Axpo Holding

Axpo Holding AG, headquartered in Baden in Canton Aargau, and its subsidiaries constitute the energy company Axpo. Axpo Holding AG was established in 2001 and is 100-per cent publicly-owned.
Axpo produces, distributes and markets electricity and is active in international energy trading, as well as in the energy services business. The company is present internationally in approx. 30 countries.
Axpo is the largest energy company in Switzerland, and according to its own statement, the largest Swiss producer of electricity from renewable energies. A large portion of domestic power generation comes from hydropower and nuclear power. The focus abroad is on wind and solar energy. The company also owns gas and steam combined-cycle power plants (GuD).
Axpo has about 5000 employees.
The company originates from the former Nordostschweizerischen Kraftwerke AG, NOK.
History.
Axpo's roots go back to the beginning of electrification in Switzerland over 100 years ago.
In 1908, the former Motor AG connected its low-pressure hydropower plant at Beznau, Aargau, with the storage power plant at Löntsch, Glarus to the power grid with a 100-kilometre long 27-kilovolt (kV)-line. The founder of Motor AG is Walter Boveri, co-founder of Brown, Boveri & Cie. (In 1988 merged to become ABB.)
Secure power supply became important early on, as did political pressure to transfer it from private to public hands increased. In 1914 the cantons of Aargau, Glarus, Zurich, Thurgau, Schaffhausen and Zug unite to form Nordostschweizerischen Kraftwerke AG, NOK for short, and take over the Beznau-Löntsch power plants. The cantons of Schaffhausen and Appenzell Innerrhoden follow later. NOK completes its own first hydropower plant in 1920 at Eglisau on the Rhine. The plant has been protected as an historic monument since 1979.
In 1958, Germany, France and Switzerland are interconnected with a 220-kV grid, which is expanded to the 380-kV voltage level in 1967. The central switch field is known as the "Star of Laufenburg", and becomes the basis for international interconnected grid operation.
Because the demand for power rises steadily and at the same time hydropower production is reaching its limits, nuclear power is to become the second pillar of power supply. In the 1960s this demand is broadly supported by policy-makers. SP Federal Councillor Willi Ritschard or the Association for Nature Conservation, the predecessor of Pro Natura are in favour of nuclear power.
In December 1969, the first unit of the Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB) goes into commercial operation after a construction period of only four years. In 1971, the sister unit, Beznau 2, goes into operation.
In 1973, NOK establishes Switzerland's first energy dialogue centre with the population, today's Axporama next to Beznau island on the Aare River on land belonging to the community of Böttstein.
At the end of the 1990s, the EU initiates the gradual liberalisation of the power market. In order to turn NOK into a Europe-competent power company, NOK as well as the NOK cantons and their utilities found Axpo Holding AG in 2001. The company comprises NOK, Centralschweizerische Kraftwerke AG (CKW) and EGL AG, which later becomes Axpo Solutions AG. In 2009, the traditional NOK becomes Axpo AG, followed by its renaming to today's Axpo Power AG three years later.
In 2005, Axpo (then as NOK) launched a large-scale project „Linthal 2015“ in the Glarus Alps. At the altitude of the Limmern Lake the Muttsee-Limmernsee stage is extended with a pumped storage plant with a capacity of 1000 megawatts (MW). Planning and construction take about ten years. Costs amount to CHF 1.2 billion.
In reaction to the reactor accident in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011 the Swiss Federal Council decides to forego the building of new nuclear power plants. Germany wants to phase-out of nuclear power all together by 2022 and takes older nuclear power plants off grid, while putting decommissioned coal-fired power plants back into operation. The consequences are massively dropping oil and gas prices, whilst CO2 certificates are too inexpensive owing to non-functioning trading. At the same time, Germany strongly supports the subsidised expansion of wind and solar power. The result on the power exchanges is the collapse of wholesale prices. Revenues cave for power producing companies like Axpo.
At the end of 2016, UBS downgrades Axpo's credit rating to "BBB+".1
In 2017, Swiss voters reject the initiative to withdraw from nuclear power in a referendum. Nuclear power plants should be operated as long as they are safe and help bridge gaps until the Energy Strategy 2050 can take effect. However, the "no" cannot per se be interpreted as a "yes" to nuclear power.
Today, Axpo's situation has stabilised thanks to significant cost reductions and higher electricity prices (see current credit ratings).
The company has been expanding in wind and solar energy since financial year 2014/15.
The most notable acquisitions are the full take-over of the German Volkswind (2015) and the French Urbasolar (2019). In addition, Axpo holds an interest of 24.1% in Global Tech I. The off-shore wind farm has been in operation since 2015. According to its own statements, the company wants to continue expanding the area of renewable energies, including the business with long-term power contracts (Power Purchase Agreements, PPA). Processes will be increasingly digitalised in order to increase synergies and become more competitive.
Company.
The Axpo Group supplies some 3 million people and several thousand industrial and commercial enterprises in Northeastern Switzerland and Central Switzerland with energy and energy-related services. Axpo Holding is owned by the cantons of Northeastern Switzerland and their utilities.
Company figures.
The following table presents Axpo's company figures for the financial years 2011/12 to 2019/20:
Note: The difference in net profit in 2018/19 as compared to the previous year can be mainly attributed to a so-called reversal of impairment losses amounting to CHF 398 million. This seeks to take increasing wholesale power prices into account.
Shareholders.
The shares of Axpo Holding are fully held by the cantons of Northeastern Switzerland and their utilities.
These are:
Subsidiaries and business areas.
The Axpo Group comprises Axpo Holding AG and its subsidiaries as follows:
The "Production & Grids" area operates the power plant park in Switzerland and abroad (nuclear energy, renewable energies, gas and steam) as well as the distribution grids. The area also invests in power plant and grid capacities.
The "Trading & Sales" area markets energy from the power plant portfolio and is active in energy trading throughout Europe. Axpo mainly trades power, natural gas, biomass, CO2 certificates and green certificates for energy from renewable sources. The company is also active in the so-called origination business, which, in contrast to standard products, is based on products where the supplier takes over and manages customer risks.
CKW AG supplies nearly 200,000 private customers in the cantons of Lucerne, Uri and Schwyz.
Avectris AG offers IT services to Axpo, the utilities of Northeastern Switzerland as well as to third party customers.
Markets.
In Switzerland, Axpo mainly supplies Northeastern Switzerland with electricity in the business-to-business area. The largest customers are the cantons and public utilities. In Central Switzerland, the subsidiary CKW supplies nearly 200,000 private customers and approx. 5,000 business customers directly, as well as additional customers indirectly.
In Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland, Axpo has a total of around 400,000 deliver points for electricity and over 45,000 deliver points for gas directly, as well as through sales partners.
Sustainability.
The Axpo power mix with hydropower, nuclear energy and biomass is climate-friendly insofar as it hardly results in CO2 emissions in Switzerland. However, owing to its gas-fired power plants in Italy, Axpo has on average emitted about 3 million tonnes of CO2 p.a. with its own power plant park in the past years.
However, seen over the entire power plant park, the Axpo power mix is already at the level that Europe strives to achieve by the year 2035.
Based on the Annual Report 2018/19, Axpo also achieved cumulative energy efficiency increases of about 90 gigawatt hours (GWh) over the last six years.
Since financial year 2014/15 up to today, the company has nearly doubled its own wind and solar energy portfolio, mainly abroad, and biomass from 350 MW to 620 MW.
Axpo also sees these investments as well as the expansion of business with long-term power procurement agreements (PPA) for non-subsidised renewable energies as a contribution to the sustainability goals of the United Nations.
As a member of the UNO, Switzerland is expected to help implement these goals by 2030, whereby the private sector, particularly energy companies, play a key role.
Production facilities.
Installed power plant capacities.
Axpo operates over 100 power plants and has installed power plant capacities amounting to about 9,400 MW, status at the end of September 2019 The majority can be attributed to domestic hydropower.
Source: Axpo Sustainability Report 2018/19, page 32. Values in the table have been rounded off. The main changes as compared to the previous year are in new energies abroad owing to the acquisition of Urbasolar (photovoltaic portfolio France).
Safety.
Plant safety: With regard to the safety of nuclear facilities, the Axpo Sustainability Report 2018/2019 states: „...Axpo is committed to complying with the international nuclear safety standards specified by the IAEA Safety Convention (International Atomic Energy Agency) and ratified by Switzerland. National and international authorities carry out nuclear safety checks on a regular basis. Regular safety checks are very important. (...) In addition, safety at the nuclear installations is analysed and appraised by WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators) on a regular basis. (...)"
Dam facilities are also continuously monitored and inspected regularly. Dams in a certain category must withstand earthquakes of a magnitude that is expected only every 10 000 years. The facilities fall under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).
Security of energy supply: The Axpo power plant park combines plants that can generate base load, peak energy and control energy. In Switzerland, Axpo has a production capacity of approx. 25 billion kWh and a power grid covering 2000 kilometres.
The average time of a supply interruption per end consumer is low. In the Annual Report 2018/19, this was 0.25 min./a. for Axpo Grids and 21.6 min./a. for CKW.
Energy sources and power plants.
Renewable Energy.
In the area of renewables, Axpo has primarily invested in Swiss hydropower and biomass. The company produces over 9,5 billion kWh of electricity per year from renewable energy sources.
Hydropower
Hydropower plays an important role in the planned restructuring of power production in Switzerland according to the Energy Strategy 2050.
In Switzerland, Axpo has an installed hydropower capacity of 4300 MW. Its power plant park (owned and shareholdings) currently include about 60 plants. Hence, Axpo is the largest producer of hydropower in Switzerland.
Advances in energy efficiency: In financial year 2018/19, an efficiency increase of approx. 800 MWh was achieved at the Göschenen power plan t.
Axpo hydropower plants with an installed capacity of over 10 MW (selection):
Biomass
Axpo has 15 biomass plants, as well as 5 composting sites in Switzerland. The company uses the organic waste from over 2500 customers (cities, towns, industry and commercial enterprises).
Advances in energy efficiency: In financial year 2018/19, an efficiency increase of 150 MWh was realised at the Charvornay compo-gas facility.
Photovoltaics
In 2019, Axpo entered into the strongly growing, international solar business with the full acquisition of the French company, Urbasolar.
The Urbasolar portfolio includes photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 249 MW (per the end of financial year 2018/19). Axpo estimates a development pipeline of over 1000 MW. In March 2020, the company announced that it would build solar plants for the Paris airports Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget.
Axpo is present in the solar business in Switzerland through CKW AG. Furthermore, the company also intends to use the Limmern pumped storage plant to produce solar power. A large-scale facility with 6000 photovoltaic module s will be built at 2500 a.s.l. on the Muttsee dam wall. Start of construction is scheduled for the summer of 2021.
Solar plants at high elevations have the advantage that they produce more than comparable plants in the Midlands, especially during the winter, when Switzerland must rely on imports. The alpine solar plant will generate 50% of its power during the winter.
Wind energy
With the full acquisition of the German company Volkswind in 2015, Axpo is present in wind energy in France and Germany. In addition, the company also holds an interest of 24.1% in the Global Tech I offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The plant with an installed capacity of 400 MW went into operation in 2015. Since the beginning of 2020, Axpo is responsible for the marketing of all the power generated by Global Tech I amounting to about 1500 million kWh per year.
For market data on the wind energy sector, see here.
Axpo interests in Swiss nuclear power plants.
In addition to ownership in the mentioned nuclear plants, Axpo also holds procurement rights from French nuclear power plants.
Advances in energy efficiency: No efficiency advances were realised in financial year 2018/19.
Grids.
Axpo maintains its own grid infrastructure in Switzerland and with its transmission grids, Axpo connects the transmission grid of the national grid company Swissgrid with the distribution grids of customers.
Axpo's supra-regional distribution grid (110 kV/50 kV/16 kV) extends over 2200 kilometres and includes 8000 masts. The grid consists of 82 per cent overhead lines and 18 per cent underground cabling.
With its grids, Axpo supplies all of Northeastern Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein as well as parts of the cantons of Schwyz, Zug, Grisons and Valais with electricity.
Axpo's Thayngen-Schlattingen high-voltage line runs partly through German territory, but does not supply any transformer stations in Germany.
Energy trading.
International energy trading is the traditional business of the former Axpo Trading AG (previously EGL AG) and today's Axpo Solutions AG.
Axpo is accredited on numerous energy exchanges and broker platforms throughout Europe. The company buys and sells power as well as natural gas, oil and energy derivatives.
The company links the solar and wind power business with the marketing business by means of so-called Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).
Criticism.
In 2011, Axpo was nominated for the Public Eye Award, which according to the initiators awards companies that exhibit especially responsible conduct toward human-beings and society. However the award went to another company. According to the nomination text, the Russian plant Majak, purchase point for fuel assemblies, is the "most contaminated place on in the world". The Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote: The fact that environmentalists knew more about the origin than the Axpo specialists is embarrassing. Axpo wanted to visit the plant, although even inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been refused entry. On 12 November 2011, Axpo communicates that it has "temporarily issued the order" to suspend purchasing fuel assemblies from Majak. Axpo claimed that there was "no evidence of prohibited exposure". The assemblies comply with "internationally accepted regulations" and fulfilled "legal requirements".
In 2014, the company announced that after an interim suspension, it would no longer use uranium from the Russian Majak area.
Miscellaneous.
Up until the year 2012, Axpo Holding was the main sponsor for the top Swiss soccer league, the Axpo Super League.
The greenhouse gas intensity for the Group's entire power plant park, including plants abroad (such as gas and steam in Italy) amounted to 97 g CO2 equivalents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in financial year 2018/19. As a comparison: The value for the European power mix is at about 300 g.
In 2018 Axpo generated an average of 103 grams of CO2 equivalents and 29 cubic-millimetres of nuclear waste per kilowatt-hour. Among the four largest energy companies in Switzerland – in addition to Axpo these are Alpiq, BKW and Repower – Axpo was in the medium range with an average of 316 environmental impact points (EIP).
The energy from radioactive waste can be recycled.


