Putting Wind on the Grid

SPRING 2006

ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

PUTTING WIND ON THE GRID

A lso I n t h is I ssue : Energy Storage EMF and Health Effects

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with major locations in Palo Alto, California, and Charlotte, North Carolina, was established in 1973 as an independent, nonprofit center for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI brings together members, participants, the Institute’s scientists and engineers, and other leading experts to work collaboratively on solutions to the challenges of electric power. These solutions span nearly every area of electricity generation, delivery, and use, including health, safety, and environment. EPRI’s members represent over 90% of the electricity generated in the United States. International participation represents nearly 15% of EPRI’s total research, development, and demonstration program.

Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity

EPRI Journal Staff and Contributors David Dietrich, Editor-in-Chief Jeannine Howatt, Business Manager Debra Manegold, Layout Designer/Production Manager Ken Cox, Illustrator/Photographer Michael Rohde, Products Editor Craig Diskowski, Art Consultant Brent Barker, Executive Director, Corporate Communications Joseph Bugica, Vice President, Marketing Henry A. (Hank) Courtright, Senior Vice President, Member Services

Contact Information Editor-in-Chief EPRI Journal PO Box 10412 Palo Alto, CA 94303-0813 The EPRI Journal is published quarterly. For information on subscriptions and permissions, call the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at 800.313.3774 and press 4, or e-mail [email protected]. Please include the code number from your mailing label with inquiries about your subscription. Visit EPRI’s web site at www.epri.com.

© 2006 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Inc. All rights reserved. Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI, and EPRI Journal are registered service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute.

Cover art by Craig Diskowski/Edge Design. SPRING 2006

6 24

Editorial Features Departments

2 Wind Moves to the Mainstream 16 Energy Storage: Big Opportunities 3 Contributors on a Smaller Scale New, smaller storage technologies are 4 Innovation Cover Story finding applications that add value across the entire electricity system, from power 32 EPRI Solutions 6 Putting Wind on the Grid plants to customer premises. Larger, more efficient wind turbines have spurred tremendous expansion of wind 24 EMF and Childhood Leukemia LISTINGS capacity worldwide. This success has EPRI is investigating two theories that brought two long-standing challenges to could explain the statistical association 34 Technical Reports and Software the fore: dealing more effectively with between magnetic fields and childhood 39 EPRI Events wind’s intermittency and facilitating the cancer—a link that has confounded integration of wind generation into researchers and health theorists for over electric power grids. two decades. Editorial

Wind Moves to the Mainstream

The emergence of wind as a mature electric power generation what nature has given us has been translated to an average option is a great R&D story, not just because of its status as a capacity factor for wind generation in the United States of about clean, renewable technology but because after decades of inno- 30%—a level low enough to pose problems for its effective, vative development, wind power is proving its technical and reliable integration with the rest of the power grid. As this issue’s economic feasibility in the marketplace, becoming an integral cover story delineates, innovations on the technical, regulatory, part of energy portfolios worldwide. and business sides are beginning to deal effectively with integra- Part of this progress has been the result of scientists and engi- tion concerns, clearing the way for wind to break out of its neers resolutely applying the standard toolbox of evolutionary “special case” renewable status and operate more seamlessly as refinement techniques. Advanced materials and structural mainstream capacity. designs, for example, have made very large wind installations on It is impressive that, even with its inherent intermittency tall towers economic; such efficient, multimegawatt machines challenges, wind has been able to compete in U.S. energy mar- are able to harvest much greater volumes of the more-energetic kets, with an average cost in 2004 of 7.5¢/kWh, not counting wind resources found hundreds of feet above the ground. tax incentives. Studies indicate that continued R&D will bring Revolutionary improvements have also made their mark. The the cost down to 5.2¢/kWh at a 30% capacity factor by 2020; integration of power electronics into wind turbines—a state- and in areas where the average capacity factor has the potential of-the-art advance pioneered by EPRI—has added tremen- to be greater than 40%, the average cost will likely fall below dous flexibility, allowing the turbines to operate efficiently at 5¢/kWh in that time frame. This will make wind a very com- lower and varying wind speeds. Building on these and other petitive component of the generation mix in many areas of the improvements, wind has experienced tremendous growth world- world by 2020, especially since fossil-based generation is likely wide, expanding from about 18,000 MW in 2000 to almost by that time to face additional costs related to carbon constraints. 60,000 MW at the end of 2005. Still, wind’s siting and resource limitations mean it will always As impressive as this growth has been, wind power has inher- be only a piece of the overall energy picture. Simply put, no ent limitations that will continue to constrain its use. Land use technology is best for all locations and all situations. In light of concerns will make wind inappropriate for many sites. Wind our increasing need for clean, economic power, the energy resource limitations will exclude others. But such siting issues future must be based on a robust portfolio of generation choices are concerns for most power generation technologies, from deployed according to the constraints and opportunities of hydro to coal: it’s only logical to build power plants where the appropriate technology. And in this context, wind is a model for fuel resource is greatest and most economically mined and deliv- the future of many advanced technologies that energy specialists ered for use. In the case of wind, there are large, untapped high- and economists have rejected in the past as losing propositions. energy resources in the United States—in the relatively unpopu- The lesson is, science and technology are strong forces for prog- lated upper Midwest, Great Plains, and Southwest—and ress. Technical and economic barriers will yield to R&D if we offshore installations being planned near the country’s coastal have the commitment and patience to see the work through. population centers have huge potential. In fact, finding sites with the best wind regimes may not be as challenging as finding economical ways to transmit the electricity generated from remote locations to major load centers. Resource intermittency is another limitation specific to wind Steven Specker and some other renewables; it is indeed difficult to find a place President and Chief Executive Officer where the wind blows hard and steady 24 hours a day. So far,

EPRI JOURNAL Contributors

Putting Wind on the Grid (page 6) was written by sci- in physics from Antioch College and pursued postgraduate ence writer John Douglas with technical assistance from Tom studies in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri. Key and Chuck McGowin. Dan Rastler, technical leader and program Tom Key, technical leader for renewable and manager for distributed resources, came to distributed resources, started at EPRI-PEAC EPRI in 1991 to work on fuel cells and was an in 1989 and became part of EPRI in 2005 early developer of the distributed power grid with the restructuring of the Institute’s subsid- concept. Previously he spent five years with iaries. Previously he worked at Sandia National General Electric’s Nuclear Energy Division Laboratory, specializing in the compatible and four years in the U.S. Air Force. Rastler holds a BS degree interface of end-use equipment and distributed power systems. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Key earned a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Davis and an MS in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley. New Mexico and an MS in electrical power engineering and management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Robert Schainker, an expert on grid infrastructure, is currently technical executive for Chuck McGowin is senior project manager in strategic planning in EPRI’s Office of Innova- the Wind Power Program, focusing on wind tion. Before joining the Institute in 1978, he turbine performance, system integration, and was with Systems Control, Inc., of Palo Alto wind energy forecasting. Since joining EPRI in for ten years, specializing in utility SCADA 1976, he has worked on engineering and and energy management systems. Schainker has a BS in mechan- economic evaluations of coal, environmental ical engineering, an MS in electrical engineering, and a PhD in control, waste-to-energy, biomass, and photovoltaics technolo- applied mathematics, all from Washington University in St. Louis. gies. McGowin holds BA and BS degrees in chemical engineering from Lehigh University and MSE and PhD degrees in the same field from the University of Pennsylvania. EMF and Childhood Leukemia (page 24) was written by science writer Robert Syfers with the close assistance of Rob Kavet of EPRI’s Environment Sector. Energy Storage: Big Opportunities on a Smaller Scale (page 16) was written by science writers Taylor Moore Rob Kavet is manager of both the Occupa- and John Douglas, with technical information from Steve Eck- tional Health and Safety Program and the road, Dan Rastler, and Robert Schainker. EMF Health Assessment and Radio-Frequency Safety Program. Kavet’s first tenure at EPRI Steve Eckroad is a senior technical manager was from 1978 to 1984, after which he worked in the Power Delivery and Markets Sector, for two years at the Health Effects Institute. specializing in energy storage and supercon- Following six years as a consultant on EMF health issues, he ductivity. Before joining EPRI in 1992, he was rejoined EPRI in 1992. Kavet received both a BS in electrical the principal at EnerTech Energy Technology engineering and an MEE degree from Cornell University; he Consulting and was an R&D manager at earned an MS in environmental health sciences and an ScD in Bechtel Group, Inc., from 1979 to 1990. Eckroad received a BA respiratory physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

spring 2 0 0 6 Emerging technologies and Innovation cutting-edge engineering

Identifying Methylmercury tions reduce human exposure will depend naturally present in these habitats. To Sources in Marine Fish on whether the predominant source is date, marine bacteria taken from oxygen- Strategic investments in cutting-edge man-made or natural. minimum zones of the ocean have proven scientific research are helping to quantify Since 2003, EPRI has been investi incapable of transforming inorganic the relative roles of natural and man- gating MeHg production in the open mercury into MeHg under naturally made sources of mercury in the accumu- oceans. In freshwater ecosystems, sulfate- occurring conditions. lation of this neurotoxin in marine fish reducing bacteria present in oxygen-free Continuing work is designed to firmly species. If findings to date can be con- water and sediment layers are known establish the source of MeHg in the firmed, they may potentially revolutionize to transform inorganic mercury into oceans, to publish findings in high-profile the current science and policy paradigm, MeHg. In the open ocean, such anoxic peer-reviewed journals, and to inform the which assumes that previous and current regions are rare. It has been hypothesized development of mercury control policies anthropogenic emissions represent the that inorganic mercury deposited on the designed to reduce the risks posed by primary source of mercury in the oceans ocean surface might be transformed into consumption of marine fish. and in marine fish. MeHg by microorganisms found in the For more information, contact John Regulations focused on controlling thermocline—a layer approximately 100– Goodrich-Mahoney, [email protected]. mercury emissions from power plants and 1000 meters below the surface, where the other sources are designed to reduce oxygen concentration is relatively low. Cross-Fertilization human exposure. The principal exposure EPRI is examining this hypothesis, as Expands Application of route is through consumption of marine well as an alternative one involving Decontamination Process abiotic MeHg production from high- EPRI-developed decontamination pressure reactions of methane with inor- options are the technologies of choice for ganic mercury entering the ocean. Poten- treating components of operating nuclear tial sources of inorganic mercury include reactors and decommissioned plants. The high-temperature jets in hydrothermal Low-Oxidation-State Metal-Ion (LOMI) vents at the ridges between continental process, for example, is widely used at plates, and low-temperature, diffuse operating boiling water reactors, while inputs along ridge flanks. If the first the Decontamination for Decommission- hypothesis proves correct, then some ing (DFD) process has been successfully fraction of MeHg is of human origin via applied to components from boiling atmospheric transport and deposition and water reactors and pressurized water ocean mixing. If the second hypothesis reactors that have been permanently shut proves correct, then the bulk of MeHg in down, as well as to end-of-life compo- the open ocean would be natural. nents from operating plants. Laboratory and field experiments have The DFD process was developed to fish—such as tuna and swordfish—that found relatively high MeHg concentra- remove the outer scale and a thin layer of contain high levels of methylmercury tions in hydrothermal fluid samples from the base metal from component surfaces (MeHg) but that may live in areas remote the East Pacific Rise, and proof of con- in order to minimize radiation exposures from industrial sources. Though the bio- cept has been established for abiotic during subsequent plant decommission- accumulation processes leading to high MeHg formation via reaction of inor- ing activities. More recently, licensees of tissue concentrations in top-level preda- ganic mercury with methane at high this EPRI technology have begun using tors are well understood, the principal temperature and pressure. Addition- it to treat ex-service components and source of the MeHg entering marine food ally, MeHg-resistant genes have been systems at operating nuclear plants and chains in the open ocean is unknown. detected in organisms living in hydro at sites managed by the U.S. Depart- The extent to which emissions regula- thermal vents, indicating that MeHg is ment of Energy. Its extremely high

