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Wind and solar currently dominate the global growth of renewable electricity production. In 2015, the combined share of investments between these two technologies comprised 90% of global renewable energy (excluding large hydro resources) investment of nearly US $286 billion. At the same time, various jurisdictions around the world have pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas…

The success of Henry Ford’s Model T, starting production in 1908, is attributed to many innovations by automotive historians and experts. Many claim that his use of an assembly line or paying workers an efficiency wage were the keystones of the Ford Motor Company’s rapid growth and prosperity. A view less often heard comes from…

In engineering, as in life, we all have moments when something that is troubling us suddenly crystallizes, the fog lifts to reveal an insight. So it was after several months of grappling with issues in the Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) market when I started to examine events in detail and study the performance of…

An engineer is someone who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, such as implementing plans or building machines.  It is not just technical expertise that makes an engineer, but also ability to develop solutions that are sensible and realistic.  As I have heard said, an engineer is someone who can build for ten cents…

On August 16, 2016, brush fires in California created multiple line faults on the 500 kV transmission system. During these events, the inverters at multiple bulk electric system (BES) solar sites ceased injecting current into the system, with the most significant event dropping 1200 MW of generation. In general, the solar sites did not trip,…

Part one of this two-part series used a thought experiment to illustrate the sub-optimal outcomes that occur when the meteorological characteristics of renewable resources are not considered holistically. In the thought experiment, policy incentives encouraged maximizing annual energy output and no value was ascribed to variable resource quality. This is the situation today with renewable…