EnergyAustralia (state government enterprise)

EnergyAustralia was a state–owned enterprise of the Government of New South Wales, Australia. It was electricity and gas supplier and retailer which primarily supplied the Sydney, Newcastle and Central Coast areas of New South Wales. Since market deregulation, it increased its focus on retail supply opportunities in electricity and gas to the Victorian market and electricity in the deregulated south–east corner of Queensland.
History.
EnergyAustralia has origins over 100 years old, and was formed after a merger in 1996 between Orion Energy (formerly Shortland Electricity and Shortland County Council) and Sydney Electricity (formerly Sydney County Council, Mackellar County Council and St George County Council).
In 2011, EnergyAustralia's retail business and company name was sold to TRUEnergy. In 2012, TRUEnergy adapted the name EnergyAustralia. The distribution business remained a state government enterprise and was renamed Ausgrid.
Energy Australia has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based China Light and Power Co Ltd since 2011
Operations.
The company had a price-regulated monopoly for the supply of electricity to its supply area. The residential energy market was deregulated in 1997 and full retail contestability introduced in 2002.
EnergyAustralia owned an electricity distribution network in addition to its retail activities. The electricity distribution network covered most of the eastern parts of Sydney, Central Coast and Hunter regions, with the Integral Energy distribution network covering most parts of Western Sydney.
EnergyAustralia owned its own metering services company Testing & Certification Australia, an accredited metering provider, providing contestable metering services to all energy retailers. TCA also includes a high power facility at Lane Cove, a NATA registered instrument calibration facility and was involved in electrical safety compliance testing of appliances until this division was closed in 2010, with the capability being sold to Vipac Engineers and Scientists Pty Ltd. The metering services, Lane Cove High Power Testing Station and instrument calibration facility were later rebranded to PLUS ES.
EnergyAustralia also offered customers the choice of renewable green power which produces no green house gas emissions and is accredited by the National GreenPower Accreditation Program.


