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A listing of news items pertaining to the Electrical Grid.

This listing was commenced January, 2012

2012

Grid > Vulnerability > Copper >
Copper thieves target highway light wiring, costing taxpayers thousands - Thieves cut the wire at the junction box at the base of each of the light poles, then they tie the wire to the bumper of a truck, take off and rip the wire right out of the ground. They stole 7,000 feet of wire that weighed about 300 pounds and is valued at $17,000. (Deseret News; January 8, 2012) [Another reason for distributed energy solutions.]

2011

Superconductors / Grid >
Sapphire fibers carry 40 times more electricity than copper wire - Researchers from Tel Aviv University have now developed a new type of cost-effective superconductive wire made from single-crystal sapphire fibers, which are then coated in a ceramic mixture, which they claim can carry 40 times more electricity than copper wiring of the same size. Slightly thicker than a human hair, they must be continuously cooled in order to remain in a superconducting state. (GizMag; September 9, 2011)

Grid > Vulnerability to Solar Flares >
Power Grid Braces for Sun Storms - A solar storm that reaches Earth could knock out communications, scramble GPS, and leave thousands without power for weeks to months. The tempest can create extra electrical currents in Earth's magnetosphere. The electrical power grid is particularly vulnerable to these extra currents, which can infiltrate high-voltage transmission lines, causing transformers to overheat and possibly burn out. (National Geographic; August 3, 2011)

Feature: Grid / EMP / U.S._Govt. and_Energy >
Remedies for Grid Vulnerabilities to Solar Flares - If a blast like the Carrington Event of 1859 occurred again, we could see 100 million people out of electricity for a couple years. However, installing 'surge protection' for the power grid would not be that expensive or difficult – especially when contrasted with the expense of unprotected components failing. A call to action. (PESWiki; July 16, 2010)

Emergency Preparedness / Grid Vulnerability >
Yellowstone Supervolcano Getting Ready To Blow Its Cork (Within a few 100,000 years) - Be sure to watch the video links at the end of the story. It's a BBC dramatized documentary done in 2008, which is very well done in portraying the relevant facts and the ramifications if something like this were to unfold -- arguing for energy sources not dependent on the sun or air (subjected to ash). (BeforeItsNews; July 13, 2011)

Emergency Preparedness / Grid > Vulnerabilities >
The Solar Storm Threat to America's Power Grid - A known and cataclysmic threat to the U.S. electric power grid is being largely ignored by the President and Congress. Warning events in 1859, 1921, 1989, and 2003 showed the danger that solar activity can pose to electrical power and distribution systems. Now as we move into another solar maximum, with increased vulnerabilities built into our electrical grid, the danger again looms large. (LaRouche; June 13, 2011)

Emergency Preparedness / Grid > Vulnerabilities >
'Controlled' power cuts likely as Sun storm threatens national grid - Officials in Britain and the United States are preparing to make controlled power cuts to their national electricity supplies in response to a warning of a possible powerful solar storm hitting the Earth. The controlled power "outages" will protect the National Electricity Grids against damage which could take months or even years to repair should a large solar storm collide with the Earth without any precautions being taken. (Independent; UK; June 13, 2011)

Featured: Emergency Preparedness / Grid > Vulnerabilities >
Simply Amazing Solar Prominence Eruption! Next Time... - Referring to yesterday's M-class flare, one sun watcher said: "Never seen anything like this before - spectacular". Its glancing blow is predicted to produce some great northern lights. But that would be a very different story if it had been directed straight at the Earth hitting the U.S., wiping out the grid -- unless we are prepared. (PESN and BeforeItsNews; June 8, 2011)

Featured: Emergency Preparedness / Grid >
An Energy Man's Experience with the Alabama Tornado - One of our regular writers, Paul Noel, gives first hand descriptions of what it is like coming out of the massive tornadoes that recently ravaged several states: high power lines laying across roads, towers yanked out of the ground. He also describes the humanity of people helping each other recover. (PESN; May 2, 2011)

Featured: Earth Changes >
Japan's Record Quake Corresponds to Solar Flare Activity - Several well-known scientists chime in to corroborate the connection between the recent solar flare activity and the March 11 Japan 8.9 earthquake via the Sun-Earth connection. (PESN and BeforeItsNews; March 12, 2011)

Featured: Solar > Coronal Mass Ejections > Grid > Emergency Preparedness >
Two Suns in the Bible - In the scripture that talks about "the day that cometh shall burn them up" in Malachi, the next verse talks about the "Sun of righteousness" arising "with healing in his wings." Alphabetics provides some insight on this passage, and its ramifications for solar energy. (GreaterThings and BeforeItsNews; January 23, 2011)