EPRI JOURNAL In recent developments, the DFDX (EMS), and business management system Emerging technologies and process has been applied to a number of (BMS) applications, as well as new ser- Innovation cutting-edge engineering components at the UK Atomic Energy vices for electricity consumers. Under this Authority’s Dounreay facility. It has also model, the physical location of hardware, been qualified for the in situ decontami- software, and data may, in fact, be of little nation of buried pipes, which eliminates concern; the control center will exist as a the need to remove underground piping distinct entity only through the collective from decommissioned facilities. functionality of its applications. For more information, contact Chris Infrastructure will consist of large decontamination factors allow the refur- Wood, [email protected]. numbers of computers and intelligent, bishment and reuse of components and embedded processors scattered through- the recycling of treated materials into new Visualizing the Control out the power system, with data shared components. However, the DFD process Centers of the Future through a flexible communications net- generates a radioactive ion-exchange resin Industry deregulation, market restruc work that uses standard interfaces. With that must be managed as a secondary turing, and advanced information and this web-enabled system, data acquisition, waste, introducing an economic penalty communications technologies have processing, and analysis will occur on a that constrains its application. changed the demands on grid control much wider, ultrafast scale, enabling just- In 2001, an EPRI Innovator’s Circle centers, exposing the weaknesses of their in-time delivery of critical application project was launched to demonstrate the traditional architecture, which many services. The enterprise grids formed by feasibility of enhancing the DFD process have characterized as too centralized, different companies will be intercon- by applying electrochemical ion-exchange independent, and inflexible. EPRI nected through nested intranet/Internet technology originally developed for use has pursued strategic research that exam- communications networks to create inter- with the LOMI process. This technology, ines how future control centers could regional partner grids that offer enhanced when integrated with the DFD process, avoid these weaknesses by exploiting reliability, efficiency, and performance makes it possible to remove radioactive trends in information and communica- across broad geographic areas. material from components and systems tions technologies. Realizing this vision will present tre- without contaminating the ion-exchange Both within and outside the electricity mendous challenges. Strategic work has resin. The radioactive residue is collected enterprise, the trend is toward decentral- provided two recommendations for sim- in the form of metallic particles suitable ization of operational and business func- plifying and accelerating the transition. for long-term, on-site storage as a low- tions. Web services, which provide remote First, web services, grid computing, and level waste. No other wastes are gener- access to software applications through a open standards should be embraced for ated, meaning that the overall waste programmable interface, are converging adoption in control center and other volume is reduced by a factor of 10. with grid computing, which involves the power system functions that involve With promising results in the labora- sharing of distributed processing, storage, information and communications tech- tory, design of a pilot-scale testing pro- and other hardware resources. The end nologies. Second, the responsibilities gram for the new DFDX process was result is known as grid services. The of the electricity industry and its technol- initiated in 2002 with funding from IntelliGridSM Architecture, being ad- ogy suppliers should be clearly distin- EPRI’s Nuclear Sector, and a patent vanced by EPRI through a consortium guished: Energy companies need to was awarded in 2003. Ultimately, inter- of energy companies, independent sys- become service integrators, focusing on est from potential users led to the con- tem operators, equipment manufacturers, the use of data and information services struction of a pilot plant suitable for and government agencies, provides a to perform specific functions without demonstration under real-world condi- technical framework for organizing the regard to physical location. Suppliers tions at the Studsvik facility in Sweden. transition toward future control centers need to become service providers, focus- The DFDX plant proved successful in based on the grid services paradigm. ing on the manufacturing, installation, decontaminating a variety of nuclear Future control centers are expected to maintenance, and upgrading of the plant artifacts at the Studsvik facility, evolve toward a grid services architecture needed software and information and and the technology was commercialized that will offer greatly expanded super communications infrastructure. in 2004 under license to U.S. and Euro- visory control and data acquisition For more information, contact Peter pean vendors. (SCADA), energy management system Hirsch, [email protected].

spring 2 0 0 6 putting wind on the grid

by John Douglas The Story in Brief

Over the last twenty years, technological advances and manufacturing experience have driven down the cost of electricity from wind by more than 80%—contribut- ing to the 20–30% annual growth of wind capacity worldwide and making wind the fastest-growing large-scale power generation technology in the world. So far, most of the progress is the result of making wind turbine-generators larger, more efficient, and more reliable. Now, as the industry pursues development of even larger wind turbines for offshore applications and further improvements in cost and performance, it is also addressing a second technological thrust: to facilitate the integration of large concentrations of wind generation into electric power grids. If these efforts are successful, utility networks will be able to accept higher levels of wind-based generating capacity, potentially enabling wind power to increase its contribution to U.S. electricity from 0.4%, the figure for 2004, to as much as 5% by 2020.

y ge energ photo c ourtes spring 2 0 0 6 oday’s wind turbines literally tower over those of twenty years ago; they U.S. Wind Power Capacity Tare taller than the Statue of Liberty 10 and have rotor diameters equal to or ex- ceeding the wingspan of a jumbo jet. Ca- 9

pacity ratings of individual turbines have 8 grown even more spectacularly, from dozens of kilowatts in the early 1980s to mul- 7 tiple megawatts today. In addition to increased size, which allows turbines to access 6 the stronger winds aloft and capture their 5 energy more efficiently, today’s generators have the ability to operate over a wider 4 range of wind speeds, increasing annual 3 energy output. The bottom line is that elec Installed Capacity (1000 MW) tricity from utility-scale wind conversion 2 now costs about 7.5¢/kWh, not including tax credits. 1 Although such costs make wind power 0 Source:American Wind Energy Association roughly competitive with electricity gener 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 ated from fossil fuels—particularly in a time

of high oil and gas prices—other signifi- The increase in U.S. installed wind capacity has been impressive, with an average annual growth cant challenges need to be addressed before of more than 30% over the last five years. Extension of the production tax credit through the end of wind can provide for more than a small per 2007 is expected to keep investment high. centage of the nation’s total electric energy. As installed wind capacity in a region grows and approaches more than about 10% of Global Wind Power Capacity the system load, the intermittency of wind 20 energy can become a significant issue. Even in areas with relatively favorable wind re- 18 January 2006 sources, the annual capacity factor of wind 16 generators (the average actual output as a January 2005 14 percentage of the rated output) is typically about 25–35%. This is because wind speed 12 varies with the time of day and the month 10 of the year; for much of the time, it is below 8 the speed needed for a wind turbine to gen erate power at its rated capacity. In addi- 6 tion, the electrical characteristics of some 4 Windpower Monthly News wind generators affect grid operation and Operating Wind Capacity (1000 MW) 2 can make grid integration difficult. Fortu- nately, a number of new technologies and de- 0 Source:

ployment strategies are making wind energy Italy India Spain more grid friendly, promising continued China Denmark Germany All Others

growth in its share of total energy. These Netherlands United States

include improved wind energy forecasting, United Kingdom power electronics, and energy storage. Nine countries account for over 85% of the world’s wind capacity. While Germany has been the Better Forecasting Needed world’s largest market for nearly a decade, Spain, the United States, and India have had higher Wind energy forecasting, which relies on growth rates in recent years. Wind energy currently contributes more than 4% of Germany’s numerical weather predictions, meso-scale electricity supply and nearly 20% of Denmark’s.

EPRI JOURNAL Advanced designs and use of stronger, lighter-weight materials such as carbon fiber have made wind machines larger and more efficient than ever. Some turbines have blade diameters longer than a football field and sit atop towers as tall as 110 meters. At least one company is testing a 5- MW turbine, while others are working on design concepts in the 5–8-MW range.

tion relative to the previous hour), and the makeup of the electricity system. In most cases, the cost of managing intermittency increases as wind penetration and ramp rates increase. A recent EPRI Technical Up- wind-flow models, and advanced statisti- is, when the hourly wind generation is date shows that hourly-time-frame inte- cal methods, is already being used to sup- substantially higher or lower than the fore- gration costs, such as forecast uncertainty port electricity system operations. Because cast. Typically, same-day forecasts are and inter-hour load following, range from wind speed and direction can vary over issued at least every hour, and next-day, about 0.18¢/kWh for 3.5% wind penetra- time periods that range from minutes to 48-hour forecasts are issued twice daily. If tion, incurred at Xcel Energy, to 0.55¢/ seasons, integrating electricity from tur- next-day forecasts prove to be significantly kWh for 20% penetration, at PacifiCorp. bines into a utility power system requires off base, the grid operator must either ar- Such extra unit-commitment costs could the system operator to compensate for these range to supplement lower-than-expected be reduced significantly if better wind variations by using energy from other, con wind energy output with other generation, forecasts were available. ventional generators. The costs of provid- or back off scheduled generation to allow EPRI has been monitoring and evaluating such compensation can vary signifi- higher-than-expected wind energy output. ing cutting-edge wind forecasting technol cantly, depending on the nature of the If same-day forecasts are in error, the oper- ogies since 1998 in collaboration with wind in a region, the characteristics of the ator must ramp other generating units— both the California Energy Commission control area into which the wind genera- units usually held in reserve to provide and the U.S. Department of Energy. The tion is integrated, and the rated wind ca- load-following and regulation services— forecasts are generated through a variety of pacity relative to other generation and sys- either up or down in response. techniques that include weather prediction, tem load levels. The impact of inaccurate forecasts wind-flow modeling, evaluation of plant One of the largest costs associated with depends on the wind penetration (the operating conditions, and statistical analy- wind operations results when day-ahead fraction of the system peak load supplied sis. While better day-ahead forecasts will and same-day forecasts of hourly wind by wind), the ramp rate of wind genera- help system operators improve their gen- generation turn out to be inaccurate—that tion (the hourly change in wind genera- eration-unit commitment planning, more-

spring 2 0 0 6 accurate hour-ahead forecasts will provide technical problems. Several of these con- both real and reactive power, the induction an opportunity for wind power producers cerns relate to matching the electrical generators used in most wind turbines to bid competitively into energy markets. characteristics of the wind turbine’s power absorb reactive power rather than control Developing better forecasts of up-and- output to those of the local power net- it, a problem exacerbated by variations in down hourly ramp rates is becoming espe- work. For example, system energy balance wind speed. cially important for regions that have large can vary when wind gusts—lasting only The use of power electronics with wind blocks of wind generation. Such forecasts minutes or seconds—cause the power out- turbines can largely eliminate such prob- need to be received with sufficient lead time put of the turbine to change rapidly. Volt- lems, allowing efficient variable-speed op- to allow system operators to anticipate the age disturbances can also be a problem; eration, controlling reactive power, and change and increase or decrease other gen- voltage sags, which may result from a grid providing better low-voltage ride-through eration to compensate. This capability will fault, can trip a group of wind turbines capability when a grid disturbance occurs. become even more important if wind off-line unless the turbines are equipped Fortunately, the advent of larger turbines development accelerates, as expected, in with low-voltage ride-through capability. and massive wind farms is coinciding the United States and Europe in response Another technical challenge to the wide- with the development of lower-cost power to government mandates and other green- spread use of wind power is the fact that electronics technologies to make these energy requirements. EPRI is continuing most wind turbines installed to date have solid-state solutions more economically to work with utilities and regional system only a limited ability to control reactive pow- attractive. operators to develop, test, and implement er. In addition to providing useful power, An important first step has been to forecast-technology improvements in col- measured in watts, generators should also establish a baseline for wind plant perfor- laboration with utilities and system devel- be able to create reactive power, measured mance through high-resolution monitor- opers. EPRI is also developing and testing in volt-amperes reactive (VARs), which is ing of wind intermittency, so that specific a wind energy forecast workstation under needed to support the constantly changing needs for power compensation can be bet- an EPRI Technology Innovation grant. magnetic fields in ac circuits. While most ter defined. Two recent studies, in particu- The California Independent System conventional utility generators can control lar, have provided important data on the Operator (CAISO) is currently offering a new time-averaging approach, the Partici- pating Intermittent Resources Program (PIRP), to encourage wind power integration. Usually, generators of all types sub- mit a schedule of hourly bids into the day- ahead or hour-ahead market, and penalties for deviation from this schedule are assessed every 10 minutes. The risk of devi ation charges could be prohibitive for wind farm operators, who cannot control their power output. To provide a more attractive alternative, PIRP assesses charges on the basis of monthly net deviations—provided that the wind power bids are established using CAISO’s own customized wind forecast service. The result has been a very low average monthly charge, and several major wind producers now participate in the rap-

idly expanding program. y ge energ photo c ourtes

Capturing the kinetic energy of the wind is only the beginning of the challenge for wind farms. Dealing With Short-Term The intermittency of the wind resource can cause problems with unit scheduling and dispatch, Fluctuations load following, and contingency reserves, which can potentially add to the cost of operations. While improved forecasting can help with Another challenge is the fact that the wind generator’s electrical output must match that of the grid the dispatch problems that wind’s inter- that it’s tied into, requiring control of reactive power and protection against voltage disturbances. mittency introduces, shorter-term varia- These difficulties are being addressed successfully through improvements in wind forecasting, the tions in the wind resource can cause other use of power-electronic controllers, and additions of small amounts of energy storage.