Electricity sector in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the country in Central America with the lowest electricity generation, as well as the lowest percentage of population with access to electricity. The unbundling and privatization process of the 1990s did not achieve the expected objectives, resulting in very little generation capacity added to the system. This, together with its high dependence on oil for electricity generation (the highest in the region), led to an energy crisis in 2006 from which the country has not fully recovered yet.
Recent figures are available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20130726102527/http://ine.gob.ni/DGE/serieHistorica.html
The Nicaraguan electricity system comprises the National Interconnected System (SIN), which covers more than 90% of the territory where the population of the country lives (the entire Pacific, Central and North zone of the country). The remaining regions are covered by small isolated generation systems. The SIEPAC project will integrate the electricity network of the country with the rest of the Central American countries, which is expected to improve reliability of supply and reduce costs.
Electricity supply and demand.
Installed capacity.
Nicaragua is largely dependent on oil for electricity generation: 75% dependence compared to a 43% average for the Central American countries. In 2006, the country had 751.2 MW of nominal installed capacity, of which 74.5% was thermal, 14% hydroelectric and 11.5% geothermal. 70% of the total capacity was in private hands.
Gross electricity generation was 3,140 GWh, of which 69% came from traditional thermal sources, 10% from bagasse thermal plants, 10% from hydroelectricity, and 10% from geothermal sources. The remaining 1% corresponds to the electricity generated in the “isolated” systems. The detailed breakdown of generation among the different sources is as follows:
"Source": INE Statistics
Although nominal installed capacity has increased by 113 MW since 2001, effective capacity has only increased by 53 MW, remaining as low as 589 MW in 2006. The large difference between nominal and effective capacity is due to the existence of old thermal plants that do not operate properly and that should be either refurbished or replaced.
Demand.
In 2006, total electricity sold in Nicaragua increased 5.5%, up to 2,052 GWh, which corresponds to 366kWh annual per capita consumption. The consumption share for the different economic sectors was as follows:
Demand versus supply.
Maximum demand has increased in Nicaragua at an annual rate of about 4% since 2001, which has led to a low reserve margin (6% in 2006). Furthermore, demand is expected to increase by 6% per year for the next 10 years, which increases the need for new generation capacity.
Access to electricity.
In 2001, only 47% of the population in Nicaragua had access to electricity. The electrification programs developed by the former National Electricity Commission (CNE) with resources from the National Fund for the Development of the Electricity Industry (FODIEN), the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the Swiss Fund for Rural Electrification (FCOSER), have led to an increase in electricity access to 55% (68% according to the Census estimates, which also consider illegal connections)by 2006. However, this coverage is still among the lowest in the region and well below the 94.6 average for LAC Coverage in the rural areas is below 40%, while in urban areas it reaches 92%.
In 2004, the National Energy Commission (CNE) developed the National Plan for Rural Electrification (PLANER), which established goals and investment figures for the period 2004-2013. Its objective is to bring power to 90% of the country's rural areas by the end of 2012. The Rural Electrification Policy was approved in September 2006 as the main guide for implementation of the PLANER.
Service quality.
Interruption frequency and duration.
In 2003, the average number of interruptions per subscriber was 4 (weighted average for LAC in 2005 was 13), while duration of interruptions per subscriber was 25 hours (weighted average for LAC in 2005 was 14). However, the situation worsened during the energy crisis in 2006, when large sections of the country suffered continuous and lengthy blackouts (See Recent developments below).
Distribution losses.
In 2006, distribution losses in Nicaragua were 28.8%, the highest in Central America together with Honduras, whose average was 16.2%. This is one of the most acute problems faced by the sector in Nicaragua, as it leads to very large economic losses. This problem is partially caused by the widespread existence of illegal connections, altered metering systems and low bill collection capacity in certain areas.
Responsibilities in the electricity sector.
Policy and regulation.
The regulatory entities for the electricity sector in Nicaragua are:
The National Dispatch Center (CNDC) is the operational body in charge of administering the Wholesale Electricity Market (MEN)and the National Interconnected System (SIN).
Generation.
In 2006, there were 10 generation companies in the National Interconnected System, eight of which were in private hands. The number and type of plants operated by each company was as follows:
"Source": CEPAL 2007
Transmission.
In Nicaragua, 100% of the transmission is handled by ENATREL, which is also in charge of the system's dispatch.
Distribution.
In Nicaragua, the company Dissur-Disnorte, owned by the Spanish Unión Fenosa, controls 95% of the distribution. Other companies with minor contributions are Bluefields, Wiwilí and ATDER-BL.
Renewable energy resources.
The “Indicative plan for the generation in the electricity sector in Nicaragua, 2003-2014” does not set any target or legal obligation for the development of renewable resources in the country. However, in April 2005, the government approved Law No. 532., the “Law on Promotion of Electricity Generation with Renewable Resources”. This law declared the development and exploitation of renewable resources to be in the national interest and established tax incentives for renewables.
Renewable energy advances.
NPR reported in 2015 that Nicaragua was increasing its renewable energy capacity. The report said that renewables generated nearly half the country's electricity, and that this could rise to 80% in the near future.
Hydroelectricity.
Currently, hydroelectric plants account only for 10% of the electricity produced in Nicaragua. The public company Hidrogesa owns and operates the two existing plants (Centroamérica and Santa Bárbara).
As a response to the recent (and still unresolved) energy crisis linked to Nicaragua's overdependence on oil products for the generation of electricity, there are plans for the construction of new hydroelectric plants. In 2006 the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) and the Government reached an agreement by which the BCIE will provide US$120 million in the next five years (2007–2012) in order to finance several hydroelectric projects:
In March 2008 the government of Iran approved a US$230 million credit for the construction of a 70 MW hydropower plant by the name of Bodoke on the Tuma River in the northern department of Jinotega. According to press reports the project will be carried out by a state-owned Iranian company with financing from the Iranian Export Bank under an agreement with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Energy and Mines. Micro hydropower also continues to be a popular sustainable energy resource, particularly in isolated rural regions of Nicaragua which are currently not electrified .
The Tumarín Dam, a gravity dam, is currently under construction on the Río Grande de Matagalpa just upstream of the town of Tumarín in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua. It is located about east of San Pedro del Norte, where the Río Grande de Matagalpa meets the Tuma River. Preliminary construction (roads, bridges and foundation) began in 2011 and main works are expected to begin in February 2015. Completion is scheduled for 2019. Brazil's Eletrobras will fund the US$1.1 billion under a 20 to 30 year build–operate–transfer (BOT) agreement. The project is being developed by Centrales Hidroelectricas de Nicaragua (CHN). The power station located at the base of the dam will house three 84.33 MW Kaplan turbine-generators for an installed capacity of 253 MW.
Wind.
Nicaragua's wind potential is still largely unexploited. However, steps are being taken, partially thanks to the new framework created by Law No.532.
In February 2009, the Wind Consortium Amayo successfully connected its new 40 MW Wind Park to the SIN making it the country"s first operational wind park. During late 2009 - early 2010 the Amayo wind farm was expanded with additional 23 MW, total capacity now amounting 60 MW. The windfarm comprises 30 turbines type S88 2.1 MW, from Suzlon Wind Energy, India.
Amayo is currently the largest operating wind facility in Central America.
Geothermal.
Nicaragua is a country endowed with large geothermal potential thanks to the presence of volcanoes of the Marribios range along the Pacific Coast. However, the country is still very far from exploiting this natural resource extensively and efficiently. Law No. 443 regulates the exploration and exploitation of geothermal resources.
The larger of two operating geothermal plants is the Momotombo geothermal project, whose commercial exploitation started in 1983, when the first geothermal unit of 35 MW was put in operation. The second unit of 35 MW was installed in 1989. However, mismanagement of the exploitation led to declines in output levels down to 10 MW. It is expected that with the implementation of a reinjection program and the exploitation of a deeper reservoir, production will increase from the current 20 MW to 75 MW.
Ram Power, previously Polaris Geothermal, currently operates the 10 MW San Jacinto Tizate geothermal plant, a registered CDM project (see CDM projects in electricity below), with two phases of expansion underway, the first to start operations in the autumn of 2010. The second phase was scheduled to be in operation by December 2012.
Biomass.
Sugarcane bagasse feeds 10% of electricity generation in thermal plants in Nicaragua.
History of the electricity sector and recent developments.
Integrated state monopoly (1979-1992).
Until the early 1990s, the electricity sector in Nicaragua was characterized by the presence of the State, through the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE), in all its activities. Created in 1979, INE had Ministry status and was a vertically integrated state monopoly responsible for planning, regulation, policy making, development and operation of the country's energy resources. During that decade, the sector faced serious financial and operational problems as a result of the currency devaluation, war, a trade embargo imposed by the United States and the lack of resources for investment in operation and maintenance of the electricity system.
Sector reforms (1992-2002).
At the beginning of the 1990s, the government of President Violeta Chamorro started the reform of the electricity sector aiming to ensure efficient demand coverage, to promote economic efficiency and to attract resources for infrastructure expansion. In 1992, INE was allowed, by law, to negotiate contracts and concessions with private investors. The Nicaraguan Electricity Company (ENEL) was created in 1994 as the state company in charge of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, commercialization and coordination of the operations previously assigned to INE. INE kept its planning, policy making, regulatory, and taxation functions.
The reform process was consolidated in 1998 with Law 272 (Electricity Industry Law - LIE) and Law 271 (INE Reform Law). The reform of the INE led to the creation of the National Energy Commission (CNE), which assumed the policy making and planning responsibilities. Law 272 established the basic principles for the operation of a competitive wholesale market with the participation of private companies. Electricity generation, transmission and distribution were unbundled and companies were prohibited to have interests in more than one of the three activities. ENEL was restructured in four generation companies (Hidrogesa, GEOSA, GECSA and GEMOSA); two distribution companies (DISNORTE and DISSUR), both acquired by Unión Fenosa and then merged into a single company; and one transmission company (ENTRESA, now ENATREL).
The privatization process that started in 2000 with a public offering of the four generation companies was complicated due both to legal problems and to lack of interest by investors. As a result, ENEL maintained a more relevant role than initially expected. Hidrogesa remained in public hands as the only player in hydroelectric generation while its profits serve to finance the losses of GECSA, which owns the thermal plants that did not attract private interest, and the rural electrification plans in isolated areas.
The reforms of the 1990s did not achieve their objectives. It had been expected that privatization would bring investment in new generation, but very little capacity was added in the years that followed the reform. Moreover, the generation capacity added in the last decade has been mainly dependent on liquid fuels, making the country more vulnerable to rising oil prices. In addition, as mentioned, distribution losses have remained at very high levels (28%). The reform also aimed at implementing gradual changes in electricity tariffs that would reflect costs, which proved to be politically unfeasible.
Oil price increase, financial stress and blackouts (2002-2006).
When oil prices increased from 2002 onwards, the regulator failed to approve electricity tariff increases, because they were expected to have been very unpopular. The financial burden of the higher generation costs was thus passed on to the privatized distribution company, which has, partly as a result, been suffering severe losses.
In 2006, the electricity sector in Nicaragua suffered a serious crisis, with 4- to 12-hour blackouts that affected virtually the whole country. The distribution company owned by Unión Fenosa, was blamed and the concession was temporarily cancelled by the government, which called for arbitration. This led Union Fenosa to call its MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) guarantee. The crisis was further aggravated by the inability of INE and CNE to cooperate in a constructive manner. The emergency situation improved in 2007 due to the installation of 60 MW of diesel generation capacity financed by Venezuela.
Creation of the Ministry of Energy (2007).
In January 2007, shortly after President Daniel Ortega took office, a new law created the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), which replaced the CNE. The new Ministry inherited CNE's responsibilities together with some additional competencies from the INE. Also, in August 2007, an agreement was reached between Unión Fenosa and Nicaragua's new government. The government committed to pass a law to combat fraud, which will help reduce distribution losses and Unión Fenosa will develop an investment plan for the period up to 2012.
Regional integration, the SIEPAC project.
In 1995, after almost a decade of preliminary studies, the Central American governments, the government of Spain and the Inter-American Development Bank agreed to the execution of the SIEPAC project. This project aims at the electric integration of the region. Feasibility studies showed that the creation of a regional transmission system would be very positive for the region and lead to a reduction in electricity costs and to improvements in the continuity and reliability of supply. In 1996, the six countries (Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador) signed the Framework Treaty for the Electricity Market in Central America.
The design of the Regional Electricity Market (MER) was done in 1997 and approved in 2000. MER is an additional market superimposed on the existing six national markets, with a regional regulation, in which the agents authorized by the Regional Operational Body (EOR) carry out international electricity transactions in the region. As for the infrastructure, EPR ("Empresa Propietaria de la Red S.A.") is in charge of the design, engineering, and construction of about 1,800 km of 230kV transmission lines. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2011.
Tariffs and subsidies.
Tariffs.
Electricity tariffs in Nicaragua had increased only slightly between 1998 and 2005 (in fact, industrial tariffs decrease in that period). However, in 2006 electricity tariffs experienced a high increase relative to 2005: 12% for residential, 26% for commercial and 23% for industrial tariffs. Average tariffs for each of the sectors were:
These tariffs are not low; they are in fact among the highest in the Central American region. Residential prices are close to the regional average while industrial prices are the highest in the region.
Subsidies.
Currently, there are cross-subsidies in the tariff structure. Medium voltage consumers pay higher tariffs that serve to subsidize lower tariffs for low voltage consumers. Users that consume less than 150 kWh per month receive transfers from the rest of the consumers. The lowest-consumption users (0-50kWh/month) benefit from reductions between 45% and 63% in their average tariff. Consumers above the 50kWh limit also benefit from the subsidy scheme to a smaller extent.
Investment and financing.
Generation.
In 2007, new “emergency” generation (60 MW) has been financed by the Venezuelan government. On the other hand, the new hydroelectric projects will receive both public and private financing, while the ongoing Amayo wind development and the new San Jacinto Tizate geothermal plant are privately funded.
Transmission.
Entresa has elaborated a Plan for transmission infrastructure expansion for the period 2007-2016. However, financing has not been ensured for all the projects yet.
Distribution.
In August 2007, Unión Fenosa committed to elaborate an investment plan for the period up to 2012.
Rural electrification.
Financing sources for rural electrification are limited. The National Fund for the Development of the Electricity Industry (FODIEN) receives its resources from the concessions and licenses granted by the Nicaraguan Energy Institute (INE). However, funds have been insufficient. The World Bank (through the PERZA project) and the Swiss government (through FCOSER) have also contributed funds and assistance to advance the objectives of rural electrification in the country.
Summary of private participation in the electricity sector.
Electricity generation, transmission and distribution, previously in the hands of state-owned ENEL, were unbundled in 1998. Today, there are 10 generation companies in the National Interconnected system, 8 of which are in private hands. 100% of the hydroelectric capacity is in the hands of the public company Hidrogesa. As for transmission, it is handled solely by state-owned ENATREL, while distribution is 95% controlled by Spanish Unión Fenosa.
Electricity and the environment.
Responsibility for the environment.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) is the institution in charge of the conservation, protection and sustainable use of the natural resources and the environment.
The National Climate Change Commission was created in 1999.
Greenhouse gas emissions.
OLADE (Latin American Energy Association) estimated that CO2 emissions from electricity production in 2003 were 1.52 million tons of CO2, which corresponds to 39% of total emissions from the energy sector. This high contribution to emissions from electricity production in comparison with other countries in the region is due to the high share of thermal generation.
CDM projects in electricity.
Currently (November 2007), there are only two registered CDM projects in the electricity sector in Nicaragua, with overall estimated emission reductions of 336,723 tCO2e per year. One of them is the San Jacinto Tizate geothermal project and the other one is the Monte Rosa Bagasse Cogeneration Project
External assistance.
Inter-American Development Bank.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has several projects under implementation in the electricity sector in Nicaragua:
World Bank.
The World Bank has currently one Off-grid Rural Electrification (PERZA) project under implementation in Nicaragua. The US$19 million project will receive US$12 million funding from the Bank in the period 2003-2008. The main objective of the project is to support the sustainable provision of electricity services and associated social and economic benefits in selected rural sites in Nicaragua, and strengthen the Government's institutional capacity to implement its national rural electrification strategy.
Other.
Several countries have provided financial support for the expansion of the transmission network in Nicaragua:


Perovskite (structure)

A perovskite is any material with a crystal structure similar to the mineral called perovskite, which consists of calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). The mineral was first discovered in the Ural mountains of Russia by Gustav Rose in 1839 and named after Russian mineralogist L. A. Perovski (1792–1856). The general chemical formula for perovskite compounds is ABX3, where 'A' and 'B' are two cations, often of very different sizes, and X is an anion (frequently oxide) that bonds to both cations. The 'A' atoms are generally larger than the 'B' atoms. The ideal cubic structure has the B cation in 6-fold coordination, surrounded by an octahedron of anions, and the A cation in 12-fold cuboctahedral coordination.
As one of the most abundant structural families, perovskites are found in an enormous number of compounds which have wide-ranging properties, applications and importance. Natural compounds with this structure are perovskite, loparite, and the silicate perovskite bridgmanite. Since the discovery of perovskite solar cells, which contain methylammonium lead halide perovskites in 2009 there has been considerable research interest into perovskite materials.
Structure.
Perovskite structures are adopted by many oxides that have the chemical formula ABO3. The idealized form is a cubic structure (space group Pmm, no. 221) which is rarely encountered. The orthorhombic (e.g. space group Pnma, no. 62, or Amm2, no. 68) and tetragonal (e.g. space group I4/mcm, no. 140, or P4mm, no. 99) phases are the most common non-cubic variants. Although the perovskite structure is named after CaTiO3, this mineral forms a non-idealized form. SrTiO3 and CaRbF3 are examples of cubic perovskites. Barium titanate is an example of a perovskite which can take on the rhombohedral (space group R3m, no. 160), orthorhombic, tetragonal and cubic forms depending on temperature.
In the idealized cubic unit cell of such a compound, the type 'A' atom sits at cube corner position (0, 0, 0), the type 'B' atom sits at the body-center position (1/2, 1/2, 1/2) and oxygen atoms sit at face centered positions (1/2, 1/2, 0), (1/2, 0, 1/2) and (0, 1/2, 1/2). The diagram to the right shows edges for an equivalent unit cell with A in the cube corner position, B at the body center, and O at face-centered positions.
Four general categories of cation-pairing are possible: A+B2+X−3, or 1:2 perovskites; A2+B4+X2−3, or 2:4 perovskites; A3+B3+X2−3, or 3:3 perovskites; and A+B5+X2−3, or 1:5 perovskites.
The relative ion size requirements for stability of the cubic structure are quite stringent, so slight buckling and distortion can produce several lower-symmetry distorted versions, in which the coordination numbers of A cations, B cations or both are reduced. Tilting of the BO6 octahedra reduces the coordination of an undersized A cation from 12 to as low as 8. Conversely, off-centering of an undersized B cation within its octahedron allows it to attain a stable bonding pattern. The resulting electric dipole is responsible for the property of ferroelectricity and shown by perovskites such as BaTiO3 that distort in this fashion.
Complex perovskite structures contain two different B-site cations. This results in the possibility of ordered and disordered variants.
Layered perovskites.
Perovskites may be structured in layers, with the structure separated by thin sheets of intrusive material. Different forms of intrusions, based on the chemical makeup of the intrusion, are defined as:
Thin films.
Perovskites can be deposited as epitaxial thin films on top of other perovskites, using techniques such as pulsed laser deposition and molecular-beam epitaxy. These films can be a couple of nanometres thick or as small as a single unit cell. The well-defined and unique structures at the interfaces between the film and substrate can be used for interface engineering, where new types properties can arise. This can happen through several mechanisms, from mismatch strain between the substrate and film, change in the oxygen octahedral rotation, compositional changes, and quantum confinement. An example of this is LaAlO3 grown on SrTiO3, where the interface can exhibit conductivity, even though both LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 are non-conductive.
Examples.
Minerals.
The perovskite structure is adopted at high pressure by bridgmanite, a silicate with the formula (Mg,Fe)SiO3, which is the most common mineral in the Earth's mantle. As pressure increases, the SiO44− tetrahedral units in the dominant silica-bearing minerals become unstable compared with SiO68− octahedral units. At the pressure and temperature conditions of the lower mantle, the second most abundant material is likely the rocksalt-structured (Mg,Fe)O oxide, periclase.
At the high pressure conditions of the Earth's lower mantle, the pyroxene enstatite, MgSiO3, transforms into a denser perovskite-structured polymorph; this phase may be the most common mineral in the Earth. This phase has the orthorhombically distorted perovskite structure (GdFeO3-type structure) that is stable at pressures from ~24 GPa to ~110 GPa. However, it cannot be transported from depths of several hundred km to the Earth's surface without transforming back into less dense materials. At higher pressures, MgSiO3 perovskite, commonly known as silicate perovskite, transforms to post-perovskite.
Others.
Although the most common perovskite compounds contain oxygen, there are a few perovskite compounds that form without oxygen. Fluoride perovskites such as NaMgF3 are well known. A large family of metallic perovskite compounds can be represented by RT3M (R: rare-earth or other relatively large ion, T: transition metal ion and M: light metalloids). The metalloids occupy the octahedrally coordinated "B" sites in these compounds. RPd3B, RRh3B and CeRu3C are examples. MgCNi3 is a metallic perovskite compound and has received lot of attention because of its superconducting properties. An even more exotic type of perovskite is represented by the mixed oxide-aurides of Cs and Rb, such as Cs3AuO, which contain large alkali cations in the traditional "anion" sites, bonded to O2− and Au− anions.
Materials properties.
Perovskite materials exhibit many interesting and intriguing properties from both the theoretical and the application point of view. Colossal magnetoresistance, ferroelectricity, superconductivity, charge ordering, spin dependent transport, high thermopower and the interplay of structural, magnetic and transport properties are commonly observed features in this family. These compounds are used as sensors and catalyst electrodes in certain types of fuel cells and are candidates for memory devices and spintronics applications.
Many superconducting ceramic materials (the high temperature superconductors) have perovskite-like structures, often with 3 or more metals including copper, and some oxygen positions left vacant. One prime example is yttrium barium copper oxide which can be insulating or superconducting depending on the oxygen content.
Chemical engineers are considering a cobalt-based perovskite material as a replacement for platinum in catalytic converters for diesel vehicles.
Applications.
Physical properties of interest to materials science among perovskites include superconductivity, magnetoresistance, ionic conductivity, and a multitude of dielectric properties, which are of great importance in microelectronics and telecommunication. They are also some interests for scintillator as they have large light yield for radiation conversion. Because of the flexibility of bond angles inherent in the perovskite structure there are many different types of distortions which can occur from the ideal structure. These include tilting of the octahedra, displacements of the cations out of the centers of their coordination polyhedra, and distortions of the octahedra driven by electronic factors (Jahn-Teller distortions).
Photovoltaics.
Synthetic perovskites have been identified as possible inexpensive base materials for high-efficiency commercial photovoltaics – they showed a conversion efficiency of up to 25.5% reported in 2020 by NREL and can be manufactured using the same thin-film manufacturing techniques as that used for thin film silicon solar cells. Methylammonium tin halides and methylammonium lead halides are of interest for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. In July 2016, a team of researchers led by Dr. Alexander Weber-Bargioni demonstrated that perovskite PV cells could reach a theoretical peak efficiency of 31%.
Among the methylammonium halides studied so far the most common is the methylammonium lead triiodide (). It has a high charge carrier mobility and charge carrier lifetime that allow light-generated electrons and holes to move far enough to be extracted as current, instead of losing their energy as heat within the cell. effective diffusion lengths are some 100 nm for both electrons and holes.
Methylammonium halides are deposited by low-temperature solution methods (typically spin-coating). Other low-temperature (below 100 °C) solution-processed films tend to have considerably smaller diffusion lengths. Stranks et al. described nanostructured cells using a mixed methylammonium lead halide (CH3NH3PbI3−xClx) and demonstrated one amorphous thin-film solar cell with an 11.4% conversion efficiency, and another that reached 15.4% using vacuum evaporation. The film thickness of about 500 to 600 nm implies that the electron and hole diffusion lengths were at least of this order. They measured values of the diffusion length exceeding 1 μm for the mixed perovskite, an order of magnitude greater than the 100 nm for the pure iodide. They also showed that carrier lifetimes in the mixed perovskite are longer than in the pure iodide. Liu et al. applied Scanning Photo-current Microscopy to show that the electron diffusion length in mixed halide perovskite along (110) plane is in the order of 10 μm.
For , open-circuit voltage (VOC) typically approaches 1 V, while for with low Cl content, VOC > 1.1 V has been reported. Because the band gaps (Eg) of both are 1.55 eV, VOC-to-Eg ratios are higher than usually observed for similar third-generation cells. With wider bandgap perovskites, VOC up to 1.3 V has been demonstrated.
The technique offers the potential of low cost because of the low temperature solution methods and the absence of rare elements. Cell durability is currently insufficient for commercial use.
Planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells can be manufactured in simplified device architectures (without complex nanostructures) using only vapor deposition. This technique produces 15% solar-to-electrical power conversion as measured under simulated full sunlight.
Lasers.
In 2008, researchers demonstrated that perovskite can generate laser light. LaAlO3 doped with neodymium gave laser emission at 1080 nm. In 2014 it was shown that mixed methylammonium lead halide (CH3NH3PbI3−xClx) cells fashioned into optically pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) convert visible pump light to near-IR laser light with a 70% efficiency.
Light-emitting diodes.
Due to their high photoluminescence quantum efficiencies, perovskites may be good candidates for use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Although the stability of perovskite LEDs is not yet as good as III-V or organic LEDs, there are plenty of ongoing research to solve this problem, such as incorporating organic molecules or potassium dopants in perovskite LEDs.
Photoelectrolysis.
In September 2014, researchers at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, reported achieving water electrolysis at 12.3% efficiency in a highly efficient and low-cost water-splitting cell using perovskite photovoltaics.
Scintillators.
In 1997, scintillation properties of Cerium doped Lutetium Aluminum Perovskite (LuAP:Ce) single crystals were reported. The main property of those crystals is a large mass density of 8.4 g/cm3, which gives short X- and gamma-ray absorption length. The scintillation light yield and the decay time with Cs137 radiation source are 11,400 photons/MeV and 17 ns, respectively. Those properties made LUAP:Ce scintillators attractive for commercials and they were used quite often in high energy physics experiments. Until eleven years later, one group in Japan proposed Ruddlesden-Popper solution-based hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite crystals as low-cost scintillators. However, the properties were not so impressive in comparison with LuAP:Ce. Until the next nine years, the solution-based hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite crystals became popular again through a report about their high light yields of more than 100,000 photons/MeV at cryogenic temperatures. Recent demonstration of perovskite nanocrystal scintillators for X-ray imaging screen was reported and it is triggering more research efforts for perovskite scintillators. Layered Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites have shown potential as fast novel scintillators with room temperature light yields up to 40,000 photons/MeV, fast decay times below 5 ns and negligible afterglow. In addition this class of materials have shown capability for wide-range particle detection, including alpha particles and thermal neutrons.
Examples of perovskites.
Simple:
Solid solutions:


Salcca-Pucara hydroelectric project

Salcca-Pucara hydroelectric project is a hydropower project in Peru. The project envisages transferring water from the Río Salcca into the Vilcanota River and an electrical power output of 130 megawatt. The net worth of the project planned is $300,000,000. The start of construction work was planned to occur in September 2015.
Concerns have been raised that electricity from the plant will primarily benefit mining companies and will result in soil contamination and damage to agriculture, as river flows will be altered. There has been opposition, including strikes in 2007 and protests in the two following years which resulted in a temporary suspension of the project. Nevertheless, after negotiations in December 2012 the last community whose permission was outstanding approved the project of the Cuzco-based company Ege Cuzco. Opposition nevertheless continued, with a 2014 report of the ombudsman of Peru indicating the possibility of social conflict.


6SN7

6SN7 is a dual triode vacuum tube with an eight-pin octal base. It provided a medium gain (20). The 6SN7 is basically two 6J5 triodes in one envelope.
History.
Originally released in 1939 it was officially registered in 1941 by RCA and Sylvania as the glass-cased 6SN7GT, originally listed on page 235 of RCA's 1940 RC-14 Receiving Tube Manual, in the Recently Added section, as: 6SN7-GT. Although the 6S-series tubes are often metal-cased, there was never a "metal-envelope" 6SN7 (there being no pin available to connect the metal shield); there were, however, a few glass-envelope tubes with a metal band, such as the 6SN7A developed during World War II - slightly improved in some respects but the metal band was prone to splitting. Numerous variations on the 6SN7 type have been offered over the years, including:
American military designator for the 6SN7GA is VT-231, and the British called it CV1988. European designations include the 1942 ECC32 (not an exact equivalent), 13D2 and B65.
The 6SN7 has a 6.3 V 600 mA heater/filament. The 12-volt 300 mA filament equivalent is the 12SN7GT or 12SN7GTA. The 14N7 is the Loktal version of the 12SN7GT. There was also a comparatively rare 8V 8SN7 for 450 mA series-string TV sets) and 25 Volt/0.15 Amp heater version: 25SN7GT.
Related types.
The 1937 6F8G was also an octal-based double triode with essentially the same characteristics as the 6SN7 (or two 6J5's), but in a 'Coke Bottle' large (Outline ST-12) glass envelope with a different pin arrangement and utilising a top cap connection for the first triode's grid (making pin 1 available for a metal shield).
6J5.
The 6J5, first registered in June 1937, and 6J5GT (registered April 1938; British version L63) were octal single triodes with identical characteristics to one half of a 6SN7. Other equivalents to the 6J5 include:
They in turn were successors to the 1935 RCA 6C5 and 1938 6P5G.
Successors to the 6SN7.
The 1954 6CG7 and 6FQ7 are electrically equivalent to the 6SN7, with 9-pin miniature ("Noval") base (RCA, 1951), also made as an 8.4V 450mA series string heater type as the 8CG7.
In contrast to what some sources claim, the ECC40 with Rimlock base and introduced by Philips in 1948 cannot be considered a successor to the 6SN7 as the electrical characteristics are too different.
The 1946 miniature 12AU7/ECC82, with similar, but not identical, electrical characteristics to the 6SN7 and ECC32, and a filament usable on either 6.3 or 12.6V supplies, is more widely used than the 6CG7/6FQ7.
Usage.
The 6SN7 was used as an audio amplifier in the 1940-1955 period, usually in the driver stages of power amps. The designer of the famous Williamson amplifier, one of the first true high-fidelity designs, suggested use of the 6SN7 (or B65) in his 1949 revision since it is similar to the original circuit's L63 (=6J5) British single triodes, four of which were used in each channel of his 1947 circuit.
The 6SN7 was one of the most important components of the first programmable digital computer, the ENIAC, which contained several thousand. The SAGE computer systems used hundreds of 5692s as flip-flops.
With the advent of television the 6SN7 was well suited for use as a vertical-deflection amplifier. As screen sizes became larger, voltage and power headroom became insufficient. To address this, uprated versions with higher peak voltage and power ratings were introduced. The GE 6SN7GTA (GE, 1950) had anode dissipation uprated to 5.0 watts. The 1954 GE 6SN7GTB also had controlled heater warmup time, better for series heater strings.
The 6SN7 was considered to be obsolete by the 1960s, replaced by the 12AU7, and became almost unobtainable. With the introduction of semiconductor electronics, vacuum tubes of all types ceased to be manufactured by the major producers.
A small demand for vacuum tubes in guitar amplifiers and very expensive high-fidelity equipment remained; as existing stocks ran out, factories in eastern Europe and China started to manufacture the 6SN7, and higher-gain 6SL7. , 6SN7s and 6SL7s are still manufactured in Russia and are widely available.


William C. Tauber

William C. Tauber is an Oregon Licensed Realtor with KNIPE REALTY ERA POWERED, Portland, Oregon. The So. California newspaper Orange County Register called Tauber a “Serial Entrepreneur because he always looks for the newest and fastest growing markets in the U.S.” and was also a finalist for the 2008 and 2009 Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
Tauber has been involved in the energy conservation industry since 1999.
Tauber founded Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions in 2004. As of 2008, the company has made over 200 California corporations energy efficient. Tauber planned and led the strategic direction of the company, drawing upon his expertise with lighting reduction projects and photovoltaic (solar) energy.
In 2009, he hosted The Green Energy Show with Bill Tauber, a weekly radio talk show on KRLA-870AM Los Angeles.
After selling Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions, Bill Tauber co-founded and was a partner in Leads National Corp. (LNC), a B2B company that uses technology to generate real time, high quality prospects, directly to a phone or CRM system for small business financial lending.
Bill Tauber is also a member of the Freemasonry Fraternal Society. Being a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he was on the Military Committee of the U.S. Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, with his seventh and final year with the foundation as chairman of the Military Committee West Coast. He feels his greatest accomplishment was his eight(8) years in the Marine Corps and his achievements supporting the children of fallen Marines and Navy Corps children with the Scholarship Foundation.
Ecology Communications is a non profit organization that was founded by Bill Tauber in 2009 for the everyday family that wants to make an environmental change and save money but can't radically change their lifestyle.
Early career.
After the U.S. Marine Corps, Tauber entered the hotel and travel industry which ultimately led to purchasing and operating his own hotel in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. In the 1980s, cable television was on the immediate horizon. With roles in executive marketing, he moved on to become President of the Silent Network for the deaf and hearing impaired.
The network had 12.5 million subscribers nationally when it was sold to the Discovery Channel.
In the 1990s he owned TSN Marketing, an international marketing company.


T Plus

T Plus () is a Russian electricity generation company part of the Renova Group. It was known as IES Holding until 2014.
T Plus incorporates assets from the territorial generating companies TGC-5, TGC-6, TGC-7, and TGC-9. It is the largest private heating and electricity generation company in the country, controlling 7% of the power generation and 10% of the heating market.
The director of T Plus was accused of paying over $14 million in bribes to regional officials in the Komi Republic between 2007 and 2014 in exchange for fixing tariffs for heating and electricity.
The company's shares were delisted from the Moscow Exchange in September 2016.


