A rational approach to U.S. civil nuclear power

The U.S. commercial nuclear sector is in trouble. Absent significant policy changes, the near-term closure of a number of reactors appears increasingly inevitable. Much has been written about the impact of cheap shale gas on the economics of nuclear power, but poorly structured, deregulated markets and market distortions – mainly in the form of subsidies and mandates for other kinds of power generation – severely undermine the competitiveness of the existing U.S. nuclear fleet, particularly smaller reactor units. At the same time, foreign competitors, which are mostly state-run enterprises, are capturing a greater share of the export market for nuclear …

The Dollars – and Sense – of EV Smart Charging: Thinking Through the Options for Utility Integration of Electric Vehicles

Utilities that don’t prepare to integrate EVSEs into their distribution networks are likely to incur unplanned costs and grid reliability problems, as well as be perceived as a bottleneck to EV adoption. Consequently, utilities should proactively assess how they will manage the adoption and charging of EVs within their service territories. When evaluating different EV integration options, utilities will need to consider variables such as who owns the EVSE, who owns the meter used for EVSE billing, and how electricity rates can influence consumers’ EV charging behavior.…

Interregional Transfer Capability Study (ITCS)

The North American grid is a complex machine that has evolved over many decades and integrates a network of generation, transmission, and distribution systems across vast geographic areas. 5 As a result of the changing resource mix6 and extreme weather, interregional energy transfers play an increasingly pivotal role. More than ever, a strong, flexible, and resilient transmission system is essential for grid reliability. NERC, as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), remains focused on assuring reliability throughout this energy transformation. As evidenced during recent operational events, more needs to be done to support energy adequacy8 to be able to continuously meet …

National Transmission Planning Study

Improving and expanding electric transmission infrastructure in the U.S. is critical to ensuring consumers across the country have access to reliable, affordable power when and where they need it and to enable us to integrate new, clean sources of energy generation into the grid. To understand the transformation needed to ensure the U.S. electric transmission system continues to reliably serve the nation’s electricity customers as the power sector evolves and transitions to cleaner resources, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office led the multiyear National Transmission Planning Study (NTP Study) in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) …

Battery Energy Storage Impact and Benefits Assessments in MISO

MISO is expecting a significant increase in demand for electricity (peak load growing to~130GW by 2035), putting a strain on generation and transmission networks at a time of increasing renewables penetration. As new, diversified resources are added to the grid, battery capacity will be needed for MISO to maintain reliability and manage large ramping requirements in evenings, particularly considering the challenges in bringing new thermal generation online.…

Characteristics and Risks of Emerging Large Loads

Electricity is a key component of the fabric of modern society and the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise serves to strengthen that fabric. The vision for the ERO Enterprise, which is comprised of NERC and the six Regional Entities, is a highly reliable, resilient, and secure North American bulk power system (BPS). Our mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid.…

US Power Sector Outlook 2025

US federal policy changes, coupled with concerns around surging demand for electricity and reliability, could provide a reprieve for the nation’s fossil fuels, but renewables and energy storage still dominate near-term generation additions.

According to an analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence data, about 59 GW of wind and solar capacity and more than 31 GW of energy storage are projected to come online in the US during 2025. Solar generation continues to be the predominant resource seeking interconnection to the nation’s electricity grid, with nearly 49 GW of planned projects in the queue.

Gain vital insights into the capacity …

2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure

As Americans increasingly depend on electrification in their daily lives, energy demand is experiencing its highest growth in two decades. An increase in electric vehicles (EVs) and a rise in data centers will demand 35 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2030 alone, up from 17 GW in 2022. This rapid acceleration, compounded by federal and state net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals, means utilities will need to double existing transmission capacity to connect new renewable generation sources. Transmission investments have risen by $5 billion from 2017 to 2022, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) …

Transmission Line Faults Detection and Classification Using New Tripping Characteristics Based on Statistical Coherence for Current Measurements

Power transmission lines are critical components of a power system that connect power stations to consumers. To maintain reliability and stability of the system, faults should be correctly classified and cleared as soon as possible. In this article, a coherence-based protection scheme for faults detection and classification on transmission lines (TLs) is proposed. Besides, the scheme introduces a new model of tripping characteristics based on six coherence coefficients that are computed only for current waves measured at the TL sending end. The power network under test is simulated using the ATP software, and signals analysis and the performance evaluation of …

How “Power Couples” Can Help the United States Win the Global AI Race

The race is on to power the artificial intelligence revolution. AI’s strategic importance to national security and American economic competitiveness is making headlines, but at the same time, companies looking to build out very large data centers are struggling to find enough electric power. Inadequate and outdated market and regulatory processes have led to wait times of nearly five years to get grid access for new generation and lead times of eight years or more to build out new transmission infrastructure.

Big tech companies working to bring data centers online quickly have tried siting these large loads alongside existing power …