10 EPRI JOURNAL has dominated wind energy installations for many years. Now, as wind turbines grow larger and more powerful, they are becoming better able to support more-complex generator designs, including the addition of power-electronic controllers to provide power output smoothing. Although incor- porating power electronics is still relatively expensive, the resulting support of variable-speed operation can lead to major savings elsewhere—for example, in lighter- weight mechanical components and lighter foundations for offshore applications. One popular way of using such controllers is to install a power-electronic converter that feeds the rotor winding of the generator, while the stator windings are still connected to the grid. This doubly fed induction generator not only enables variable-speed operation but also controls The first variable-speed wind turbine, commercialized in 1993 through a partnership of EPRI, the exchange of both useful and reactive U.S. Windpower, Niagara Mohawk, and Pacific Gas and Electric, revolutionized turbine design. power with the grid. Such a design has Integrated power-electronic controls allowed the advanced turbine to generate 60-Hz ac power at the economic advantage of combining varying rotor speeds. This innovation not only increased wind capture, reduced power output the low-cost induction generator with fluctuations, and prolonged the life of the turbine drivetrain, but also greatly expanded the regions power electronics that need be rated at where wind power can compete with other generation sources. only about 30% of generator rating in order to control variations in output. One output power variability of large wind The main question then was how much drawback of the doubly fed turbine, how- farms. The National Renewable Energy Lab- such diversity helped smooth out power ever, is that the power converters are rela- oratory (NREL) conducted the first moni- fluctuations from individual turbines. tively sensitive to grid disturbances. A low- toring project to collect data at very high NEDO researchers concluded that smooth- cost way of keeping this turbine from resolution at large wind farms. Among ing is significant over time periods of less tripping off-line is to add a set of resistors other results, these data have provided a than 10 minutes, because differences in that the converter can use to divert power new understanding of how electrical dis- fluctuations tended to cancel each other to the rotor winding and thus provide turbances on the grid can cause wind tur- out. For periods of more than 100 min- ride-through capability. bines to trip off-line and, conversely, how utes, however, there was more coherence As the cost of power electronics contin- disturbances at the wind farm can affect among the outputs of various turbines and ues to fall, more-versatile designs that pro- the grid. This new information has allowed less smoothing, as more-persistent wind cess 100% of the wind power current— wind farm operators to design corrective changes affected the wind farm as a whole. technology pioneered through EPRI measures and reduce forced outages of In both the short-term and long-term cases, funding—are becoming more affordable. individual wind turbine rows, as well as of there was more smoothing for multiple These designs allow a wider range of vari- the entire wind farm. wind farms that had dozens of turbines able-speed operation and provide cost sav- Another high-resolution study, con- dispersed over a wide geographic area. ings by eliminating the wear-prone gear- ducted by the New Energy and Industrial box previously used in most turbines. Technology Development Organization Power-Electronic Solutions Perhaps the most important advantage has (NEDO) of Japan, determined some of These monitoring data and new techno- been excellent low-voltage ride-through the factors that affect power output diver- logical opportunities have led to consider- capability; as the penetration of wind sity among individual turbines on a wind able recent progress in smoothing short- power grows, the prospect of losing a large farm. For example, wake turbulence from term power fluctuations. Part of the prob- part of the generation to a grid disturbance upstream turbines was found to signifi- lem stems from the relatively simple and is becoming increasingly unacceptable. cantly affect downstream turbine output. inexpensive type of turbine generator that Further advantages can be realized by

spring 2 0 0 6 11 existing energy storage facility, if available, Capacity Factor and Cost of Electricity can ease the solution of wind integration Capacity Factor issues, but the business case for construct- 30% 34% 38% 42% ing high-capacity, long-duration energy 8 storage solely to solve wind integration

7 issues has been limited to very remote or island systems. 6 Nevertheless, for some applications, a relatively small amount of storage capabil- Integration Costs 5 ity packaged for short-term and fast response can be quite beneficial. For exam- 4 ple, adding storage to an electronically controlled interface between a wind farm 3 and the grid can further enhance the dy- Base Cost namic response, providing reactive power 2 for voltage control and real power for Levelized Cost of Electricity (¢/kWh) damping energy oscillations. More than a 1 dozen large wind farms in North America currently use some form of static or 0 dynamic reactive power compensation. 5.4 5.8 6.2 6.7 In applications where dynamics are more Wind Speed at 10 Meters Above the Ground (m/s) critical and where other compensation resources are limited, ultracapacitors and Increasing the capacity factor (CF) of wind installations can significantly reduce their levelized flywheels have also been considered. cost of electricity. While efficiency gains and other technical improvements to the turbines can Hawaiian Electric Company, for example, improve CF, the biggest increases will come from being able to tap into more-consistent wind recently patented and installed a prototype regimes, such as those available at high elevations and offshore. A 42% CF could reduce the cost of wind generation to below 5¢/kWh, without tax credits. of its Electronic Shock Absorber (ESA) at a wind farm on the island of Hawaii. The installation is specifically designed to store physically splitting the rectifier and inverter tronic switches to insert an appropriate energy during wind gusts and then return stages of the power converter and connect- number of multistage power capacitors the energy to the grid during a lull or to ing them with a high-voltage dc (HVDC) into the circuit so quickly it can help solve compensate for sudden loss of one of the link. A short HVDC link between the the problem of voltage flicker caused by turbines. This function is most critical when stages of the electronic controls provides a certain types of large loads elsewhere on other island generation is at a minimum, convenient way to synchronize output the system. such as at night, when the wind power power with the grid without concern about fluctuations could significantly affect the frequency shifts created by variable-speed Energy Storage for stability of the island’s relatively small grid. operation. In addition, the HVDC link Smoothing Output The ESA can also add or absorb reactive could potentially be extended to carry large Energy storage is an often-discussed option power as needed to help compensate for amounts of power over long distances. for dealing with wind’s intermittency. (See voltage changes originating on the grid. While individual turbines can be modi- the accompanying article “Energy Storage: Energy storage in the ESA is provided by fied for output smoothing, a more adapt- Big Opportunities on a Smaller Scale” for ultracapacitors, which are compact enough able (though more expensive) option is to more information on storage technologies to make the device potentially mountable control the interface between a wind farm and their application.) EPRI research indi- on a truck trailer. and a grid by using power electronics in cates that although installing energy stor- Other applications require adding stand-alone auxiliary equipment. A num- age capacity at a wind farm is not essential, enough storage to substantially shift the ber of custom power devices are being it practically eliminates wind integration timing of wind farm output. Particularly tried for such applications, particularly in issues and can add several value streams during periods of minimum load, power situations where fast reactive power con- for overall grid operations. Unfortunately, output may exceed system requirements, trol is essential. The DSTATCOM, for the high cost of storage systems limits the resulting in curtailment of wind genera- example, is a device that uses power-elec- situations in which they are useful. A pre- tion and lost revenues. A relatively large

12 EPRI JOURNAL energy storage system could capture the The main obstacle to this scenario lies in Besides pumped hydro, the only other extra energy produced at these times and the difficulty of siting new pumped-hydro mature commercial technology that can deliver it later, when curtailment is not storage facilities, which requires finding store and regenerate energy in bulk for necessary. Similarly, output shifting could suitable terrain with sufficient water, pur- utility-scale power generation is com- enable a wind farm operator to effectively chasing the large amounts of land required, pressed-air energy storage (CAES). Air is arbitrage between times of peak generation and obtaining the necessary environmen- stored at high pressure in underground salt and peak pricing. Even a few minutes’ tal and building permits. In addition, since caverns, mined hard rock, or the porous worth of storage capacity would enable a the remaining appropriate sites tend to be rock of a depleted gas field. The system is combined wind/storage facility to replace remote, construction costs would be high charged by an electrically driven compres- some conventional generation in perform- and new transmission lines would be re- sor during off-peak hours; the compressed ing ramping functions. quired. As a result, the extensive construc- air is later fed into the combustion cham- tion of new pumped-hydro storage facili- ber of a gas turbine to generate on-peak Bulk Storage Technologies ties for storage of wind energy is unlikely. power. This scheme reduces by 40% the The most mature technology for handling Existing hydroelectric facilities can be amount of natural gas required to generate bulk power over longer time periods is used as a sort of “virtual storage” to compen a megawatt of electricity, because gas tur- pumped-hydro storage, which uses elec- sate for wind intermittency as needed, bines generally consume more than this tricity generated during off-peak hours to while allowing available wind energy to amount just compressing air for use in pump water from a reservoir at low eleva- save water supply reserves for hydro gener- combustion. Two CAES systems have tion into a reservoir at a higher elevation. ation. In one example, the Bonneville Power recently been proposed for use with wind The energy is recovered when the water Administration (BPA) recently introduced generation. One, with a generating capac- flows back to the lower reservoir through its Network Wind Integration Service, ity of 100–200 MW, is scheduled to begin hydroelectric turbine generators. In prin- charging wind farms a flat integration fee operation in Iowa by 2009. The other, ciple, wind energy generated during off- of 0.6¢/kWh to provide the necessary com with a generating capacity of 270 MW, peak hours can be stored in pumped-hydro pensation for intermittency. In turn, the was evaluated for application to a wind facilities for regeneration at a later time. wind energy offers BPA a way to conserve farm in West Texas, but subsequent trans- This approach has sometimes been opti- its hydro resources, which tend to fluctuate mission line upgrades displaced part of the mistically called the “wind and water” sce- seasonally and which provide more reve- potential value of the storage facility. nario for expanding the use of wind energy. nue if saved for use during peak hours. Electrochemical storage batteries have often been proposed for storing energy from wind. Lead-acid batteries have been U.S. Wind Resources investigated for both stabilization and time shifting, but research to date indicates that such batteries would not be a cost-effective choice for deep-discharge applications. The limited storage capacity and short service life of lead-acid batteries make it difficult to make an economic case for them in wind support activities at present. A relatively new battery technology that is already being installed to provide storage at the megawatt level for wind farm output stabilization and time shifting is the vanadium redox battery (VRB). The VRB is one of a class of devices known as flow batteries, in which the active materials are contained in two liquid electrolytes rather than in the solid electrodes. VRBs have The highest wind speeds in the country are typically found on mountain peaks and offshore, but already been installed for use with wind. good wind resources are available in large expanses of the Great Plains, the upper Midwest, and On King Island, Australia, for example, a the Southwest. Unfortunately, many of the best of these sites lie far from population centers, 200-kW unit provides stabilization and requiring additional transmission capacity to get the power to where it is needed. time-shifting services for a 2450-kW wind

spring 2 0 0 6 13 farm. A similar installation at a larger scale has been built in Japan at the Tomamae Wind Villa facility in Hokkaido. This VRB is sized to provide a 4-MW discharge for 1.5 hours or 6 MW for 20 minutes. Another battery technology that has potential in wind applications is the sodium-sulfur battery, often known by its commercial name, NAS. The NAS technology is based on high-temperature electrochemical reactions between sodium and sulfur, mediated by a beta alumina ceramic electrolyte. In Japan, NAS technology has been used several times specifically for wind power stabilization and time shifting. In 2001, for example, a 400-kW NAS battery was used to provide stabilization as well as 7 hours of storage for time shifting for a small wind installation on the island of Hachijojima.