Capstone Infrastructure

Capstone Infrastructure Corporation is a Toronto, Ontario-based open-ended trust that invests in the following types of power generation assets: Natural Gas cogeneration, Wind, Hydro, Biomass and Solar. It was formerly known as Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund.
Corporate History.
Macquarie Power & Infrastructure Income Fund (MP&I) first listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April 2004 as Macquarie Power Income Fund with the 156MW Cardinal natural gas plant as its sole asset. In April 2005, the fund's founding President & CEO Bob Rollison announced a broader acquisition strategy that would include infrastructure assets beyond the energy sector.
Leisureworld Acquisition and Divestiture.
This broader mandate allowed MP&I to acquire 45% of Leisureworld, an operator of Long-Term care facilities in Ontario, in 2005. However, management opted to divest this asset in 2009 - arguing that they wanted to focus more on "core infrastructure categories, such as power generation, electricity transmission or distribution, and utilities and transportation."
Subsidiaries & Related Firms.
Regional Power.
Regional Power, a subsidiary of Manulife Financial, oversees the day-to-day operations at MP&I's four hydro facilities (Sechelt, Hluey Lakes, Dryden and Wawatay).
Clean Energy Income Fund.
In June 2007, MP&I completed the purchase of Clean Power Income Fund, which roughly doubled its assets. This transaction marked MP&I's entry into the renewable energy market, as it acquired one wind farm (Erie Shores), four hydro projects (Sechelt, Hluey Lakes, Wawatay and Dryden), the Whitecourt biomass plant, and a 31.3% interest in the Chapais biomass plant.
Projects.
Projects Under Construction.
MP&I is developing a 20MW solar park in Amherstburg, Ontario. SunPower has been contracted to design, build and operate the facility, which has been awarded a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement by the Ontario Power Authority.


Tigo Energy

Tigo Energy is an American private corporation, headquartered in Campbell, California, United States. It provides products, technologies, software and services to installers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers within the photovoltaic industry. It specializes in module-level power optimizers and smart module power electronics.
The company was founded in 2007 by a team of experienced technologists. The Tigo team developed the first-generation Smart Module Optimizer technology for the solar industry. Tigo has operations in the United States, across Europe, Latin America, Japan, China, Australia and the Middle East.
Tigo Energy is not affiliated with Millicom International Cellular, also known as Tigo.
History.
The company was founded by Sam Arditi and Ron Hadar in 2007. As of May 2017, it employs ~75 people in ~10 offices worldwide.
In December 2011, the company announced its fourth round of funding, an $18 million investment led by Bessemer Ventures.
In June 2012, Tigo Energy announced an award from the United States Department of Energy as part of its SunShot incubator projects worth $3.5 million. The projects are designed to reduce the ongoing costs and prevent safety hazards from electric arcs in photovoltaic arrays.
In 2012 Tigo Energy announced the market launch of its newest generation of technology designed to be built directly into solar panels during manufacturing. These smart modules included all the benefits of traditional power optimizers, but without requiring installers to add extra boxes to solar modules. Tigo Energy's launch partners included Trina Solar, Hanwha SolarOne, DelSolar, Astronergy, Upsolar, and Luxor Solar.
In September 2012 IMS Research identified Tigo Energy as one of three suppliers accounting for 90% of the micro-inverter and power optimizer market.
Science and technology.
Tigo Energy uses impedance matching to provide power control, data monitoring and safety mechanisms for every module in a solar array to increase performance and safety over traditional system-level technologies. The company also hosts customer data and provides detailed analytics with a software as a service business model.
The company was the first power optimizer to successfully certify embedding their electronics directly into the junction box of a solar module, reducing the component and labor costs of optimized photovoltaic arrays and eliminating the need for additional hardware.


Pump as turbine

A Pump As Turbine or (PAT), otherwise known as a ‘Pump in Reverse’, is an unconventional type of reaction water turbine, which behaves in a similar manner to that of a Francis turbine. The function of a PAT is comparable to that of any turbine, to convert kinetic and pressure energy of the fluid into mechanical energy of the runner. They are commonly commercialized as composite pump and motor/generator units, coupled by a fixed shaft to an asynchronous induction type motor unit.
Unlike other conventional machines which require being manufactured according to the client’s specifications, pumps are a very common piece of equipment widely available in different sizes and functionality anywhere around the globe. When used as a turbine, the rotor moves in the opposite direction, or in reverse, as to when it is operating as a pump. In this manner, it allows the motor to generate electrical power.
History.
First mentions of the possibility of using pumps as turbines (PAT) dates back to the early 1930s and are associated to lab experiments performed by Thoma and Kittredge, who first identified the potential for a common pump to function quite efficiently as a turbine by reversing the flow.
Subsequently, in the second half of the 20th century, a new impulse for research on this topic came from the pump manufacturing industry. During this time, established collaborations with several research institutes helped develop an in-depth understanding of the phenomena associated with PAT utilization. Efforts were made to develop methods to predict characteristic and efficiency curves. This helped determine the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) of these machines, in turbine mode, and related it to its specifications when used as a pump.
The adoption of PATs has the potential to turn economically feasible even hydropower potentials in the "pico" scale (i.e. less than 5 kW of installed capacity), since they only cost a fraction of a conventional hydro turbine. Recent examples of such schemes are two pilot plants built in 2019 in Ireland and Wales.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity.
In micro Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), the same pump/PAT could be used for pumping and generating phases by changing rotational direction and speed. The best efficiency point in pumping usually differs from its reverse mode: a variable-frequency drive coupled to the motor/generator would be needed in order to change from pumping to generating mode and to react efficiently to the PSH load fluctuation.
Types.
Among the existing designs of hydraulic pumps/PATs, "centrifugal" or "radial" units are the most used worldwide in a wide variety of application fields. The name is derived from the radial path followed by the fluid in the rotor: from the centre to the periphery when running as a pump and in the opposite direction when flow is reversed. To achieve a higher head drop across the machine, more impellers can be assembled in series to create a multistage unit. Conversely, a double flow radially split pump/PAT design involves a single radial open rotor fed by two symmetric inlets and enable processing a higher flow rate with respect to a standard radial unit.
A second type of pump/PAT design is the axial one, in which the fluid interacts with a propeller following a trajectory parallel to the pump axis. Such units are particularly suitable to processing high flow rates with low head difference. Finally, mixed flow pumps/PATs stand in between the applicability range of radial and axial units and have an impeller shaped in a similar way as a Francis turbine.
Another special pump/PAT design is that of submersible units, which can possibly be fitted inside a pipe connected to draft tube exploiting small head differences in flowing rivers.


NordLink

NordLink is a subsea 1,400 megawatt (MW) HVDC power cable between Norway and Germany. The over long cable operates at a voltage of 500 kV.
The cable is currently under test, and full operation is expected in 2021.
Construction.
It is estimated to cost €1.5–2 billion, which was financed in 2015 when Statnett decided to realize the project. The interconnector is planned to be installed between a new substation at Ertsmyra (near Tonstad) in Norway and Wilster substation in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. The connection is expected to be completed in 2020. When testing in September 2020, it accidentally imported the full 1,400 MW into Norway for almost a minute, causing cascading grid effects such as a 0.5 Hz frequency change across the Nordic synchronous area.
Ownership.
The Norwegian state-owned company and transmission system operator, Statnett SF, owns 50% of the project, whilst the Dutch transmission system operator TenneT TSO and the German state-owned bank KfW own the other half. A cable between Norway and Germany is listed in the EU's projects of common interest (PCI).


Todd Corporation

The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion owned and controlled by the Todd family and is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by Chairman of the board, Henry Tait and Group Chief Executive Officer, Jon Young. And, the corporation currently employs 800 individuals across 20 locations in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Which includes eight members employed to the Senior management team and nine individuals sitting on the Board of directors.
History.
The history of Todd Corporation is understood to have begun in 1885, when Scottish immigrant Charles Todd founded & opened either a wool scouring business (according to Todd Energy) or a rural goods store in Central Otago. By 1929, it had evolved into a car sales and maintenance business run by his son and namesake Charles Todd after the company began importing motor vehicles.
This automotive business would define the Todd family business until well into the 1980s. Charles Todd was credited with bringing the first motor car into Otago and in 1908 acquired a Ford dealership in Dunedin then in 1928 acquired the Rootes Group franchise for Hillman, Humber and Commer and obtained an Auckland branch.
During the protectionist years of the 1930s the Todd family formed Todd Motor Industries Limited and in 1934 built an automotive assembly plant in Petone to reassemble vehicles imported as parts from Chrysler (USA) and Rootes. According to the Todd Energy website by 1964, Todd Motors was assembling and selling over 10,000 cars per year. In 1970 the company purchased the New Zealand Mitsubishi franchise. This franchise and assembly plants were sold to Mitsubishi Motors in 1987.
The Todd family also founded "Europa" an oil importing and retail business that owned terminal services at four major ports and a chain of petrol stations across New Zealand. According to the Todd Energy website, this business was founded during disruptions in the petrol industry in 1929. Europa was originally named 'Associated Motorists Petrol Company Limited' (AMPC) and was formed in 1931. The company imported petrol from the Soviet Union from 1933, and was supported by the New Zealand Farmers' Union and various regional Automobile Associations. Because of price under-cutting by overseas oil companies, the government introduced price regulation of petrol from 1933.
According to Todd Energy, Europa was the first to offer electric petrol pumps in New Zealand, the first to use articulated road tankers for fuel distribution and the first chain to operate service station convenience stores.
The Todd family also developed interests in the prospecting for, extraction of and refining of petroleum products. In 1954 they acquired prospecting licenses around New Zealand and developed joint venture agreements with Shell Oil New Zealand Limited and BP New Zealand. The discovery of the Kapuni gas and condensate field in 1959 meant that the Todd family together with Shell and BP became major players in the New Zealand petroleum production business.
Later discoveries in the famous Maui gas field meant the Todd family was intimately involved in supplying a majority of New Zealand's LPG and CNG natural gas for energy generation as well as fuel for the transport industry. Together with Shell, BP and the Government-owned Petrocorp began production in 1980.
In 1972 BP New Zealand took a 60 percent interest in Europa, purchasing the company’s marketing and refining interests including the Europa petrol stations. The two retail brands continued to operate independently, however in 1989 they were brought under the BP brand.
Todd continued its involvement in the exploration and production businesses.
When sold to Mitsubishi in 1987, Todd Motors was assembling a wide range of cars, and light and heavy commercial vehicles. During the 1980s the Company held the number two market share position in the New Zealand automobile industry. The sale brought the Todd family's involvement in the New Zealand automotive industry to a close.
Investments.
The Todd Corporation has interests in oil and gas exploration and production, electricity generation, property development, healthcare, minerals, technology.
Todd Energy.
Todd Energy is a diversified energy company based in New Zealand. Todd Energy is part of the Todd Corporation. Company offices are in Wellington, New Plymouth, Perth and Calgary. Net production is approximately per day of oil equivalent, and by 2015 Todd Energy expects to provide 35% of gas and 25% of oil production in New Zealand.
Todd Energy has interests in several producing fields in New Zealand, including Maui (6.25%), Kapuni (50%), McKee (100%), Mangahewa (100%), Maari (16%) and Pohokura (26%). Todd also has interests in 10 exploration permits, 5 of which are operated.
Todd has a 50% stake in Shell Todd Oil Services.
Retail brands include Auckland Gas.
Nova Energy.
Nova Energy generates electricity and retails electricity, natural gas and broadband in New Zealand. Generation assets include geothermal and gas fired cogeneration plants.
Subsidiary companies.
Bay of Plenty Energy was a wholly owned subsidiary and changed its name to Nova Energy in 2012.
Crest Energy.
Crest Energy is the developer of the Kaipara Tidal Power Station.
Developments.
KCE sought to develop a 9.6 MW hydroelectric power station on the Mokau River, approximately 4.3 km downstream from the Wairere Falls dam. In 2006, application to Environment Waikato for resource consents was declined.
Nova Energy has been granted resource consents to construct a 100MW gas fired peaking plant about 7 km south of New Plymouth and, in 2017, a 360MW mid-merit gas fired power station near the Waipa River, at 869 Kawhia Rd, Otorohanga.


