Smart Grid

Unlocking Existing Grid Capacity With Dynamic Line Rating

Dynamic line rating can produce large savings in some parts of the electricity system. In other cases it reveals that operators had been overestimating how much cooling transmission lines receive from the surrounding air. Both outcomes matter. Dynamic line rating replaces assumptions with measurements and forecasts about what transmission lines … [continued]

Demand Shifting in Hawaiʻi: The Other Half of the Energy Transition

The series examining Oʻahu’s energy transition has followed a consistent structure. It began by defining the island’s fully electrified energy system and stripping away energy uses that do not serve the civilian economy. Aviation fuel for flights leaving Hawaiʻi, maritime bunkering for ships crossing the Pacific, and military energy consumption … [continued]

Steering Electricity: How Grid Control Devices Unlock Transmission Capacity

I’m preparing to speak to engineers at GE Vernova during Engineering Week at the request of Cornelis Plet, CTO of GE Vernova Grid Systems Integration. It is a useful moment to step back and look at a class of technologies that rarely make headlines but quietly shape how modern power … [continued]

Transforming EVs & Charging Stations into Virtual Power Plants

Nearly a decade ago, I gave a presentation at EVBox’s rEVolution conference in Amsterdam. One of the other presenters at the even was the head of The Mobility House, founder and then-CEO Thomas Raffeiner. The company’s focus: vehicle-to-grid technology. It was clear he and The Mobility House had been working … [continued]

A New Billing Architecture To Transform EV Charging Economics

TL;DR — Public charging is expensive and messy because the business model is wrong. Instead of selling electricity, charging operators should just provide infrastructure — and utilities should bill drivers directly at their home rate. A single API can make this happen and unlock the kind of seamless experience Tesla … [continued]

BYD’s New 14.5 MWh Haohan BESS: Pushing Energy Storage Performance & Cost Past Tipping Points

BYD recently introduced the new “Haohan” BESS (Battery Energy Storage System), as reported in PV Magazine’s ESS News, CnEVPost, and multiple Chinese media channels. The 14.5 MWh of capacity and 52.1% VCTS (Volumetric Cell to System) are industry leading. However, the implications go far beyond the technical specs. The 14.5 … [continued]