engineer weep with joy: loads of sun, plenty of wind. By 9 a.m., Spain’s energy needs were entirely met by nuclear and renewables. In fact, they had surplus electricity and began exporting it by the bucketload. They shut down everything easy to shut down – but nuclear? No chance. It stayed full steam ahead. Then, two unfortunate things happened: one transmission line to France caught fire (as you do), and another developed resonances due to meteorological oddities. So far, this is all well documented. Now we step into *speculation territory*. These instabilities meant Spain couldn’t get rid of its excess electricity. The grid frequency rose past that critical 50.2 Hz mark – and boom: many solar systems switched to island mode. At that moment, they were providing nearly 15 gigawatts – around 60% of the national supply. And just like that, poof – they were gone. Suddenly, two-thirds of the electricity vanished. Wind, nukes, and batteries couldn’t keep up – quite the opposite, in fact. To prevent damage, the nuclear plants initiated emergency shutdowns. Not great. (More on why that’s bad in a bit.) Within seconds, the entire grid collapsed. The solar systems were poised to help – but there was no grid left to sync with. Everything went dark. Portugal and southern France were also knocked offline, as they’d been happily sipping from Spain’s excess power. The European grid wasn’t amused and unceremoniously kicked Spain out of the club. France, with a bit of backup and a stiff upper lip, restored its network fairly quickly. My home automation system even picked up the moment the frequency dipped and France cranked up its own generation. Portugal got the rough end of the stick. With fewer reserves and being smaller in size, they couldn’t help themselves – and no one else could help either, since Spain’s their only neighbour. ### Rebooting the Grid – Why It’s a Right Pain Restarting a collapsed grid isn’t just a matter of flipping a giant switch. It’s tricky for two reasons: - Generation and consumption have to be in perfect balance. If not, we’re back to square one. - Nuclear power plants can’t just be turned back on. After an emergency shutdown, they suffer from something called *xenon poisoning* (yes, one of the very same issues that made Chernobyl a household name). You’ve got to wait for that to wear off – which means the reactors were still offline two days later. The fix? You split the grid into smaller bits. For each chunk, you build up some capacity, bring it online, then move on to the next. Rinse and repeat. This takes hours. Meanwhile, the sun moves across the sky – and even if you *do* reconnect the solar arrays, they won’t produce nearly as much as before. Come 8 p.m., they’re more or less useless. So Spain needed outside help. They were gradually reconnected to the European grid – in small, careful steps. Without that assistance, large parts of Spain would probably still be in the dark. That’s why electricity came back first in places like Barcelona, close to the French border, while Portugal endured the longest wait. ### Notes & Musings - Considering the scale of the event, the recovery was impressively quick. In San Sebastian, power was back within 2 hours. (For comparison: Wismar in Germany had a 45-minute outage last year because *one* substation had a wobble.) Portugal got its power back after 23 hours. I had expected one to two *days*. - This was the largest blackout in Europe in 40 years. If, as suspected, climate-related factors helped spark (pun intended) the situation, then modernising the grid to better handle volatility is absolutely essential. That includes implementing the long-debated power zones in Germany.

Caught between rising demand for electricity, the retirement of old generating plants and the slow pace of construction of new...

$300 Million Contract Awarded for Potomac River Dam Upgrades A significant investment has been made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enhance the electrical systems at several dams along the Potomac River in West Virginia. FirstEnergy, Inc. has been awarded a substantial contract worth $300 million to undertake this project. The scope of work for the contract includes multiple key components. One major aspect will be upgrading the electrical distribution systems at these dams. Additionally, new power generation equipment will be installed as part of the upgrades, with a focus on improving overall system reliability and efficiency. Furthermore, enhanced security measures will also be implemented to ensure the safety and integrity of the facilities. This project is anticipated to take approximately two years to complete, with work scheduled to commence in April 2023. The Army Corps' efforts are focused on modernizing its infrastructure and improving the nation's water resources management systems. The upgrades will have a lasting impact on the region, enhancing the overall capabilities of these dams. FirstEnergy's involvement in this project underscores its commitment to providing vital services to critical infrastructure projects.