Wind power in Russia

Wind power in Russia has a long history of small-scale use, but the country has not yet developed large-scale commercial wind energy production.
Most of its current limited wind production is located in agricultural areas with low population densities, where connection to the main energy grid is difficult.
In 2006, Russia had a total installed wind capacity of 15 MW.
Russia is estimated to have a total potential of 80,000 TWh/yr for wind energy, 6,218 TWh/yr of which is economically feasible.
Most of this potential is found in the southern steppes and the seacoasts of the country, although in many of these areas the population density is very low, at less than .
This low population density means that there is little existing electricity infrastructure currently in place, which hinders development of these resources.
Current Russian wind energy projects have a combined capacity of over 1,700 MW, although less than 17 MW had been installed as of the end of 2010.
The Russian Wind Energy Association predicts that if Russia achieves its goal of having 4.5% of its energy come from renewable sources by 2020, the country will have a total wind capacity of 7,000 MW.
In 2010, plans for the construction of a wind power plant in Yeisk, on the Sea of Azov, were announced.
It is expected to initially have a capacity of 50 MW, which will become 100 MW a year later. German engineering company Siemens announced in July 2010, following a visit to Russia by Chancellor Angela Merkel, that it would build wind power plants in Russia.
By 2015, the company hoped to install 1,250 MW of capacity in Russia. capacity was only 15.4 MW.
History.
The first experimental wind power plant (3.5 kW) in the Soviet Union was built in 1931 in Kursk by the project of engineers Ufimtsev and Vetchinkin. To conserve energy during calm winds, a 328 kg flywheel contained in a vacuum chamber was used. The wind generator provided electricity to Ufimtsev's house, including a workshop with machine tools, and also illuminated several other houses along the Semenovskaya street. For more details see .
The experimental wind farm in Balaclava (in Crimea) with capacity of 100 kW was developed under direction of inventor Yuri Kondratyuk and installed there in 1931. Before the war, it produced electricity for the Balaclava-Sevastopol tramline. During the war it was destroyed.
From 1932 Kondratyuk, together with Nikolai Nikitin, worked on a design of 165-metre high reinforced concrete mast on the Bedene-Kir plateau, four kilometers north of the peak of windy mountain Ai-Petri in Crimea. It was expected to produce up to 24 MW of power. After the death of project sponsor Sergo Ordzhonikidze in 1937 the project was reduced in scale and in 1938 the construction stopped forever.
57 wind turbines are being built 80 kilometres northeast of Murmansk, at the Kolskaya Wind Farm. The farm is expected to be operational in 2021.


MDU Resources

MDU Resources Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based corporation supplying products and services through its regulated energy delivery and utilities related construction materials and services businesses. It is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, and operates in 48 states.
Background.
MDU Resources got its start in 1924 as the Minnesota Northern Power Company. Its founder, Rolland Heskett, had previously been involved with utilities in Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota (the forerunners of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and Minnesota Power, respectively). The Minnesota Northern Power holdings initially consisted of the electric utility at Cushing, Oklahoma (sold off to Oklahoma Gas & Electric), Minnesota Electric Light & Power Company, which served the Bemidji, Minnesota area (sold in 1925 to the W.B. Foshay interests — this property today comprises Otter Tail Power's Bemidji division), the Eastern Montana Light & Power Company, which was centered around Sidney and Glendive, Montana, and the Eastern Montana Utilities Co., which was based in Fairview, Montana. The two 'Eastern Montana' utilities became the nucleus of Montana-Dakota Utilities' operations.
Initially, Minnesota Northern was only in the business of selling electric power, but entered the natural gas business following its discovery of oil in 1936 in the Williston Basin in Eastern Montana. As Minnesota Northern expanded across Eastern Montana and western North Dakota, it acquired the electric franchise for Miles City, Montana, after an acquisition struggle with the Montana Power Company.
Shortly after passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), Heskett reorganized all the gas and electric subsidiaries of Minnesota Northern Power under a new name — Montana-Dakota Utilities.
Unlike its neighboring utilities, MDU was generally not in the business of reselling energy at wholesale to other companies, with the exception of five Eastern Montana towns then served by the Mountain States Power Company. The distribution systems in these towns passed into MDU ownership by the early 1940s.
The company's common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MDU in 1948.
The company was originally based in Minneapolis, but by the 1960s it was decided that the company's headquarters should be located within its service territory. Bismarck was the natural choice as it was the largest town on the system, and the relocation was completed in 1968.
In 1985, the corporation realigned its operations under the name MDU Resources Group, Inc., to better reflect the growing diversity of its operations.
In 1992, MDU Resources acquired its first aggregates-mining company in central California and has continued to expand its construction materials footprint through the years. Knife River Corporation is now recognized among the largest sand and gravel producing companies in the U.S. In 2001, Knife River sold its remaining coal-mining interests.
In 1997, MDU Resources started its utility services division, which over the years has expanded its construction services offerings and become the MDU Construction Services Group segment.
Acquisition and lawsuit.
The largest addition of electric utility territory came in 1945, when MDU purchased the Dakota Public Service Company (DPSC) from NorthWestern Public Service Company (NWPS) of Huron, South Dakota. DPSC served a total of 91 towns in west-central North Dakota originally served by the Hughes Electric Company/North Dakota Power & Light Company (NDP&L) and south-central North Dakota/north-central South Dakota originally served by the Northern Power & Light Company (NP&L). When MDU examined DPSC's books after the purchase, they spent the next six years in litigation with NWPS over allegations of improper internal charges between NWPS, NP&L, and NDP&L. Both companies eventually realized the lawsuit was unproductive and they ceased litigation.
After the end of the lawsuit, MDU refocused on the growing demand for electricity and gas within its newly expanded territory and the necessary system improvements. In the late 1960s, MDU partnered with NWPS and Otter Tail Power in the construction of the Big Stone power plant near Big Stone City, South Dakota. The companies have since partnered on two base-load power plants (Big Stone and Coyote).
2016 Portland gas explosion - Loy Clark lawsuits.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission faulted MDU subsidiary Loy Clark for the 2016 Portland gas explosion that leveled a building, sent asbestos fragments flying, damaged numerous buildings and injured eight people. The damages totaled $17.2 million. The PUC faulted Loy Clark and listed the cause of the accident as Loy Clark's failure to give sufficient notifications to regulators about excavation plans. Additionally, OSHA cited and fined Loy Clark for safety violations as a result of this incident. Ten lawsuits were filed against Loy Clark in November 2018 and two of which were by insurers who had paid out claims. Two additional lawsuits were filed against Loy Clark in December 2019.
Subsidiaries.
Cascade Natural Gas Corporation, serving parts of Oregon and Washington, was acquired by MDU Resources in 2006. Intermountain Gas Company, serving parts of Idaho, was acquired by MDU Resources in 2008. Knife River Corporation provides construction materials and contracting services, including aggregate, asphalt, building materials, cement, construction services, liquid asphalt, and ready-mix concrete in 17 states.


Celtic Interconnector

Celtic Interconnector is a proposed 700 MW HVDC submarine power cable between the southern coast of Ireland and the north-west coast of France.
If built, it will be the first interconnector between the two countries.
Route.
The cable with run between the Knockraha substation in Cork to the La Martyre substation in Finistère.
Of its total length of 575 km, 500 km would pass through Irish, British and French waters of the Celtic Sea.
Technical specification.
The electrical interconnector would be the first between the two countries, has an expected cost of €1bn and a planned capacity of 700 MW i.e. an annual transmission capacity of 6.1 TWh.
The project also includes plans for a direct fibre optic communications link between Ireland and France.
Project promoters.
The project is a cooperation between the Irish transmission system operator (TSO) EirGrid and French TSO Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE) for the purpose of improving security of supply, reducing consumer electricity costs and supporting the development of renewable energy.
Project history.
In May 2018 the project was granted a Foreshore License to begin marine surveys for the potential landing sites at Ballinwilling, Claycastle and Redbarn Beaches, County Cork.
The project has been given preliminary approval for European Investment Bank funding as part of preparations by Ireland for Brexit, for €530 million. The project has been designated a European Project of Common Interest as part of the European Super Grid.
In July 2016 after completion of a feasibility study the two countries agreed to proceed with a two-year planning phase.
Three potential landing sites on the Cork coast were identified and six locations (Ballyadam, Leamlara, Knockraha, Pigeon Hill, Kilquane and Ballyvatta) were under consideration for the HVDC converter station.
Current status.
The current planning phase includes an economic assessment, environmental considerations and will determine the placement of the cable and onshore stations, while a decision initially due on the project is foreseen for 2020 or 2021. However, due to the potential impact of Brexit on electricity trading over the existing Ireland - UK HVDC interconnectors, planning for the Celtic Interconnector has accelerated in recent years. A planning application for the Irish landing site and converter station is expected by summer 2020.
The cable is expected to be operational by 2025.