Prospects for the Future Although most of the recent wind energy development has been focused on land- based installations, a recent EPRI report concludes that “the longer-term future appears to be offshore wind. . . . In fact, over the next five years, more than 2300 offshore wind turbines are predicted to be installed worldwide at a cost of $13 billion.” Generally, the motivation for off- y ge energ photo c ourtes shore development is access to higher wind Ireland’s Arklow Bank Wind Park exemplifies Europe’s success in exploiting superior coastal and speeds and, in some cases, fewer logistical deep-water offshore wind environments. Two offshore projects are currently being pursued in the obstacles. More than 600 MW of offshore United States—a 130-turbine, 454-MW project near Cape Cod and a 40-turbine, 140-MW proj- wind capacity is currently operating in ect off the coast of Long Island—and other offshore projects are being considered near Savannah, Europe, with major projects already com- Georgia, and Galveston, Texas. However, the threat of local opposition and the lack of a clearly missioned off the coasts of Denmark and defined federal permitting process are tending to hinder offshore development in this country. Ireland, another under construction off Scotland, and ambitious offshore pro- focusing on a long-term solution of put- tive off the coast of Long Island, New York. grams being pursued elsewhere. ting offshore wind turbines farther off- Although the Long Island project has gen- A major driver for offshore wind devel- shore—in deeper water and over the hori- erally enjoyed local public support and is opment in the United States is customer zon—but this approach will require the expected to be operational in 2008, Cape location: the best wind resources on the development of affordable floating plat- Wind has become embroiled in bitter polit East and West Coasts are offshore, close to forms similar to those used in the oil and ical battles at both state and federal levels. population centers; most land-based wind gas industry. In addition to these commercial projects, farms are situated in the middle of the In the United States, only two major Southern Company and Georgia Tech are country, far away from large populations. commercial offshore wind projects have evaluating the feasibility of a small-scale U.S. wind power developers have been been proposed so far: the 130-turbine, pilot project off the Georgia coast. hindered by local opposition to offshore 454-MW Cape Wind project off Cape Further in the future, tying together installations and the lack of a clearly de- Cod, Massachusetts, and the 40-turbine, wind farms on a regional basis would bring fined federal permitting process. NREL is 140-MW Long Island Wind Power Initia- several advantages, including inherently

14 EPRI JOURNAL smoothing out intermittency problems by this would require integrating about the equivalent of firm service most of balancing strong winds in one area against 19,000 MW of wind generation—a huge the time, but not during hours of peak lulls in another. It would also facilitate the increase over the current 860 MW of net- electricity demand or if the transmission delivery of power to load centers from work-connected wind capacity. As a guide system became unexpectedly constrained. abundant wind resources in remote areas, to potential developers as they make their Combined with other technological ad- which might otherwise remain stranded. investment decisions, MISO recently con- vances and deployment trends already Bringing about such regional integration, ducted a study of the transmission expan- under way, regulatory changes of this sort however, will require changes in both sion that would be needed for 10,000 MW could help make wind energy a major con- transmission system planning and pricing. of new wind generation. A companion tributor to America’s electric power future. Today, few individual wind projects can study looked at the capital expenditures afford to pay for transmission expansion required to increase renewable energy pen- Background information for this article was on their own, and most transmission tar- etration by the year 2020. The 10% renew- provided by Chuck McGowin (cmcgowin@ iffs include penalties for differences able energy objective for Minnesota is epri.com), Tom Key ([email protected]), Daniel between scheduled generation and actual modeled in these studies. Brooks ([email protected]), and production, which can significantly impact The Federal Energy Regulatory Com- Haresh Kamath ([email protected]). the cost of wind integration. mission is considering rule changes that Several efforts are under way to over- would reduce transmission tariff penalties Further Reading come obstacles to bulk wind power integra for intermittent generators. One proposed California Regional Wind Energy Forecasting tion on a regional basis. The Midwest ISO change would be to offer wind farms “flex- System Development, Vol. 1: Executive (MISO), for example, has considered the ible firm” transmission service when long- Summary. EPRI and California Energy implications of introducing a 10% renew- term firm service is unavailable. Under this Commission. 2006. Report 1013262. able energy objective throughout its region; proposal, wind facilities would be provided Survey of Wind Integration Study Results. EPRI Technical Update. March 2006. Report 1011883.

Wind Energy Forecasting Technology Update: Top Ten Wind Turbine Manufacturers 2004. EPRI. April 2005. Report 1008389.

Ecotécnia (Spain) Wind Power Integration: Smoothing Short-Term Nordex AG (Germany) 2.6% Power Fluctuations. EPRI. April 2005. Report 2.3% Mitsubishi Power Systems (Japan) 1008852. 2.6% REpower (Germany) Wind Power Integration: Energy Storage for 3.4% Vestas (Denmark) Firming and Shaping. EPRI. March 2005. Suzlon Energy (India) 34.1% Report 1008388. 3.9%

Siemens AG (Denmark) EPRI-DOE Handbook Supplement of Energy 6.2% Storage for Grid-Connected Wind Generation Applications. EPRI. December 2004. Report 1008703.

Wind Power Integration Technology Assessment GE Wind (U.S.) and Case Studies. EPRI. March 2004. Report 11.3% 1004806.

Wind Energy Forecasting Applications in Texas and California: EPRI–California Energy Commission–U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Forecasting Program. EPRI. December Enercon (Germany) 2003. Report 1004038. 15.8% Gamesa (Spain) 18.1% Short-Term Wind Generation Forecasting Using Source: BTM Consult Aps, 2005 Artificial Neural Networks. EPRI. October 2003. Report 1009219.

Vestas Wind Systems has dominated the world wind turbine market—accounting for roughly Power-Electronic, Variable-Speed Wind Turbine a third of the installed megawatts in 2004—but Gamesa, Enercon, GE Wind, and Siemens Development: 1988–1993. EPRI. November are all aggressively expanding production and closing in on the market leader. GE Wind is the 1995. Report 104738. leading supplier of turbines installed in the United States.

spring 2 0 0 6 15 Energy Storage Big opportunities on a smaller scale

by Taylor Moore and John Douglas The Story in Brief

For decades, energy storage research was focused mainly on large-scale technologies for utility load leveling—storing cheaper, off-peak generation to serve customer load during hours of peak usage. While such installations can still make economic sense in favorable locations, a number of smaller storage devices that have been developed and demonstrated over the last ten years are substantially broadening storage applications for a wide variety of utility issues. Advanced batteries, ultra capacitors, high-efficiency flywheels, and superconducting magnetic storage have the capability to increase efficiency, reliability, power quality, and asset value across the entire electricity path, from power plants to customer premises.

ost visions of the electricity stores 15% of the total electricity it gener- is reshaping the economics of the services system of the future have ates. These disparities reflect, in part, more- such devices would provide. M included widespread, large- attractive sites for pumped hydro in both Many of the new potential applications scale energy storage as a key component, areas overseas and—particularly in Japan— are related to transmission and distribution and with good reason. Theoretically, the higher electricity prices and a greater dif- system operations, and some technologies ability to store electric power in bulk could ference between peak and off-peak prices. are also uniquely positioned for end-use ap- take care of some of the most difficult That’s the problem: economics. Current plications as a demand-response tool. The Energy Storage challenges in the electricity business, allow bulk storage technologies involve physical Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ing the system to provide digital-quality scale and cost that have generally removed (FERC) has defined a variety of what it power with rock-solid reliability using them from consideration in an industry calls ancillary services—services needed to Big opportunities mostly baseload generation plants. These whose commodity price has largely resisted support the delivery of power to customers capabilities would result from overcoming inflation. In most cases where bulk energy while maintaining system reliability and the only major limitation on electricity’s storage would be useful in this country, it for which the provider can seek compensa- on a smaller scale super-flexible form value: the need to use has simply been cheaper to build peaking tion through restructured electricity mar- it the instant it is generated. combustion turbines to provide reserve kets. Energy storage is particularly well Yet despite these potential advantages, generating capacity that can be dispatched suited to provide at least two of these ancil- energy storage provides only about 2.5% when needed. Nevertheless, the prospects lary services: system regulation and spin- of total electricity capacity in the United for storage on a smaller, less-capital-inten- ning reserve. Regulation services involve States, nearly all of it from pumped-hydro sive scale—roughly tens of kilowatts to supplying electric energy in real time to installations used for load shifting, fre- tens of megawatts—are bright indeed. A compensate for rapid changes in system quency control, and spinning reserve. In variety of new, intermediate-scale storage load; spinning reserve restores the balance sharp contrast, some 10% of all electricity technologies are looking increasingly at- of supply and demand on a system after the produced in Europe is cycled through a tractive for meeting a different set of utility sudden loss of a generator or power line or storage facility of some kind, while Japan needs, just as power industry restructuring a sudden, unexpected increase in load. In

spring 2 0 0 6 17 pulls the water back to the lower level Applications Across the Board through a hydroelectric turbine when additional energy is needed to help meet peak system loads. Such facilities range in 1000 size from hundreds of megawatts to over Generation System • Frequency control 2 GW and are capable of discharging at • Spinning reserve full power for 8–10 hours. Scarcity of suit- Transmission/ • Ramping Substation • Load leveling able surface topography that is environ- • Minimum loading 100 • Stability mentally acceptable, however, is likely to • VAR support • Load leveling inhibit further significant domestic devel- • Reliability/Interruption opment of utility pumped-hydro storage. • Power quality Another well-proved bulk storage tech- Distribution Feeder nology for daily load shifting is com- 10 • Peak shaving Power Rating (MW) • VAR support pressed-air energy storage (CAES), which • Power quality uses electrically driven compressors to Customer • Reliability/Interruption • Power quality charge an underground reservoir during • Reliability/Interruption • Voltage support off-peak hours. When needed, air is dis- 1.0 charged from the reservoir into an expansion turbine connected to a generator. When electricity is used for the compres- 0.1 Cycle 10 Cycles 15 Minutes 5 Hours sion cycle, the fuel normally used by a Energy Discharge Time (axis not to scale) simple-cycle combustion turbine plant is reduced substantially. One CAES plant, With the development of new intermediate- and small-scale technologies, energy storage can rated at 290 MW, has been operating in provide a broad range of benefits in applications that span the entire power continuum, from Germany since 1978 and is currently being power plant to customer site. The choice of appropriate technology—advanced batteries, used to provide spinning reserve and to flywheels, ultracapacitors, or superconducting devices—depends primarily on the power store off-peak power from a nearby wind capacity and discharge time required for the application. farm. Another facility, rated at 110 MW and having a maximum discharge period addition to these power delivery benefits, volume, the EPRI-DOE Handbook Supple- of up to 26 hours, was built and installed energy storage may provide ancillary ser- ment of Energy Storage for Grid Connected in 1991 by the Alabama Electric Cooper vices that are not explicitly connected with Wind Generation Applications, published a ative with EPRI participation. More re- current markets—for example, it may pro- year later, has added coverage for wind cently, several bulk storage CAES projects vide dynamic reactive energy (measured in energy applications. have been proposed to take advantage of volt-amperes reactive, or VARs) to the salt caverns in Texas and an underground transmission system when needed. An Expanding Role limestone mine in Ohio, but none of the To analyze the emerging business cases for Storage plans for these plants have come to frui- for using energy storage under various By far the largest application of energy tion yet. To advance the state of the art, circumstances and to create a unique storage in today’s electric power systems is EPRI is exploring the use of above-ground resource for comparing the specific tech- the use of pumped-hydroelectric facilities pipelines to store compressed air for CAES nologies involved, EPRI and the U.S. to provide daily load shifting. The United applications. Such pipes, similar in size Department of Energy have published the States currently has 150 such facilities in and pressure to those used to transport EPRI-DOE Handbook of Energy Storage for 19 states, providing a total of 22 GW of natural gas, could be sited within an exist- Transmission and Distribution Applications. generation capacity. Typically, these facili- ing transmission right-of-way. A major conclusion of the research reported ties consist of two reservoirs at significantly At a much smaller scale, lead-acid bat- in this handbook is that, “while storage is different elevations, connected by large teries have also been used for bulk storage. not yet the universal solution for the ills of penstocks and with a power-generating Indeed, one of the earliest uses of such bat- the electric delivery system, as more expe- station between them. Electricity from a teries was to supplement the output of rience is gained and as technologies conventional power plant is used to pump utility generation plants for meeting peak improve, storage may one day be ubiqui- water from the lower reservoir to the loads. As the size of utility grids grew, how- tous in our power systems.” A companion higher one during off-peak hours; gravity ever, this application became less common

