electric grid

Tracy Anthony, site lead for Depcom, an Entergy contractor, stands in front of a row of solar panels at Entergy Arkansas’ 100 megawatt solar and storage plant in Searcy, Arkansas. Anthony said renewable power, coupled with battery storage, will “play an important part in power generation in the near future.” (Robert Zullo/ States Newsroom)

Battery storage seen as ‘backbone’ of reliable electric grid but adoption uneven across US

BY: - October 2, 2023

SEARCY, Ark. — In the decarbonized future envisioned by many states, utilities and the federal government, expect more power plants like Entergy Arkansas’ facility here, where thousands of gleaming panels and banks of batteries spread across 800 acres about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. The Searcy Solar Energy Center, a 100-megawatt solar and storage […]

Several fossil fuel plants went offline during recent winter storms either because their equipment froze or because they couldn’t get fuel, leading to blackouts in some regions. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Winter is coming and the U.S. grid remains vulnerable to power plant failures

BY: - July 26, 2023

From winter storms to sweltering summer heat, there’s a consensus among experts that increasing extreme weather, a shifting electric generation mix, delays in getting new power generation projects connected and the difficulties in getting new transmission lines and other infrastructure built all pose an increasing risk to the grid. At U.S. Senate committee hearings as well as Federal […]

Inside the battle over who gets to build the grid of the future

BY: - April 6, 2023

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a draft report in February that found a “pressing need” for new electric transmission infrastructure across the country to improve reliability, connect a rapidly growing number of solar, wind and battery storage projects, supply increasing electric demand and alleviate scattered pockets of consistently high prices across the country. To […]

PJM, which coordinates the flow of electricity from power generators to utility companies in 13 states and the District of Columbia, is facing complaints about how it ensures it will have enough capacity to keep the electricity flowing during a winter storm or summer heat wave (fhm/Getty Images).

The nation’s biggest electric capacity market needs fixing, critics say

BY: - March 16, 2023

The nation’s largest grid operator is warning that it might not have enough electric generation in the future to guarantee reliability.  And it comes as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission convenes a forum on the multibillion-dollar capacity market PJM operates to ensure there’s enough power to meet demand even during grid emergencies, such as during […]

After a series of winter storms, regulators approve new standards for power plants

BY: - February 28, 2023

Two years after Winter Storm Uri, which caused a massive power failure in Texas that caused more than 200 deaths, and just two months after another storm, Elliott, forced blackouts in parts of the South, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved new extreme cold reliability standards for power plants.  However, the vote last week […]