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☆ Stunning images of ocean life in proposed deep-sea mining zone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Sometimes they have been seen/observed/known before, but not collected or formally described,” said Regen Drennan, a postdoctoral marine biologist at London’s Natural History Museum. If deep-sea mining follows the same trajectory as offshore oil production, more than one-third of these critical metals will come from deep-ocean mines by 2065, the federal agency estimated. However, several countries, including the United Kingdom and France, have expressed caution, supporting a moratorium or ban on deep-sea mining to safeguard marine ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. Along with the transparent unicumber, the creature is a type of sea pig within the scientific family called Elpidiidae. It’s also possible, these scientists warn, that deep-sea mining could disrupt the way carbon is stored in the ocean, contributing to the climate crisis.

Persons: James Cook, ”, Regen Drennan, Drennan, wasn’t, ” Drennan, It’s Organizations: CNN, Clarion, National Oceanography Centre, Geological Survey, Authority, United Nations Convention, NHMDeepSea Locations: London, United Kingdom, France

☆ Exclusive: This pizza box-sized equipment could be key to Ukraine keeping the lights on this winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Officials from multiple US agencies played a quiet role in getting the Cisco equipment into Ukraine, sources say. In this undated photo, an employee at Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, works on the power grid. As the world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment, Cisco had resources to spare. The switch allows an electric substation – which has the crucial task of converting power from high to low voltage – to communicate with other parts of a power grid. Years of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s gridBehind the scenes, US officials are often coordinating the delivery of key technology to Ukraine.

Persons: CNN —, Illia Vitiuk, Biden, Palantir, Ukrenergo, Joe Marshall, intently, Marshall, he’d, ”, ” Marshall, Taras Vasyliv, ” Vasyliv, Andrew Kravchenko, Vasyliv, Ukraine “, ” NERC Organizations: CNN, Engineers, Cisco, US Air Force, Washington, SpaceX, Microsoft, Pentagon, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Stanford University, GPS, Cisco’s, Ukrenergo, Bloomberg, Getty, GRU, US Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Locations: Austin , Texas, Ukraine, Russian, Stanford, Russia, Ukrainian, Denver, Ukraine’s, Kyiv, Silicon Valley, Alabama, East Coast, Germany, Rzeszów, Poland, California, ”, North America

☆ North American grid regulator tests physical, cyber security preparedness
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - The North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) said on Thursday it has concluded a two-day simulation with power sector entities to stress-test their emergency response and recovery plans for physical and cyber security attacks. We must continue to be vigilant," said NERC senior vice president Manny Cancel, who leads its Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). The E-ISAC's GridEx, the biggest grid security exercise in North America, took place on Nov. 14-15 with more than 250 participants, including electric and natural gas companies government agencies. NERC warned of evolving cyber threats to the electric grid, "guided by geopolitical events, new vulnerabilities, changes in technologies, and increasingly bold cyber criminals and hackers." In an August report, NERC pushed to develop standards for the power sector on mitigating risk from cloud adoption and artificial intelligence technologies, along with cyber security training for the workforce.

Persons: NERC, Manny Cancel, GridEx, David Gregorio Our Organizations: North American Electric Reliability Corp, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S . Department of Energy, Thomson Locations: Maryland, North Carolina, Washington, South Carolina, North America, Bengaluru

☆ Two-thirds of North America could face power shortages this winter -NERC
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In its 2023-24 winter outlook, the regulatory authority warned that prolonged, wide-area cold snaps threaten the reliability of bulk power generation and availability of fuel supplies for natural gas-fired generation. "Recent extreme cold weather events have shown that energy delivery disruptions can have devastating consequences for electric and gas consumers in impacted areas," NERC said. It put the U.S. Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and South, along with some Canadian provinces, at the highest risk for electricity supply shortages this winter. NERC also found that load forecasting in winter is growing in complexity, and underestimating demand is a risk to reliability in extreme cold temperatures. Flows of gas into pipelines were reduced during Elliott, while demand for the fuel for heating and power generation increased, dramatically lowering line pressures.

Persons: Greenlee Beal, NERC, John Moura, Storm Elliott, Elliott, Anjana Anil, Scott DiSavino, Leslie Adler, Marguerita Choy Organizations: PIKE Energy, REUTERS, North American Electric Reliability Corp, U.S ., PJM, Reliability Corp, Texas, Federal Energy Regulatory, Storm, Consolidated Edison, Thomson Locations: Texas, San Antonio , Texas, U.S, Canada, U.S . Midwest, Northeast, South, New England, MISO , New York, New York City, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Extreme heat means two-thirds of North America could suffer blackouts this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Periods of extreme heat stress the grid by spiking demand for electricity as families and businesses crank up the air conditioning to stay cool. Power grid officials have warned that large swaths of the United States could face blackouts if it’s a hot summer. “Two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer during periods of extreme demand,” the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC) concluded in its summer outlook published last month. The risk of blackouts comes into play only if there is extreme heat. But many Americans in the South and Central regions of the United States are dealing with extreme heat right now.