18 EPRI JOURNAL because of the relatively high cost of the tory and economic issues impeding more- storage to electric utilities, to end-users, batteries. During the 1980s and ’90s, a 17- widespread deployment of energy storage. and to society. We will be working to shape MW battery facility in Berlin, West Ger- In some states, for example, electric utili- a win-win-win strategy to enable the emerg- many, a 10-MW facility in Southern Cali- ties can no longer participate in the power ing energy storage technologies to contrib- fornia, and a 20-MW plant in Puerto Rico supply business; they are allowed only to ute value to the electricity system.” were built to demonstrate the continued manage power delivery. But since a storage technical and economic feasibility of lead- device is neither a generator nor a tradi- Advanced Storage Plants acid batteries for load shifting and grid tional part of the “wires” business, it re- A variety of new storage technologies have support. The Berlin project reached pay- mains unclear how a utility would be able recently been either commercialized or back in approximately three years, oper- to recoup the money spent installing one demonstrated at commercial scale. The pri ated for seven years, and was decommis- on its T&D system. And if a customer ority applications for these technologies sioned only after reunification in Germany installs a storage device on his own prop- are concentrated largely on optimizing the eliminated the need for the plant’s fre- erty, the tariff treatment it would receive is existing T&D infrastructure or providing quency-regulation services. The facility in also unclear. In one state, such a use of stor- new ways to deliver premium-quality Puerto Rico provided similar services on age might be rewarded as a demand reduc- power to customers—or preferably, both. the small island grid. According to Steve tion effort by the customer. In another These devices will probably not be used Eckroad, EPRI program manager for state, it might be considered an exiting for bulk storage and central-station load energy storage, “All three of these projects strategy to avoid grid service and result in shifting any time soon. Rather, they offer a inspired a 27-MW battery facility with a standby charge to the customer. way to make T&D systems more reliable similar functionality in Fairbanks, Alaska, “Industry restructuring is helping create and responsive to customer needs by sup- that uses a different battery technology— a new demand for energy storage, particu- plying ancillary services and enabling utili- nickel-cadmium. The Fairbanks plant has larly in T&D applications” says Eckroad. ties to defer more capital-intensive infra- operated successfully for over two years, “New technologies will facilitate these ap- structure investments. providing spinning reserve and local volt- plications, but significant regulatory ques- “The choice among candidate storage age support, thus saving the local utility tions need to be resolved before their true technologies comes down to a question of customers from numerous outages.” potential can be realized.” Adds Rastler, how much energy you need to store and While new centralized bulk storage “One area the EPRI program will be work- how long you need to use it to supply applications are constrained by economics ing on is to help inform all stakeholders in power,” says Robert Schainker, EPRI direc and siting issues, smaller distributed energy the policy debate of the value of electricity tor for strategic planning. “Bulk storage storage (DES) options are expanding the role of energy storage into other areas of the electricity value chain, with T&D applications and end-user solutions appear- ing to be particularly promising. “The benefits of storage are greatest at the customer level, when you consider the value of the reliability that storage makes possible,” says Dan Rastler, EPRI program manager for distributed resources. “The locational value of distributed storage could also benefit utilities in supporting the grid and helping to reduce grid conges- tion and other constraints.” However, he adds, “Our research has shown that utilities would be much more able to monetize the value of distributed storage assets than a customer would.” Pumped-hydro facilities such as TVA’s 1.6-GW Raccoon Mountain plant represent the most mature The lack of suitable mechanisms for option for large-scale utility applications like daily load shifting. There are currently 150 such either utilities or customers to reap tangi- U.S. facilities operating in 19 states; however, high construction costs and a scarcity of suitable ble monetary benefits from investments in surface topography are likely to severely limit further development of pumped-hydro storage in storage remains one of the leading regula- this country.

spring 2 0 0 6 19 allows you to arbitrage large quantities of Company (TEPCO) had selected this type developed for use in plug-in hybrid electric electric energy between different times and of battery as an alternative to growing reli- vehicles (PHEVs) may have the potential places. Distributed energy storage enables ance on central-station pumped-hydro for stationary applications as well—either you to shore up your system by supplying storage. TEPCO has already installed sev- on the grid or at customer locations. Both smaller amounts of energy when and where eral NAS units in the 1–6-MW range to nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium it’s critically needed.” provide load leveling and uninterruptible ion (Li-ion) batteries have demonstrated One DES option—advanced batteries power at the substation level. The first energy storage capacities much higher than —builds on the industry’s long familiarity NAS battery demonstration in the United those of conventional lead-acid batteries with lead-acid batteries but improves on States was hosted in 2002 by American of equal weight and can live through 5–10 that technology’s equally familiar short- Electric Power, with the cooperation of times as many deep-discharge cycles. If comings, such as limited deep-cycling life- EPRI and other partners. AEP is now fol- PHEVs are successfully demonstrated and time and high maintenance requirements. lowing up that demonstration with the become commercially popular, the costs In comparison with other advanced stor- installation of a 1.2-MW NAS battery at a of NiMH and Li-ion batteries could be age technologies, the great advantage of substation where growing load will even- reduced by as much as 80% over a rela- batteries is their inherently high energy tually require substation and/or feeder tively short time, making them more density, which results from their use of upgrades. The battery will defer those affordable for stationary uses. One partic chemical rather than physical processes to upgrades for a few years, after which the ularly intriguing possibility is the use of store energy. plan is to move the unit to another substa- a PHEV as a backup power unit in the A leading competitor for DES application. Meanwhile, New York Power Author- home. The vehicle would normally be tions is the sodium-sulfur battery, which is ity (NYPA) plans to install a 1.2-MW, 6- charged through a simple electrical hookup offered commercially by NGK, Ltd., under hour NAS battery on Long Island to pro- in the garage; designers say that the charg- the trade name NAS. This technology is vide peak shaving for one of its mass transit ing unit could be configured to automati- based on a high-temperature reaction be- customers. Although initial cost remains cally feed electricity from the vehicle bat- tween sodium and sulfur, separated by a an issue, NAS manufacturing capacity is teries back into the house wiring to cover ceramic electrolyte—a configuration that expanding and should lead to lower prices, basic electricity needs during a local power has excellent stability, robust cycling, and making this technology increasingly attrac- outage. Recent EPRI research suggests that minimal on-site maintenance requirements. tive for T&D applications. advanced Li-ion batteries could result in As early as the 1980s, Tokyo Electric Power Other advanced batteries now being crossover DES applications. For long-duration discharge applications, a more fundamental departure from traditional battery design is being considered—so-called flow batteries. Generically, these batteries utilize active materials contained in the fluid electrolyte rather than in solid electrodes. The advantage of this design is that the battery’s energy rating depends on the volume of the electrolyte, while the power rating depends on the size of the reaction cell stacks. As a result, the cost of extending the discharge time of a flow-battery system depends only on the size of the tanks used to hold the elec trolyte, which is low in comparison with the cost of changing the number of cells in traditional battery systems. Thus, flow- battery systems are especially attractive for applications that require energy delivery Large-scale battery storage was demonstrated in the mid-1980s at Southern California Edison’s for several hours. The corresponding dis- Chino facility, which offered 10 MW of power with a 4-hour discharge capability using lead-acid advantage is that flow batteries tend to be batteries. Such projects paved the way for more-advanced battery projects, including a recently complex systems with pumps, plumbing, built 27-MW, 15-minute-discharge nickel-cadmium installation in Fairbanks, Alaska. and other auxiliary components.

2 0 EPRI JOURNAL A new superconducting device to be deployed at the transmission system level is now being prepared for service at the Tennessee Valley Authority. Called the SuperVAR dynamic synchronous condenser and manufactured by American Superconductor, this device will increase grid reliability, help stabilize grid voltage, and help maximize transmission capacity. Like SMES, the SuperVAR is based on superconductors, but in a rotating machine configuration rather than a static coil. Dynamic synchronous condensers serve as “shock absorbers” for the grid by dynami- Sodium-sulfur batteries, offered commercially under the trade name NAS, have shown great cally injecting or absorbing reactive power promise for utility applications in the 1–6-MW range. Based on a high-temperature reaction to minimize sudden and large voltage fluc- between sodium and sulfur, the NAS battery features excellent stability, robust cycling, and tuations. Two 12-MVAR condensers are minimal on-site maintenance. Shown is a 6-MW unit installed at a substation in Ohito, Japan. scheduled for delivery to TVA in late 2006 and early 2007. This planned installation Flow batteries of two types—the vana- netic fields produced by continuously cir- is following successful demonstration and dium redox battery (VRB) and the zinc- culating current in a dc superconducting accelerated-life testing of an advanced pro- bromine battery—are now available from coil. Because there are none of the thermo- totype SuperVAR unit at a steel mill con- developers as commercial prototypes. In dynamic losses inherent in the conversion nected to the TVA transmission grid, the VRB, the positive electrolyte tank con- of stored chemical energy (batteries) or which helped smooth more than five mil- tains vanadium ions with a valance of +4, mechanical energy (flywheels), SMES de- lion voltage sags and surges that accompa- which lose an electron to the positive elec- vices have very high efficiency—theoreti- nied 2300 steel mill melt cycles. trode during charge-up, shifting the cally as high as 95% in large installations. “In today’s digital economy, keeping valance to +5. The negative electrolyte Although extensive design and develop- voltage levels constant and stable is vital,” tank contains vanadium ions with a valance ment programs have been conducted to said Terry Boston, TVA executive vice of +3, which gain an electron during design large-scale (10–100-MW) SMES president of power system operations, in charge-up and go to +2. These reactions units, substantial cost reductions will be an American Superconductor news release. are reversed during discharge as the elec- necessary before bulk storage applications “That’s what our customers expect, and we trolytes circulate through opposite sides of are economically feasible. believe that’s what this new product will a reaction cell, separated by an ion- For fast discharge at high power levels, help us deliver. We believe SuperVAR exchange membrane. There have been sev- SMES is very attractive. There are several machines will help protect TVA’s transmis- eral VRB demonstration projects at utility commercial “micro-SMES” applications at sion system from voltage fluctuations and scale. In 2003, for instance, PacificCorp the 1–3-MW level, capable of discharging help ensure continued delivery of afford- installed an 8-hour, 250-kW VRB facility more than a kilowatthour of energy in a able, reliable power.” on a distribution feeder in Moab, Utah, second or so. Micro-SMES units typically designed for peak shaving and voltage sup- provide protection against voltage sags for Other Emerging Technologies port to defer a feeder upgrade. sensitive industrial equipment. In addi- At the submegawatt to megawatt level, tion, a commercial product—the D- two modern versions of technologies that Superconducting Devices SMES, from American Superconductor— have evolved substantially from nineteenth for Fast Discharge is designed to provide reactive power for century origins are competing to provide The most advanced nonbattery energy voltage support on distribution lines, with voltage support and short-term ride- storage system at the megawatt-capacity real power injection also available to help through capability. Flywheels have been scale is superconducting magnetic energy customers ride through system distur- present in power systems for more than a storage (SMES). This technology directly bances. SMES units could be scaled to century, since the time when they were exploits recent advances in superconduct- much higher power levels to inject tens or used to smooth the output of generators ing materials and cost reductions in power hundreds of megawatts into transmission driven by steam-piston engines. Now low- electronics. Energy is stored in the mag- systems to provide dynamic stability. speed versions with heavy steel wheels

spring 2 0 0 6 21 have penetrated power-conditioning markets, while lighter, high-speed versions with magnetic bearings are beginning to find commercial application. Similarly, double-layer electrochemical capacitors first found widespread application by supplying small amounts of backup power for computer memories and are now being scaled up for utility applications. The major advantage of flywheels over batteries is that they are capable of several hundred thousand full charge-discharge cycles and thus have a much better cycle life. During charge-up, a flywheel is accelerated by an electric motor, which later acts as a generator during discharge. Low- The storage potential of flow batteries, such as the vanadium redox battery, resides in the fluid speed flywheels are usually designed for electrolyte rather than in expensive electrodes. Thus, the discharge time can be upgraded by high power output, while high-speed units simply using larger electrolyte tanks. When the battery is being charged, the V4+ ions in the can be designed to provide either high positive half-cell are converted to V5+ ions when electrons are taken up by the positive electrode, power or high energy storage. The most 3+ 2+ and electrons from the negative electrode convert the V ions to V in the negative half-cell. common power quality application is to During discharge this process is reversed, resulting in a voltage to load. provide ride-through of interruptions up to 15 seconds long or to bridge the shift