Power lines connecting Vancouver Island with Canadian Mainland

The power grid of Vancouver Island is connected with that of the Mainland of British Columbia by AC and DC submarine cables.
These links, which all consist of overhead line sections on land together with submarine cables are:


Electricity in the Puget Sound region

Electricity in the Puget Sound region is a significant factor in people's lives, an enabler for the modern economy, and has a unique relationship with the region's environment.
Suppliers include both public and private entities. Public entities include Seattle City Light and Tacoma Power, and several public utility districts. Private entities include Puget Sound Energy (PSE), formerly Puget Power. The largest suppliers are PSE with 1.1 million customers, or about a quarter of the population of the region, Seattle City Light with the city's entire population and some nearby areas totaling over 770,000 customers, and Snohomish County Public Utility District with 325,000 and Tacoma Power with 179,000.
History.
Seattle was electrified since shortly after its incorporation in 1869. Gas street lamps were installed in part of the downtown area in 1874, but by 1886 (four years after Pearl Street Station was built in New York), the Seattle Electric Light Company had created the first incandescent lighting system west of the Rockies; in 1889 the James Street line became the first electric streetcar in the city.
Abundant electricity allowed local industries like Boeing to develop, and contributed to transportation such as the city's extensive electric trolley system and regional transportation like the Cascade Tunnel which exclusively carried an electric railway until the 1950s.
Some early hydroelectric projects like the now demolished Elwha Dam were built to power lumber mills, at one time at the root of the region's economy.
Sources and costs.
The Puget Sound region consumes more electricity than it produces. The vast majority of the region's electricity is hydroelectricity from the Columbia River, with a contribution from Washington wind power and nuclear as well as local combined cycle natural gas, and some electricity is available via interties from Southern California in the winter (see Western Interconnection). Costs are among the lowest in the nation at an average 7.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2016. Historically this has been due to the large supply from public utility-owned sources.
Regulation.
Three investor-owned electric utilities in Washington (Avista (formerly Washington Water Power), PacifiCorp (formerly Pacific Power and Light Company), and Puget Sound Energy (PSE)) are regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) which sets rates. Of the three only PSE operates in the Puget Sound area.
PUDs.
Public utility districts are independent taxation and regulation authorities and are not regulated by WUTC. All Puget Sound counties except Pierce and King have their own Public Utility District. The PUDs serve about one million customers across the entire state.
Net metering.
Net metering up to 100 kW per customer is mandated to investor-owned energy companies by the state legislature, to include PSE in the Puget Sound region. Seattle City Light also participates in net metering. Net metering makes rooftop photovoltaic power (solar power) attractive to some homeowners in the Puget Sound area, although the region does not receive intense sun in the winter due to latitude and climate.
Environment and treaty rights.
Environmental protection, especially of endangered salmonids, environmental restoration, and Native American treaty rights are of concern to many communities of interest in the Puget Sound region. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is a regulator that will be involved in future decision making. , plans are underway to conduct restoration after decommissioning of the White River Hydroelectric Project.
Infrastructure.
Hydroelectric.
Seattle City Light owns considerable infrastructure including the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project and high voltage transmission system. Tacoma Power owns Cushman Dam No. 1 and Cushman Dam No. 2 at Lake Cushman in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. There is one coal power plant in the Puget Sound area, Centralia Power Plant, scheduled for shutdown by 2025. Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project is owned by Energy Northwest (formerly Washington Public Power Supply System) which also operates a nuclear reactor in Eastern Washington. Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant, which came online in 1899, is and the first underground power station in the world, and one of the first to use alternating current and aluminum long-distance transmission wires (to Seattle). Smaller hydroelectric facilities include Alder Dam on the Nisqually River, Nooksack Falls Hydroelectric Power Plant, Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project on the Sultan River, Electron Hydroelectric Project on the Puyallup River, and Koma Kulshan Project on Mount Baker.
Transmission.
Bonneville Power Administration owns a great deal of high-voltage transmission equipment and rights of way in the region. The last major transmission line west of the Cascades was built in the 1970s and a proposal to build a new 500 kV line between Castle Rock and Troutdale (near Portland) was killed in 2017.
Proposed or abandoned nuclear plants.
In 1969 the Seattle City Council approved purchase of Kiket Island to build two city-owned nuclear power plants, but the plan was dropped before construction began. Instead, Seattle began an intensive energy conservation campaign called Kill-A-Watt. Another plan to build a Skagit Nuclear Power Plant also never materialized.
The Satsop Nuclear Power Plant west of Olympia was conceived in the early 1970s partly in response to inadequate power resources in the region, and canceled after more than five years of construction during the early 1980s recession due to decreased demand and stagflation, resulting in the largest municipal bond default in history at the time. , Columbia Generating Station at the Hanford Site is the only nuclear power reactor in Washington and there are no nuclear power plants in Western Washington.
Other proposals.
Proposed future infrastructure includes the Juan de Fuca Cable Project, an underwater high voltage DC intertie crossing Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island in Canada, which would supply Puget Sound consumers with abundant Canada wind power. Tidal power has also been proposed as a future source, and a pilot tidal turbine project undertaken by Snohomish County PUD, said to be the first of its kind in the world, was abandoned in 2014.
Reliability.
Climate and weather effects.
Pacific Northwest windstorms, usually in the late fall and early winter, can result in power outages affecting hundreds of thousands of people at a time in the Puget Sound region. Half of Seattle was without electric power after the Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006. 463,000 were without power in the Puget Sound area and an additional 500,000 in southern British Columbia after an unusually early windstorm in late August, 2015. 750,000 people were without electric power after the January 20, 1993 Inaugural Day Storm. The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 left one million people without electric power in Oregon and Washington, including nearly all of Tacoma and much of Seattle, and complete outage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
System capacity and reliability.
Beginning in 1989 when record electric consumption was recorded for cold-weather heating (the region uses electric space heating extensively), and following rapid population growth, the regional system was deemed "severely stressed"; in 1990 it was several hundred megawatts over its reliable peak limit. Also beginning in the late 20th century, interconnections to other regional grids made summer power outages like one in 1996 possible.


Reactimeter

A reactimeter is a diagnostic device used in nuclear power plants (and other nuclear applications) for measuring the reactivity of the nuclear chain reaction (in inhours) of fissile materials as they approach criticality.


D3Energy

D3Energy is the leading developer of floating solar in the United States. D3Energy is a full service, sales, installation & maintenance company.
History.
In 2013, D3Energy entered into a partnership with the French company Ciel & Terre to develop and distribute floating solar across the United States, predominantly in states like Florida and New Jersey. Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale solar power plants for commercial, government & non-profit institutions since 2006. Since 2011, they have provided innovative floating solar solutions.
Services.
D3Energy provides services such as Engineering, Project Development, Operations and Maintenance, Financing, Procurement & Construction, and Hydrelio distribution.
Projects.
On February 18, 2017, Ciel & Terre and D3 Energy installed a 31.5 kWp floating array in Central Florida. The project is the first in partnership with the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) and the largest floating solar photovoltaic system in Florida to date.


6GH8

The 6GH8 (More commonly labeled as the 6GH8A)is a nine pin miniature vacuum tube, produced as a combination of medium-mu Triode and sharp-cutoff Pentode. It follows that the tube is divided into two sections - anode and cathode. Each of the sections had separate cathode.
Commonly this type of tubes are used in radio and television receiver. The basic application of the tube is in multivibrator-type horizontal-deflection circuits, AGC-amplifier and sync-separator. They were most common and popular in RCA's CTC line of color television sets, as color demodulators. They were infamous for their failure, and therefore, often needed replacing. Other RETMA triode/pentode combinations with a 6-volts heater include: 6F7, 6P7, 6U8, 6X8, 6X9, 6AG9, 6AH9, 6AN8, 6AT8, 6AU8, 6AW8, 6AX8, 6AZ8, 6BE8, 6BH8, 6BL8, 6BR8, 6CG8, 6CH8, 6CM8, 6CS8, 6CU8, 6CX8, 6DZ8, 6EA8, 6EB8, 6EH8, 6EU8, 6FG7, 6FV8, 6GE8, 6GJ7, 6GJ8, 6GN8, 6GV7, 6GV8, 6GW8, 6GX7, 6HB7, 6HG8, 6HL8, 6HZ8, 6JA8, 6JC8, 6JN8, 6JV8, 6JW8, 6KA8, 6KD8, 6KE8, 6KR8, 6KT8, 6KV8, 6KY8, 6KZ8, 6LC8, 6LF8, 6LJ8, 6LM8, 6LN8, 6LR8, 6LX8, 6MG8, 6MQ8, 6MU8, 6MV8


Albanian Power Corporation

The Energy of Albania () is the largest electricity producing company in Albania.
KESH operates the most important electricity generating plants in the country. They include: The Drin River Cascade hydropower plants (Fierza HPP, Komani HPP and Vau i Dejës HPP), with an installed power capacity of 1,350 MW, and the
Vlora TPP, with an installed power capacity of 98 MW. The cascade, built on the Drin River, is the largest in the Balkan region by installed capacity, as well as by the size of the hydropower plants.
By operating 79% of the generation capacity in the country, KESH supplies about 70-75% of the customers' demand for electricity, provides the energy needed to cover the losses in the transmission grid, as well as guarantees the security of the Albanian energy system through balancing energy and auxiliary
services. KESH is also responsible for the administration, the proper operation as well as for guaranteeing the technical and operational safety of the power plants it operates.