Persons: NERC, ” NERC Organizations: New York CNN Business, North American Energy Reliability Corporation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, US Energy Information Administration Locations: United States, North America, Mississippi, Central, Texas . New England, Ontario, “, South, Arizona, Alabama, West Texas, Pacific Northwest, Southwest , Texas, Southeast, Texas, Nevada , Utah, Gulf Coast

☆ Your Coming Summer of Blackouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wonder Land: Whether it's the border, the economy or crime, the progressive way of governance is that no policy mistake can change—ever. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyHow many warnings does it take before the Biden Administration wakes up to the risks from its climate policies to the U.S. electric grid? The latest came this month from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and please pray the wind keeps blowing.

☆ California grid operator signs off on $7.3 billion of power lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 19 (Reuters) - California's electric grid operator has approved a plan expected to cost $7.3 billion for 45 new power transmission projects over the next decade and made it easier for new power plants in high-priority areas to connect to the grid. The projects will support the development of more than 40 gigawatts (GW) of new generation resources, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) said on Thursday. The vast majority of the transmission projects will be built in California, with some in neighboring Arizona, it said. CAISO will prioritize connecting power plants to the grid in specific geographical zones identified by its plan where developing new power lines and plants "make the most economic and operational sense." The grid operator also approved proposed reforms to account for "increasing levels of net load forecast uncertainty between day-ahead and real-time markets ... as the generation fleet evolves towards a cleaner, but more variable, resource mix."

There are "continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure," the agency warned last February, "as a means to create chaos and advance ideological goals." Law enforcement and utility companies, though, say they're working to resolve the open cases and prevent future attacks. Members of accelerationist groups have been charged with several plots in recent years to attack critical infrastructure. "The critical infrastructure element has become one of the core components of neo-fascist accelerationist movements in the US. "They don't really care who is doing the violence, who's doing the critical infrastructure attacks, Lewis said.

☆ U.S. regulators to probe power outages during historic winter storm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - An inquiry will be opened into the power outages caused by extreme weather during historic winter storm Elliott, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other North American regulatory authorities said on Wednesday. FERC will probe operations of the bulk power system to identify performance issues and recommend solutions alongside the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and its six regional entities which encompass nearly 400 million customers, mainly in the U.S. and Canada. "This storm underscores the increasing frequency of significant extreme weather events and underscores the need for the electric sector to change its planning scenarios and preparations for extreme events,” said NERC CEO and President Jim Robb. And this was in the early weeks of a projected 'mild' winter," Robb said. Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EVs and crypto mining seen as emerging risks for U.S. power reliability
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Laila Kearney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The adoption of electric vehicles and rise of cryptocurrency mining pose emerging challenges to U.S. power reliability in upcoming years, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said on Thursday. The potential growth of cryptocurrency miners, which use supercomputers to power their operations, can also "have a significant effect on demand and resource projections," NERC said. Earlier this month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced a voluntary curtailment program for customers, including bitcoin mining facilities, to reduce power during peak demand periods. Non-EV energy transition measures, which rely heavily on the electrification of businesses and residences, will also add grid pressures, NERC said. That increase comes as the shutdown of coal, nuclear and natural-gas power plants outpaces the replacement of new power generation capacity.

☆ California and the Midwest face 'high risk' of electricity shortages in next five years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Projected energy shortfalls have been projected in that region since 2018, Olson said. The Southwest could also suffer when demand is high and wind energy generation is low in the region. For its annual long-term electricity security assessment, NERC looks at the coming decade, but energy and capacity risk assessment goes out for the coming five years, from 2023 to 2027. There are too many moving parts and uncertainties for a risk assessment past the next five years to be worthwhile, according to NERC. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certified NERC to measure and enforce safety standards for the energy grid in the United States in 2006.

☆ United States at risk of tight electric supplies this winter -NERC
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Those reliability concerns stem from higher peak demand projections, generator retirements, generator vulnerability to extreme weather and fuel supply and natural gas infrastructure limitations, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) said on a webcast of its 2022-2023 Winter Reliability Assessment. NERC said that the lack of interconnections with other regions limited Texas' ability to import power from other regions if problems arise. "Energy emergencies are likely in extreme conditions," NERC said about MISO, noting wind generator performance would be a key factory this winter. In New England, NERC warned that the amount of oil stored at power generators was just about 40% of capacity. "We encourage generators to fill up those tanks," Mark Olson, manager for reliability assessments at NERC, said on the webcast.

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