Generator AC/DC Converter from one power source to another. Fly- wheels have also been used for demand Positive Electrode Side + Negative Electrode Side reduction and energy recovery in electri- Cell – cally powered mass transit systems. For example, NYPA recently tested a commercial-grade flywheel in a New York subway V5+ V2+ V5+/ V4+ e– e– V2+/ V3+ station for storing electricity from regen- H+ erative subway braking. Electrolyte Electrolyte Multimegawatt flywheels have been Tank V4+ V3+ Tank installed by power-quality-sensitive customers such as communications facilities

Electrode and computer server centers, and commer- Membrane cial systems can be used for reactive power Pump Pump Charge support, spinning reserve, and voltage regulation as well. Beacon Power Corporation AC/DC Converter Load completed acceptance testing of a flywheel + – demonstration unit built under contract to Cell the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and DOE, and the system was installed and connected to V5+ V2+ V5+/ V4+ e– H+ e– V2+/ V3+ the grid at a demonstration host site in Amsterdam, New York, in March. The Electrolyte Electrolyte unit was enhanced to also provide unin Tank V4+ V3+ Tank terruptible power to the site, as well as to provide reactive power to help stabilize voltage to electrical equipment. Another Electrode Membrane Beacon flywheel system is undergoing test- Discharge ing and evaluation in San Ramon, Califor-

2 2 EPRI JOURNAL nia, in a project for the California Energy could amount to nearly $23 billion over Commission. the next ten years, while the benefits of In addition to supporting flywheel sys- time-of-use energy cost management could tem demonstrations in New York and exceed $32 billion. California, Beacon reports continuing “In the broadest sense, storage devices progress toward development of a next- may be the most important element of generation 100-kW, 15-minute flywheel power systems in the future,” the hand- that will be the core of an integrated, full- book concludes. “Storage devices, if inex- power commercial electric storage system. pensive enough and reasonably efficient, A prototype is expected to be ready for would be of highest value if placed at or testing in late 2006. near customers with variable loads. The Electrochemical capacitors, also known second-best location is on utility feeders, as ultracapacitors, store energy by means followed by substations and the transmis- of an electrolyte solution between two sion system. If these devices are operated solid conductors, rather than by the more for the common good, the high-voltage common arrangement of a solid dielectric wires could be nearly base-loaded and the between the electrodes. This arrangement reliability of the system as a whole would gives the devices much greater capacitance be much improved.” and energy density than conventional A major challenge in achieving these Flywheel storage modules, such as this 100- capacitors and also enables them to be benefits, however, will be to ensure that kW, 15-minute unit from Beacon Power, can made very compact. Like flywheels, ultra- be ganged in parallel to provide storage on storage technologies are smoothly inte- capacitors have been used in power quality the multi-megawatt level. Beacon is demon grated with existing power systems. “It is applications, such as ride-through and strating a flywheel storage system in particularly important that we take all bridging, as well as for energy recovery in Amsterdam, New York, to provide frequency these technologies and hook them together mass transit systems. EPRI is currently regulation and reactive power. in a way that optimizes their benefit to the evaluating several new membranes and system as a whole,” says Steve Gehl, tech- materials that, when configured as ultraca- In a project funded through the Technol nical executive for EPRI’s Energy Technol- pacitors, could potentially offer significant ogy Innovation (TI) program, EPRI is also ogy Assessment Center. “What we need to opportunities for energy storage. working to accelerate cost and performance do is demonstrate the flexibility that stor- breakthroughs in integrated, customer- age provides to the power system, develop National Benefits of Storage sited storage systems. Collaborating with technologies that take advantage of that With all the new technologies, products, Alliances for Discovery—a public interest, flexibility, and facilitate their integration.” and projects that are under way, it is not nonprofit organization specializing in col- surprising that EPRI’s energy storage pro- laborative innovation—and the Institute Background information for this article was gram is sharing in the upsurge of activity for Engineering and Management at Case provided by Steve Eckroad (seckroad@epri. and the early stages of industry investment Western Reserve University, EPRI will com), Steve Gehl ([email protected]), Dan in new applications for electricity storage. provide technical leadership toward the Rastler ([email protected]), and Robert “Utilities are beginning to show a lot more development of small-scale electric energy Schainker ([email protected]). interest in electricity storage to spawn a storage systems (auxiliary power units) variety of technology solutions for distrib- that could be sited at residences, commer- Further Reading uted-resources deployment, renewables cial establishments, and industrial facilities EPRI-DOE Handbook of Energy Storage for integration, and T&D management,” says for a capital cost of less than $150/kWh. Transmission and Distribution Applications. EPRI’s Eckroad. “And we’re seeing in- Though managed and funded separately, EPRI. December 2003. Report 1001834. creased collaboration with DOE, as exem- this TI work will be closely linked to R&D EPRI-DOE Handbook Supplement of Energy plified by the recent coproduction of the in EPRI’s core energy storage programs. Storage for Grid Connected Wind Generation all-inclusive handbook on storage applica- The EPRI-DOE Handbook of Energy Applications. EPRI. December 2004. Report tions and benefits. Member funding for Storage provides some startling figures on 1008703. EPRI’s program has risen by 150% from the potential economic benefits of energy 2005 to 2006. The activity in the storage storage for the United States as a whole. technology area in the last few years has The benefits of reducing financial losses been exciting.” from power quality problems, for example,

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EMF and childhood leukemia by Robert Syfers The Story in Brief ------=====--

Decades of research have studied possible health effects of exposure to electric and magnetic fields. While the great majority of studies have shown no link between EMF and a variety of maladies, several key epidemiologic studies have I caused expert scientific panels to conclude that there is indeed a statistically significant association between power-frequency magnetic fields and the development of childhood leukemia. Nevertheless, laboratory confirmation and a convincing explanation of the nature of this link have eluded researchers and health theorists for some years. EPRI is now addressing two theories that may finally clarify the issue. v et P hoto b y R ob K a esearchers have been studying the unique electrical transport system, random tually all of case-control design; for studies possible health effects of exposure chance as a basis for this association was of rare diseases like leukemia, this design is R to electric and magnetic fields believed to be extremely unlikely. the most practical option. (EMF) since the late 1960s, and EPRI has From a scientific perspective, however, In a typical EMF case-control study, the been a significant part of this worldwide the presence of an epidemiologic associa- distribution of magnetic field exposure effort since the Institute was founded, in tion does not, by itself, constitute or sub- across a group of children with leukemia is 1973. The early period of EMF study, stantiate a cause-and-effect relationship, compared with the exposure distribution which extended through the mid-1980s, which generally requires supporting results of children who are leukemia-free. The focused primarily on electric fields, with from the laboratory and a plausible mech- children with leukemia are referred to as little to no attention paid to cancer as a anism of interaction. Indeed, laboratory cases, and those who are disease-free, as health outcome of potential concern. No studies using animals and cells have not controls. The control group serves as a ref- scientific evidence emerged from that supported a link between magnetic field erence intended, in the ideal, to reflect the period that would link electric field expo- exposures and childhood leukemia, and actual distribution of exposure through sure to adverse health effects in people. scientists have not identified a biophysical the greater population from which the About 20 years ago, the emphasis mechanism by which the low-level fields cases originated. Thus if after carefully col- switched dramatically to the potential rela- measured in homes could plausibly inter- lecting and analyzing all of a study’s data, tionship between magnetic fields in homes act with biological tissue. Though random an epidemiologist were to observe that and childhood cancers—particularly leu- chance has been virtually ruled out, the exposure to an environmental influence kemia and brain cancer. Soon thereafter, possibility remains that the study results was much more common in a set of cases researchers as well as state and federal are somehow skewed or that another, than in a valid set of controls, that observa- agencies expanded this concern to cover unidentified exposure is involved. EPRI’s tion would suggest that the exposure under occupational exposures and a far wider EMF health assessment program is work- study represented a legitimate risk factor. variety of health endpoints, including mis- ing to uncover a rational basis for the However, the key word above is valid, for carriage, adult cancers of various types, unexplained relationship between mag- even if all else is done correctly and metic- cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegen- netic fields and childhood leukemia. ulously, if the controls are unrepresenta- erative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Over the past seven years, EPRI scien- tive, the study results will be viewed in a amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s tists have shifted the search into high gear, dimmer light as possibly skewed by selec- disease). With its members’ support, EPRI exploring two viable hypotheses, each of tion bias. assumed a major role in this widening which may contribute to the ultimate How could selection bias invalidate a effort as well, addressing questions of po- explanation. One addresses the possibility, result in concept? First, epidemiologists tential health risk and developing measure- as suggested by many epidemiologists in are generally able to identify all, or almost ment and software tools for researchers. the EMF community, that the link between all, of the cases of the disease of interest After a period of intense worldwide study magnetic fields and childhood leukemia is within a study region—say, a metro area, a through the 1990s, several national and a product of artifact in study design—that state, or a group of states. This is especially international expert panels convened to in fact there is no causal basis at all; the true of cancer cases, which are logged into evaluate the possible risks posed by EMF prime suspect behind this possibility is a registries that are available for public health environments. Collectively, these delibera- problem known as selection bias. The sec- surveillance, as well as for research pur- tions narrowed concern from the broad ond hypothesis explores the possibility poses. The problem of selection bias usu- array of health endpoints that had been that an unrecognized exposure, contact ally concerns the selection and recruitment studied to only one—childhood leukemia. current, is the active agent that has oper- of controls—hence the expanded term When the results of many epidemiologic ated behind the scene, with magnetic fields control selection bias. If, because of selec- studies (studies that explore the patterns of at center stage. tion pressures, the control group actually disease and health in human populations) enrolled either under- or overrepresents were evaluated and blended into a single Selection Bias the exposure of interest, then the study analysis, a moderate association between The term bias does not imply willful action results will report risks that are artificially magnetic fields above 3–4 milligauss (mG) by the investigator, but rather results from high or low, respectively. and the occurrence of childhood leuke- an undetected factor that insinuates itself As an example, consider the repeated mia—up to a doubling of risk—was evi- into a study’s execution and unintention- observation that fewer people from lower dent. Because positive associations origi- ally skews the results. The selection bias socioeconomic groups participate in epi nated from studies of different designs hypothesis is based on the fact that the demiologic studies than people in higher from different countries, each with its own epidemiologic studies in question are vir- socioeconomic strata. Further consider

