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Rocky Mountain Electrical League

Alltricity Network Report
Commonwealth Associates, Inc. - We partner. We understand. We deliver.
Commonwealth Associates, Inc. ®
We provide expert engineering and consulting services that enable a more reliable and resilient power system. Collaborating with diverse energy industry stakeholders, we tackle intricate energy engineering challenges. Our areas of expertise encompass Renewable Energy, Studies and Consulting, as well as Power Delivery and Power Generation.
 
For more information visit commonwealthassociates.com.
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Education and Upcoming Events
Burns & McDonnell
Meridian Cooperative
Alltricity Network Member Information
RMEL's trusted network is now accessible on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). These are forums intended for RMEL members only. Working side-by-side in a cooperative manner, RMEL members band together for the common goal of bettering the industry and improving service for utility customers. For more than 100 years, these key principles have proven successful and, more importantly, are tried-and-true methods for building strong business relationships.

 

RMEL Champions is a prestigious group of RMEL supporters with access to useful and beneficial promotional opportunities. Thank you, 2023 RMEL Champions!

Visit https://www.rmel.org/page/RMELChampions to view the full article online.

The game has changed from the traditional O&M model.
Black & Veatch Corporation®
Big Data helps owners detect issues before they become big problems. Prioritize field responses, balance the costs and benefits of maintenance activities, and generate the greatest ROI with these 4 key methods to optimize DER assets through data-driven O&M.
Download Here
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Industry Information
Fleets and charger operators would have to invest $620 billion on infrastructure, and utilities would have to spend $370 billion to upgrade grid networks for commercial vehicles, per the study. The estimate does not include purchases of electric trucks, which can cost 2 to 3 times more than their diesel counterparts.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/electrifying-trucking-costs-clean-freight-coalition-american-trucking-associations-roland-berger/710816/ to view the full article online.

  
For the first time, the grid-scale segment exceeded 3 GW deployed in one quarter and nearly surpassed 4 GW alone, according to Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association’s (ACP) latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor publication. 3,983 MW of new capacity additions represent a 358% increase compared to the same period in 2022.

Visit https://www.power-eng.com/energy-storage/u-s-energy-storage-market-installed-more-than-12k-mwh-in-q4-2023/ to view the full article online.

  
According to preliminary data from the Energy Information Administration’s Electricity Data Browser, the least hydropower was generated in the western U.S. during the 2022–23 water year (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30) since at least 2001. Western region hydropower generation dropped by 11% from the previous water year to 141.6 million MWh.

Visit https://www.hydroreview.com/business-finance/business/last-year-western-u-s-hydropower-generation-fell-to-a-22-year-low/ to view the full article online.

  
The U.S. Department of Energy released “Coal-to-Nuclear Transitions: An Information Guide,” a resource for energy communities investigating the “economic impacts, workforce transition, and policy and funding considerations associated with coal-to-nuclear transitions,” according to the information guide’s executive summary.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/coal-to-nuclear-transition-can-be-an-economic-boon-for-communities-doe/712127/ to view the full article online.

Futura Systems, Inc
FlexGen Power Systems, Inc.
The guidance provides a detailed road map for companies submitting licensing applications for non-light water reactor technologies such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and molten salt reactors, along with internal guidance for NRC staff reviewing these applications.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuclear-regulatory-commission-nrc-advanced-reactor-smr-licensing-roadmap/712155/ to view the full article online.

  
As the U.S. transitions to a clean power grid, researchers are searching for the best ways to store energy to use when winds slow down, clouds block the sun and the grid needs a boost. Batteries often run best for short distances. Pumped storage hydropower may be older technology but can outlast the competition, often storing energy for eight to 12 hours or more.

Visit https://www.hydroreview.com/hydro-industry-news/pumped-storage-hydro/nrel-researchers-develop-detailed-cost-estimation-tool-for-pumped-storage-development/ to view the full article online.

The power grid has seen substantial growth in smaller-scale renewables, such as household, community, and commercial solar and battery systems. The high volume of interconnected distributed energy resources (DERs) has prompted the energy industry to adopt control capabilities and standards to improve grid operations with smart inverters.

Visit https://www.tdworld.com/transmission-reliability/article/21283688/epri-researches-smart-inverter-settings to view the full article online.

  
Grid operators across the nation have been preparing for months and say they can navigate the event with no impact to reliability. But they also say their efforts are complicated by uncertain weather outlooks, and eclipse-related behavioral changes that make forecasting energy demand difficult.

Visit https://www.utilitydive.com/news/grid-operators-april-8-total-solar-eclipse/712099/ to view the full article online.

Nisus Corporation: Better Science for Better Poles.
Nisus Corp®
Nisus manufactures QNAP® Copper Naphthenate, the only heavy-duty pole protection without an EPA Danger label and with a proven track record, as seen in over 1000 years of cumulative field-test data. QNAP has cleaner handling characteristics, is not a sensitizer, and, because it is EPA-labelled for residential landscaping and boiler fuel at end of pole life, it has more end-of-life disposal options. Best of all, it’s made right here in the United States.

Learn More
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Member Announcements
  
Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, announced Arizona’s largest operational battery energy storage system is now online. Sonoran Solar Energy Center is a 260-megawatt (MW) solar facility with the ability to charge a 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system, located south of Buckeye, Arizona. 

Visit https://media.srpnet.com/arizonas-largest-battery-is-now-operating-on-srps-power-grid-supporting-google-along-with-other-clean-energy-resources/ to view the full article online.

CPS Energy and Talen Energy Corporation (“Talen”) (OTCQX: TLNE) announced an agreement for CPS Energy to acquire Talen’s approximately 1,710-megawatt (“MW”) generation portfolio located in the South Zone of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) market for $785 million subject to customary net working capital adjustments at closing. 

Visit https://newsroom.cpsenergy.com/cps-energy-acquires-gas-plants-in-corpus-christi-and-laredo-from-talen-energy-as-part-of-approved-generation-plan/ to view the full article online.

  
Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a select group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to energy efficiency and the transition to a clean energy economy. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services, and strategies. 

Visit https://www.epelectric.com/company/news/el-paso-electric-earns-2024-energy-star-partner-of-the-year-in-sustained-excellence-award to view the full article online.

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVRG) filed its triennial Integrated Resource Plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission. This outlines the plan to meet customer electricity needs over the next 20 years. It includes additional renewable and dispatchable generation to meet growing customer demand driven by economic development and increased capacity requirements established by the Southwest Power Pool.

Visit https://investors.evergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/evergy-plan-maintains-lowest-cost-approach-meeting-growing to view the full article online.

A new TEP transmission project will support economic development and local job growth by providing service to a first-of-its-kind battery manufacturing facility south of Tucson International Airport.

Visit https://www.tep.com/news/new-transmission-project-supports-battery-manufacturing/ to view the full article online.

 
White Paper
A commonplace chemical used in water treatment facilities has been repurposed for large-scale energy storage in a new battery design by researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The design provides a pathway to a safe, economical, water-based, flow battery made with Earth-abundant materials. 

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240325114132.htm to view the full article online.

Pairing cryptocurrency mining -- notable for its outsize consumption of carbon-based fuel -- with green hydrogen could provide the foundation for wider deployment of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, according to a new Cornell University study.

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240325172414.htm to view the full article online.

Conditions that usually accompany the kind of intense hot and cold weather that strains power grids may also provide greater opportunities to capture solar and wind energy. A study found that widespread, extreme temperature events are often accompanied by greater solar radiation and higher wind speeds that could be captured by solar panels and wind turbines. 

Visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240327124658.htm to view the full article online.