The Associated Press published its findings of a yearlong investigation into the security of the U.S. power grid, and its conclusions are not heartening: About a dozen times in the last decade, foreign hackers have gained enough access to operational networks and power plants to allow them to control the flow of power over the grid.
The AP conducted more than 120 interviews with industry experts and government officials, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. These sources said hackers from Iran, China and Russia have penetrated the grid and remain “stowed away” where they can strike at will. “If the geopolitical situation changes and Iran wants to target these facilities, if they have this kind of information it will make it a lot easier,” said Robert M. Lee, a former U.S. Air Force cyberwarfare operations officer.
In its report, the news service delved into one such attack on Calpine in August 2013, where hackers gained access to passwords and diagrams of multiple power plants. The AP’s sources pointed to aging network infrastructure — such as computers running on Windows 95 and boot up on floppy disks — used to manage substations and power plants that are simply unable to respond or even detect intrusions.
More: Associated Press
States, Others File Amicus Briefs in Review of CPV Contracts
More than a dozen states, associations and others filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court last week in two federal-state jurisdictional cases pitting New Jersey and Maryland regulators against FERC.
The court said in October that it would review lower court rulings throwing out state-issued contracts Competitive Power Ventures won to build a 660-MW combined-cycle plant in Maryland and a 663-MW plant in Woodbridge, N.J. (See SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Md., NJ-FERC Subsidy Case.)
The main parties filed their briefs in early December. Last week, the court received friend of the court briefs from others including the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the American Public Power Association, NRG Energy and officials from more than a dozen states.
More: Harvard Environmental Law Program; Dockets: Case 14-623, Case 14-614
GOP Accuses EPA of Using ‘Covert Propaganda’
House Republicans are questioning the legality of EPA’s use of social media in its climate rule campaign. While not citing any specific alleged abuses, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said that last week’s Government Accountability Office report accusing EPA of violating the law when promoting its water rule calls into question “the use of social media to promote other rulemaking activity.”
“For example, EPA undertook an extensive social media messaging campaign in support of its Clean Power Plan, authoring blog posts and posting messages on Facebook and Twitter,” Upton said in a letter to EPA.
An EPA spokeswoman said the use of social media was aimed at educating the public, not influencing policy. “EPA stands by its outreach efforts on the Clean Power Plan,” she said.
More: The Hill
More than Half of New Capacity was Renewable in 2014
Electricity derived from renewable sources made up more than half of the country’s new energy capacity installations in 2014, according to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Solar grew the fastest, increasing by more than 54% and adding 5.5 GW.
Renewable power made up 15.5% of total installed capacity and 13.5% of total generation.
More: Computerworld
EPA Ruling Spurs Rise in Coal Ash Use
The beneficial use of post-combustion coal products — more commonly known as ash — surged in 2014, mostly because of the clarification of federal regulations governing its use.
The American Coal Association said 62.4 million tons of ash, or 48% of all ash produced in 2014, were beneficially used in various applications, such as fill. That is up 21% from 51.4 million tons used in 2013.
EPA signaled in 2014 that it was rethinking coal ash’s “hazardous material” designation, spurring increased use, the association said. The agency finalized disposal regulations in December 2014 and it was designated non-hazardous. Figures for 2015 are not yet available.
More: Power Magazine
Senate Confirms Cherry Murray as DOE Sciences Director
The Senate has confirmed Cherry Murray, the former dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as the Energy Department’s new director of the Office of Science. She’ll oversee research in fusion energy, high-energy physics and nuclear physics, among other areas.
“Dr. Murray will be an outstanding director of the Office of Science, drawing upon her experience in academia as professor and dean of one of country’s leading universities of engineering and applied sciences,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. The Office of Science also oversees the department’s 17 national laboratories.
In addition to her academic positions at Harvard, Murray has served as associate director and deputy director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, held positions at Bell Laboratories, and most recently served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. She received her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
More: Department of Energy
IEA says Global Demand for Coal Stalls in 2014
Global coal demand stalled for the first time since the 1990s because of increased renewable energy production, more stringent environmental regulations and a decline in industrial use, according to the International Energy Agency.
The agency said that China’s declining appetite for coal caused much of the stall. Although the country continues to build coal-burning power plants, it is also increasing its use of hydro, wind and solar power.
The IEA said it predicts that coal will provide a significant but shrinking share of the world’s generation, from the current 41% to 37% by 2020.
More: Associated Press
Akron Company Gets $1.3 Million from DOE for Clean Steam Plant
Ohio company Echogen Power Systems is getting a $1.3 million Energy Department grant to develop a cleaner coal-burning power plant. The government’s Supercritical Transformational Electric Power program is providing it with funding to explore the use of supercritical carbon dioxide, or carbon dioxide at high temperature and pressure.
Echogen, which operates out of a former steel company building in downtown Akron, is using supercritical carbon dioxide technology to boost waste-heat capturing systems in industrial applications. It will use the money to develop a 10-MW demonstration plant to employ supercritical carbon dioxide in a coal-burning system. It says using supercritical carbon dioxide will require less fuel and produce fewer emissions.
Construction of the plant is scheduled to start in 2019, according to Echogen.
More: Akron Beacon Journal
FTC to Review Energy Transfer, Williams Cos. Merger
The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing the proposed merger of Energy Transfer Equity with The Williams Companies. The $37.7 billion merger would create the third largest energy franchise in North America.
Energy Transfer and Williams confirmed that FTC would review the proposed combination of the two pipeline giants. The deal also needs FERC approval, which would have to rule that the merger would be in the public interest.
The FTC review will determine if any antitrust issues would arise with such a merger. One legal expert, Franklin G. Snyder of Texas A&M School of Law, said he believes there will be few roadblocks. “Reports so far suggest that the antitrust problems will not be too serious and that it would likely get FTC approval, but the FTC will certainly be looking very closely,” he said.
More: Texas Lawyer
FERC to Consider Columbia’s $1 Billion Modernization Program
Columbia Transmission, operator of a network of natural gas pipelines serving the Northeast and the Appalachian shale region, has filed a $1 billion modernization program with FERC.
Columbia said it will replace more than 130 miles of pipe, update its preventative maintenance program and add nearly 80,000 horsepower of compression to its standby fleet of compressors to increase reliability in times of high demand and cold temperatures. The proposed modernization program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 20,000 tons a year, according to the company.
The company has asked FERC to approve the customer agreement surrounding the modernization program by the end of March.
More: Columbia Pipeline Group