2 6 EPRI JOURNAL that people in lower strata tend to reside in the battery. If the fingers are dry, the cur- tion, he realized that the dose of electricity less desirable neighborhoods—frequently rent will be relatively small, as dry skin in the body from contact current, partic near freeways and very possibly adjacent has a high electrical resistance; with wet ularly in the extremities, would dwarf the to transmission or distribution corridors, fingers, the moisture will breach the skin’s doses associated with magnetic fields from where magnetic field exposures would be insulation, lowering its resistance so that the machines. This line of research led to relatively greater than in areas typical for comparatively more current will flow. the development of a personal meter to other segments of the population. In the Likewise, contact current can travel measure occupational exposures to contact event that potential control subjects from through portions of the body from one current; the meter was put to work in an these lower socioeconomic neighborhoods hand to the other or to a foot, should those EPRI study that reported that occupa- are underrepresented in a study of mag- extremities be in contact with surfaces of tional exposures to contact current would netic fields and childhood leukemia— different voltages. be more likely to occur when equipment because of refusal, unavailability, or simply The issue of contact current safety goes was poorly grounded. At about the time indifference—then their relative absence back to well before the EPRI program Kavet was considering occupational scenar will skew downward the exposure distri became involved with this exposure in ios, thought was given also to the possibil- bution of the control subjects that are terms of the EMF health issue. Underwrit- ity of residential contact current exposures enrolled. In other words, higher magnetic ers Laboratories specifies limits for leak- in children vis-à-vis the childhood leuke- field exposures will falsely appear to be rarer age currents from home appliances of 0.5– mia connection with magnetic fields. in the background population than in the 0.75 milliampere (mA), depending on the How would a child be exposed to con- cases, leading to the suggestion that the mag- device; the National Electrical Safety Code tact current in a residence? The most likely netic field is a risk factor, when in fact the limits exposure to 5 mA in the rights-of- exposure, according to EPRI’s research, result is driven by control selection bias. way of high-voltage overhead transmis- results from grounding practices intended In 2001, the EMF health assessment sion lines; and guideline-setting bodies, to provide electrical safety and fire protec- program launched a full-scale foray into such as the International Commission on tion. In the United States, the National the question of control selection bias with Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection and Electrical Code has since 1918 required a workshop in Canada, in which EPRI the Institute for Electrical and Electronic that a residence’s electrical service be scientists gathered with an international Engineers, recommend contact current lim- grounded to an available metal (electrically group of eminent epidemiologists to brain- its of anywhere between 0.5 and 1.5 mA, conductive) water pipe within the resi- storm the best ideas to guide the program’s depending on exposure circumstances. All dence. As a result of this grounding con- research. Under the leadership of Gabor of these limits are intended to reduce the nection, a small neutral-to-earth voltage— Mezei of the EPRI program, the research chance of annoying or even hazardous usually less than 1 volt—will appear on the has been gathering full momentum, with startle or pain reactions to the exposure. water pipe, arising from household cur- several reports already published in the EPRI’s EMF research deals with lower rents returning via the water pipe back to scientific literature and new studies com- exposure levels, which fall below the the substation or from induction on the ing on board. Many of these address the threshold of sensory perception. neutral system from nearby sources of question of selection bias caused by differ- Since 1999, Robert Kavet, program man- magnetic fields, such as overhead transmis- ential participation across socioeconomic ager for EMF health assessment, has led sion lines or heavily loaded distribution strata, as described above. The jury remains EPRI’s research on contact current as a fac- primaries. This voltage will extend across out with respect to the extent that control tor that could explain the association of all contiguous elements of the water sys- selection bias may have influenced earlier magnetic fields with childhood leukemia. tem, including the metal water fixtures in studies. Actually, the idea of a possible role for con- a bathtub, sink, or shower. If the drainpipe tact current in EMF health studies occurred sunk into the earth under a bathtub, sink, Contact Current to Kavet in the late 1990s, after the pub or shower is also made of metal, a bathing Contact current is current that flows lication of several studies suggesting that child touching the faucet or water stream within a person when two locations on one’s occupation as a seamstress or tailor will receive a contact current into the arm that person’s body are in contact with elec- was a risk factor for neurodegenerative dis- and through the body; in all but very trically conductive surfaces at different ease; the studies’ authors attributed their extreme cases (for example, cases where electrical potentials, or voltages. For exam- results to magnetic field exposure from sew- there is a broken ground connection), ple, if the thumb and forefinger are in ing machines. Kavet visualized the machine these exposures are imperceptible, even to contact with the top and bottom of an operators’ manual contact with the ma- a small child. The current pathway includes ordinary AA battery, a small current will chines through an entire workday, and the bone marrow (the site of leukemia flow in the loop created by the fingers and with a quick back-of-the-envelope calcula- development), with the highest dose

spring 2 0 0 6 2 7 A Short History of EMF Research by Rob Kavet

Questions about possible health effects from three-phase primaries and secondaries) and tion with cancer reported for the measured exposure to power-frequency electric and mag- wire thickness (a crude index of line loading), fields was weaker than the association based netic fields (EMF) in the United States first arose and their distance from the residence. This on wire codes. in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following scheme for exposure characterization became Publication of the Savitz study marked a per- the introduction of extra-high-voltage (765-kV) known as the Wertheimer-Leeper wire code. manent change in the focus of EMF research. overhead transmission. The founding of EPRI in The authors’ suggestion that magnetic fields By this time, a large body of research sup- 1973 provided the U.S. electric power indus- could be responsible for the reported associa- ported by both DOE and EPRI had failed to try with an ideal organizational structure for in- tion could be neither substantiated nor refuted. uncover any acute hazard associated with vestigating concerns about EMF health ques- In 1988, a team headed by David Savitz electric field exposure. With the release of the tions. For over a decade, EPRI’s EMF research published a second study. The Savitz study dif- Savitz results, attention shifted sharply to mag- agenda, coordinated with a U.S. Department fered from the Wertheimer and Leeper study in netic fields, and worldwide interest in potential of Energy (DOE) EMF research program, fo- its use of a more recent set of childhood can- health effects from EMF exposure grew virtually cused mainly on electric fields. cers and a study design that included actual overnight. Magnetic fields were now regarded Two noteworthy studies played a major role residential measurements of magnetic (and by the public as a ubiquitous, unexplored ex- in redefining the EMF research agenda. The electric) fields as well as wire codes. Also, in posure that could potentially contribute to a first study, published in 1979 by Wertheimer accordance with accepted contemporary prac- variety of health risks and, moreover, could and Leeper, reported an association between tice, the Savitz study analyzed cancer inci- affect children. Health effects of concern in- residential proximity to heavily loaded distribu- dence (new diagnoses) rather than mortality cluded not only cancers of different types but tion lines and childhood cancer mortality (in- statistics, which had been used in the earlier also endpoints such as pregnancy outcomes cluding mortality from leukemia) in the Denver study. Once again, associations were seen be- and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheim metropolitan region. In this study, exposure with- tween wire codes and childhood cancers. In er’s disease) related to both residential and oc- in a residence was assessed using so-called addition, the study showed that homes with cupational settings. wire codes based on visual aspects of lines, higher wire codes had higher measured mag- EPRI responded quickly to this turn of events, such as line type (for example, one-, two-, and netic fields, although, interestingly, the associa- convening an advisory committee of scientific experts, expanding its technical staff, and launching a new research program. The new research included epidemiologic studies inves- Residential Magnetic Fields tigating leukemia in children and leukemia and brain cancer in a large cohort of 140,000 workers from five participating U.S. utility companies; laboratory studies of leukemia and other cancers in a variety of rodent bioassay models; and large residential and occupational magnetic field exposure assessment and engineering studies. One notable residential research effort was the 1000-Home Study, which provided insights into the sources and levels of residential magnetic fields that remain valid to- Relative Number of Residences day. Not surprisingly, the major sources of residential magnetic fields were found to be out- door distribution lines and residential grounding 0.01 0.1 1 10 systems. Transmission lines were also a domi- Magnetic Field (mG) nant source, but the fraction of homes affected According to EPRI’s 1000-Home Study, magnetic field strength in U.S. residences is distributed was very small. roughly according to a classic bell curve. About 5% of residences in the United States have an EPRI also initiated a field management pro- average magnetic field above 3 mG (green area). gram and developed instrumentation and soft-

2 8 EPRI JOURNAL ware for characterizing electric and magnetic cer: childhood leukemia and chronic lympho- cluded in IARC’s “possible” carcinogen cate- field environments. The EMDEX meter and its cytic leukemia in occupationally exposed gory. IARC stated that the association between derivatives are now the standards for measur- adults.” This conclusion was qualified with the childhood leukemia and magnetic fields was ing residential and occupational magnetic following statement: “The not likely to be due to chance but conceded fields, and EMF and TLWorkstation soft- lack of connection that epidemiologic artifacts could not be ex- ware have provided EPRI members between the hu- cluded. IARC also evaluated power-frequency with valuable tools for estimating man data and the electric fields, which by then were incorpo- both electric and magnetic fields experimental data rated into several residential and occupational in residential and occupational set- (animal and mecha- epidemiologic studies; electric fields were clas- tings. Indeed, EPRI’s efforts in mea- nistic) severely com- sified as a category 3 exposure (not classifi- surement instrumentation were largely plicates the interpreta- able as to carcinogenicity in humans), since responsible for critical advances in ex- tion of these results.” the evidence was inadequate to assign even a posure assessment and epidemiology. Two years after sub- “possibly hazardous” designation. To help transfer EMF measurement mission of the NIEHS Other risk assessments have supported the technology to EPRI’s members, the program report, a panel of experts at the International IARC panel’s conclusion. All the major assess- conducted the EMDEX Occupational Study Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a ments relied heavily on EPRI-sponsored research, and the EMDEX Residential Study from the late branch of the World Health Organization and EPRI scientific staff were significantly in- 1980s to the early 1990s. The studies bene- (WHO) and the world’s foremost agency con- volved in the panel deliberations held by both fited from extensive industry participation, with cerned with cancer risk assessment, conducted NIEHS and IARC. The presence of a credible 55 companies involved in the occupational an evaluation of the scientific literature on EMF industry-sponsored research program opened study and 39 in the residential study. The re- and, specifically, its potential link to cancers a seat at the table for EPRI. The next major de search provided insights into exposure levels in of all types. The panel’s deliberations were velopment in EMF health assessment will be the power company workplace relative to ex- strongly influenced by two analyses of the WHO’s publication of its EMF Environmental posures outside the workplace, and the range EMF–childhood leukemia literature that were Health Criteria, which will summarize and eval of exposure levels to be expected across the published in 2000, one by a group of scien- uate the relevant scientific literature and offer general population. The occupational survey tists in the United States and the other by a recommendations for further research. Sched- indicated that power company workplace ex- group of European scientists. Both groups ar- uled for release in 2006, the report is likely to posures exceeded those normally associated rived at the same fundamental conclusion: that trigger a reassessment of research priorities, as with environments outside the workplace. childhood leukemia incidence was associated well as further worldwide public interest in the At the federal level, Congress enacted the with average residential magnetic fields above EMF issue. Rob Kavet served as an observer to EMF Research and Public Information Dissemi- 3–4 mG (0.3–0.4 μT), with an approximate the final review of the report in October 2005, nation (EMF-RAPID) Program in 1992, when it doubling of risk above this range of exposure allowing EPRI to have a voice in the discus- became clear that questions about EMF had levels. According to EPRI’s 1000-Home Study, sions and input to the final WHO report. attained a high profile in the scientific and pub- about 5% of residences in the United States The credibility of EPRI’s EMF health assess- lic mainstream nationwide. The EMF-RAPID Pro have an average magnetic field above 3 mG, ment work and the industry’s commitment to gram (supported in part by contributions from and less than 3% are above 4 mG. The mag- research were highlighted in a September EPRI members) had three basic components: netic field from a heavily loaded transmission 2000 column in the Wall Street Journal by “1) a research program focusing on health ef- line will fall off to less than 3 mG about 500 Marianne M. Jennings, a professor of legal fects research, 2) information compilation and feet from the line, with correspondingly lower and ethical studies. In contrasting other indus- public outreach, and 3) a health assessment exposures for a lighter electrical load. tries’ approaches to well-publicized health and for evaluation of any potential hazards arising The IARC panel concluded that magnetic safety issues, she singled out the electric power from exposure to ELF-EMF [extremely low fre- fields were a “possible” (IARC category 2B) industry’s approach to EMF with praise, stating quency EMF, which includes power-frequency human carcinogen, based on the “limited” evi- that “perhaps the best example of an industry fields].” The National Institute of Environmental dence on childhood leukemia from epidemio- willing to use the truth to set itself free was the Health Sciences (NIEHS) was charged with logic studies and the lack of supporting evi- electric utility sector. . . . EMF was managed overseeing the health research and conducting dence from cell and animal studies. The with ethics and an attitude: If EMF is a prob- a thorough EMF risk evaluation. evidence concerning all other cancers was in- lem, we manage it early and make it right. If The 1999 NIEHS final report to Congress sufficient to form a basis for IARC’s conclusion. it’s a false alarm, we have the credibility and concluded that “the strongest evidence for To put this classification in perspective, coffee, trust earned with voluntary action and disclo- health effects comes from associations observed pickled vegetables, chloroform, and welding sure at the moment of truth.” in human populations with two forms of can- fumes are among over 200 other exposures in-

