Georgia Power to move forward with Vogtle 3 & 4 project
Georgia Power recently received unanimous approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission to complete Vogtle 3 & 4 near Waynesboro, Georgia — the nation’s first new nuclear units in 30 years. The new units are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities, and are the only new nuclear units currently under construction in the U.S. Expected on line in 2021 (Unit 3) and 2022 (Unit 4), the units will generate enough emission- free electricity to power approximately 500,000 homes and businesses.
For more information, visit www.Georgiapower.com or call (888) 655-5888.
FERC initiates new proceeding on grid resilience
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently terminated the proceeding it initiated to consider DOE’s Sept. 29 proposal on grid reliability and resilience pricing, initiating a new proceeding to holistically examine the resilience of the bulk power system.
The new proceeding directs operators of the regional wholesale power markets to provide information as to whether FERC and the markets need to take additional action on the resilience of the bulk power system. The goals of this proceeding are to develop a common understanding among FERC, industry and others of what resilience of the bulk power system means and requires; how each regional transmission organization and independent system operator assesses resilience in its geographic footprint; and how to use this information to evaluate whether additional commission action regarding resilience is appropriate.
For more information, visit www.ferc. gov or call (202) 502-6088.
EPRI report: Regional grid disruptions resulting from HEMP
New research on the potential risk to the U.S. electric grid from a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) event suggests service interruption due to the late-time pulse or E3 alone would be limited to a regional level and would not trigger a nationwide grid failure.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) report focuses on the likely service interruption on the power grid from the detonation of a nuclear weapon high above the earth’s surface, which could disrupt the flow of electricity without the widespread physical destruction and radioactive fallout from ground-targeted nuclear attacks.
The report also identifies steps that could potentially limit the impact of E3 during a HEMP event, such as installing technologies to reduce or block the flow of geomagnetically- induced currents or adding controls to automatically disconnect power system loads during the event.
For more information, visit www.epri. com or call (800) 313-3774.
Essential reliability services integral to bulk power system
Ensuring essential reliability services and fuel assurance are key to enabling a rapidly changing resource mix and maintaining a highly reliable and resilient bulk power system, a North American Electric Reliability Corp. long-term assessment finds.
The ongoing shift away from coal and nuclear generation through retirements and canceled projects over the next decade will be accompanied by major additions of natural gas, wind and solar resources, as well as tightening reserve margins in some areas, the 2017 Long-Term Reliability Assessment concludes.
Essential reliability services including voltage support and inertia help maintain the stability of the bulk power system. The influx of generation from natural gas and renewables provides industry with a unique set of challenges and opportunities to maintain the system’s inertia and other essential reliability services.
For more information, visit www.Nerc.com or call (404) 446-2560.
Power sector CO2 emissions fall below transportation emissions
On a 12-month rolling total basis, U.S. electric power sector CO2 emissions are now regularly below transportation sector CO2 emissions for the first time since the late 1970s. CO2 emissions from electric power have been trending lower since 2007.
The electric power sector makes up a larger share of total U.S. energy consumption than the transportation sector, but CO2 emissions from the electric power sector are now lower than those from transportation because the power sector’s carbon intensity has fallen much faster than the transportation sector’s.
Emissions from the electric power sector are primarily from coal-fired and natural gas-fired electric generators. On average, emissions associated with combusting coal are higher than those associated with combusting natural gas. Natural gas electric generators also tend to be more efficient than coal generators because they require less fuel to generate electricity.
For more information, visit www.eia. gov or call (202) 586-8800. •