2010

Grid / EVs > Recharging Stations >
Power suppliers thrilled, worried about electric cars - The first mass-market electric cars go on sale next month, and the nation's electric utilities couldn't be more thrilled — or worried. Surge in demand could knock out power to a home or a neighborhood. (MSNBC; November 22, 2010)

EMP > Remedies >
NASA’s Solar Shield to mitigate damage to power grid from severe solar storms - A new NASA project called “Solar Shield” is working to develop a forecasting system that can mitigate the impacts of solar storm events and keep the grid electrons flowing. About 30 minutes before impact an incoming CME would sweep past a spacecraft stationed 1.5 million km upstream from Earth, with sensors to then relay intensity measurement information to earth. (GizMag; Oct. 27, 2010)

Feature: Contests / Grid >
GE Ecomagination Challenge - In addition to prize money for the best ideas, GE and its funding partners have allocated $200 million to go toward the development of key concepts that will help reshape the grid, whether it be by providing more affordable and stable clean power, or help with the transmission, or help in the efficiency on the consumption end. See the NEC's proposal to fund its vetting of the best Maverick technologies. (PESWiki; Sept. 29, 2010)

Storage / Grid >
Cryogen Energy Storage System Could Cut Peak Fuel Use by Half - A new energy storage system being developed by the University of Leeds and the Chinese Academy of Sciences uses excess energy from off peak times to chill a nitrogen-oxygen mixture called cryogen. Then, the next time demand spikes, the mixture can be boiled using waste heat to produce power. (Inhabitat; Aug. 12, 2010)

Feature: Emergency Preparedness / Grid / Hybrid Vehicles >
Priuses power house during 24-hour grid outage in Washington DC - A family in D.C. was able to power all their essential equipment, including two refrigerators and lights; and a lot more, including their TV, computer, some cooling fans, and a cell phone battery; by attaching 1000-Watt inverters to their two Toyota Priuses in their garage, using ~1/2 gallon of fuel per hour. (PESN; July 19, 2010)

Conventional Renewable Energy >
Ten PowerPoint Slides That Shook the Earth - If you attend enough cleantech events or are pitched by enough startups, you start to see the same few PowerPoint slides over and over again. Here is a collection of the best or at least the most notorious and historically significant slides in our industry. (GreenTechMedia; July 8, 2010)

Featured: Grid / Emergency Preparedness >
Zero Hour: The Day The Grid Stood Still - There are several causal factors, natural and manmade, that could bring out modern grid to a stand-still, arguing for the need for distributed, hardened power. Disruption could come from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from a military nuclear detonation, or it could come from a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun. (PESN; April 30, 2010)

Grid > Broadband Carrier >
Transmission speeds of 100Mbps over 1km on existing copper networks - Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs has demonstrated technology that boosts the transmission speeds over two copper pairs to 100Mbps over a distance of 1km. This could see such infrastructure given a new lease of life, satisfying consumer’s need for speed for some time to come. (GizMag; April 22, 2010)

EVs / Smart Grid >
Microsoft Hohm Will Allow Electric Vehicles to Power Home Appliances - Ford and Microsoft have announced a partnership to create a computerized link between houses, electric cars and utility companies. The new electric car system will allow drivers to better manage home energy use and save money by telling the consumer the best time for cars to recharge (when demand and electricity rates are low). (MSNBC; March 31, 2010)

Conspiracy > Grid > Smart Grid >
Smart Grid: The Implementation of Technocracy? - Writer points out that the smart grid technology is key in enabling the decades-long-sought technocracy -- a scientific dictatorship. It enables a central grid to control individual appliances in private homes, allowing for punishment of non-conformists. (August Review; March 2, 2010) [Comment: distributed free energy is the antidote]

Featured: Grid / Nature / Conspiracy > Ventura's "Conspiracy Theory" >
Jesse Ventura on the 2012 Apocalypse conspiracy theory - Future solar flares could wipe out the electrical grid as well as bring major physical catastrophes to the planet. Ventura's team uncovers evidence that the U.S. government is preparing for a major disaster, planning to save only the elite, keeping their plans from the public because they don't have enough time or resources to prepare for everyone. (PESWiki; Jan. 20, 2010) (Comments)

2008 - 2009

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2004 - 2007

See News:Grid:2004-2007

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