spring 2 0 0 6 2 9 Contact Current in the Bathroom The National Electrical Code requires a connection from a residence’s service panel neutral to a nearby water pipe. As a result, the water pipe acquires a small voltage to the earth—usually less than 1 volt—arising from currents in the grounding system, magnetic field induction on the grounding system from nearby transmission lines, or both. If the drain in the residence’s bathtub is conductive— made of metal—the voltage on the water pipe can produce a contact current when a person who is bathing touches the faucet or metal fixtures.

expected in the thinnest extremities, where thing is poisonous in a high enough dose, could occur in the bathing scenario would the current densities must be the greatest and even strong poisons are harmless if the produce doses in the arm’s bone marrow —that is, in the lower arm and hand. dose is low enough. In other words, “The that far exceeded (by factors of hundreds dose makes the poison.” Thus, to be a to thousands) the doses calculated from Evaluating Criteria credible causal candidate, contact current ambient magnetic fields; these were doses for Plausibility would have to deliver a dose to tissue at at levels that leaped over the hurdles that For contact current to be considered a via- levels that, according to biophysical prin- so challenged magnetic fields. ble candidate exposure that explained the ciples, could plausibly elicit biological Association. Since the risk of childhood epidemiology, investigators knew, three effects—a characteristic that residential leukemia was observed to be greater in criteria would have to be satisfied prior to magnetic fields did not provide. homes with fields above 3–4 mG, the committing to further research: (1) a plau- Soon after the initial thoughts about higher values of voltage responsible for sible dose to bone marrow, (2) a strong contact current developed, the program producing contact current—known as association of magnetic fields with the teamed with Maria Stuchly and her contact voltage—would necessarily need source of contact current, and (3) a child’s research team at the University of Victoria to coexist with these higher fields with a frequent access to exposure. The failure to to estimate the relationship of contact cur- much greater probability than they would verify any one of the three would be a sig- rent exposure to electrical dose inside the in homes with fields of lower values. nal to stop this line of investigation. body. Stuchly’s research group already had In 2001–2002, Kavet worked on the Dose. If you discuss this issue with extensive experience in using anatomically contact current idea with Enertech Con- Kavet, he’ll tell you that one of his heroes accurate computer models of the human sultants’ Luciano Zaffanella, the architect is a sixteenth-century scientist named Par- body to estimate dose from exposure to of EPRI’s well-known 1000-Home Study acelsus, often referred to as the father of EMF. The study, published in 2001, re- and the 1000-Person Study conducted for toxicology. Paracelsus put forward an idea ported that small, imperceptible levels of the U.S. Department of Energy as part of that has become central to his field: Every- contact current of the magnitude that the federal RAPID program (see sidebar,

3 0 EPRI JOURNAL page 28). Zaffanella developed a protocol electrical distribution system, and water joined forces with the School of Public for characterizing the sources of contact system—and then to identify the factors Health at UC Berkeley, which since 1995, current exposure in the home, as well as influencing residential magnetic fields, the under the leadership of Patricia Buffler, for taking routine measurements of the voltage from residential water lines to has been conducting the Northern Cali- magnetic field, and applied them in a small earth, and the interrelationship of the two. fornia Childhood Leukemia Study, the pilot study for EPRI in Pittsfield, Massa- The results supported the hypothesis that most intensive U.S. investigation yet of chusetts. The protocol focused largely on if a broad variety of neighborhoods in an the environmental, genetic, and biochemi- home appliances but also included mea- extended geographic region (like those in cal risk factors for childhood leukemia. surements in the bathroom at all possible epidemiologic studies) were simulated, a The merger is a true bonanza for the EPRI sites that people might touch on a routine strong relationship between the magnetic program, not only allowing research into basis. As it turned out, Zaffanella mea- fields and the water-line-to-earth voltages contact currents and magnetic fields but sured a significant voltage between the would be observed. offering the program a significant oppor- bath fixtures and the drain in the first two Frequent Access. In addition to the tunity to expand its research into control homes he visited. induction of genetic or chromosomal selection bias as well. Kavet and Zaffanella discussed the re- anomalies that initiate carcinogenesis, the In 2006, following a competitive bid- sults the day the measurements were taken, pathway to malignancy in most cases ding process, EPRI began research at UC becoming excited over the possibility that involves other influences and exposures San Francisco with Scott Kogan to develop this voltage could be the missing link in that, though not genotoxic themselves, a genetically engineered mouse that will the relationship between magnetic fields nudge the already-affected cells toward a model the pathological events that lead to and childhood leukemia. The idea made malignant state. The past 60 years of can- leukemia in children; ultimately this model immediate sense to the researchers: a bath- cer research has shown that exposures sub- will be put to the test with contact current ing scenario meant that an immersed sequent to the initiation stage need to exposures. Finally, the program is adapting child’s hand would be at least damp, if not occur on a relatively frequent or repeated the CVM to characterize exposure scenar- saturated with water, which would reduce basis to have noticeable effects. Thus any ios in countries where influential EMF the skin’s electrical resistance to an insig- exposure being considered as responsible studies have been reported, including both nificant value. The small pilot study of 36 for associations with magnetic fields would Sweden and the United Kingdom. The homes also reported data that suggested a also have to occur reasonably often. results of these efforts will emerge within positive association between the residential Anecdotally, many parents may recall the next five years and, when factored in magnetic field and the voltage from the that their young children, while bathing, with other research developments around residential water line to earth, the source indulged in exploratory play with the the world, will determine future directions voltage for contact current exposure in the water fixtures or the water stream. Work- for the program. bath. This study’s success triggered a larger ing with researchers at the University of A critical component of the EPRI pro- effort in the Denver area, site of the two California at Berkeley, EPRI supported a gram today, as for the past 18 years, is the most important early EMF studies. In a survey of parents using interview and diary advice and counsel of an independent ad- measurement study that included visits to techniques to assess the extent to which visory group of eminent scientists. The 191 residences, Kavet and colleagues re- children from younger than one year to Scientific Advisory Committee meets on ported a positive association between the five years old engage in behavior that an annual basis to thoroughly review the residential magnetic field and both the would produce exposure. The results indi- program and offer recommendations. The voltage from the water line to earth and cated that roughly 80% of the children committee remains informed of significant the voltage that a child would experience studied indeed displayed evidence of such developments year-round and maintains in the bathtub. behavior, and that beyond the age of one an active relationship with the members Though the measurement programs (when their arm’s reach lengthened), this of the program’s Area Council. Working produced valuable data, they could not by behavior increased. together with all of its advisors, EPRI’s themselves show how the infrastructural EMF health assessment program is com- characteristics of communities would con- The Testing Phase mitted to unraveling the critical uncertain- tribute to a set of empirical observations. With the criteria of dose, association, and ties to ensure that electric and magnetic Zaffanella and his associate Jeff Daigle, frequent access satisfied, EPRI’s research field environments are compatible with working closely with Kavet, produced the into the contact current hypothesis has public health and safety. Contact Voltage Modeler (CVM), a pro- accelerated from the plausibility phase to gram that makes it possible to specify a hypothesis testing by means of a multidis- Background information for this article was neighborhood’s features—its geography, ciplinary strategy. In 2003, the program provided by Rob Kavet ([email protected]).

spring 2 0 0 6 31 Engineering services, business consulting, EPRI Solutions and information products

Efficient Power Supplies Could Save 1% of U.S. Electricity Use The power supplies that convert normal ac power into the low-voltage dc power used by electronic devices consume at least 2% of all U.S. electricity production. New research conducted by EPRI Solutions and Ecos Consulting indicates that wider use of more-efficient power supplies could cut total consumption by half, saving consumers nearly $3 billion per year and reducing annual U.S. carbon emissions by 24 million tons. External power supplies—sometimes called wall warts because of their obtrusive appearance when plugged into a wall socket—provide power mainly to small, portable devices, such as cordless phones and video games, and generally have efficiencies in the range of 30–40%. More than 1 billion of these external The ongoing research program to fornia’s electric utilities are funding a units are estimated to be in use in the improve power supply efficiency is spon- program called 80 Plus to promote the United States, most of which continue to sored by the California Energy Commis- marketing of power supplies with effi- consume a few watts of power even when sion (CEC) through its Public Interest ciencies of 80% or higher. no load is connected. Improved designs Energy Research (PIER) program. Spe- Using the test procedure developed could increase efficiency to 80% or more cific goals include developing standard- earlier in the project, some 800 power and reduce no-load consumption to ized test procedures to measure the energy supply samples have now been tested in about a tenth of current levels. efficiency of power supplies, collecting the United States, China, and Australia, Larger electronic appliances, such as per- efficiency test data on current products, revealing an exceptionally wide range of sonal computers and televisions, generally using this information to estimate total efficiencies. For example, external power have internal power supplies with efficien energy consumption, and working with supplies with less than 20 watts output cies in the range of 65–70% when the manufacturers to improve the efficiency had efficiencies that ranged from 20% to appliance is in active use. About 1.5 bil- of power supply designs. 80%. Improving the efficiency of such lion internal units are now in use in the Some key results from the California units will not only save energy but also United States. Considerable progress has program have already been applied. Spe- make the next generation of wall warts already been made through the federal cifically, efficiency specification levels much smaller and less obtrusive. Energy Star program to reduce power proposed by the research team for single- These test results and additional consumption by mandating a Sleep or voltage external power supplies have research insights have been incorporated Standby mode for small office equipment. been adopted by the CEC and are sched- into Improving AC-DC Power Supplies for As a result, most of the remaining energy uled to take effect in July 2006. The same Improved Energy Efficiency: A Technical savings need to come from improvements levels were subsequently adopted by the Primer, published by the CEC and in the operational mode, which can be Energy Star program and have been pro- designed to serve manufacturers as a achieved with new power supply designs posed for adoption as mandatory stan- design guide for future units. Intel has capable of efficiencies of 90% or more. dards in other states. In addition, Cali already adopted the standardized test

3 2 EPRI JOURNAL procedure and has set aggressive efficiency the surface of copper conductors but— of tests on paper insulation have been targets for power supply efficiencies across much more important—reduces the conducted to clarify the insulation degra- a range of load conditions—a step that is dielectric strength of the paper insulation dation phenomenon. expected to pave the way for future com- around them. As a result, breakdown can Meanwhile, EPRI’s collaborative proj- puter efficiency labeling. occur through the solid paper insulation ect will evaluate these and other new Future work in this project will involve disks, causing the transformer to fail. testing methods, while also developing determining the grid impacts of wide- The potential for such problems has novel ways to predict the onset of dam- spread market penetration of highly effi- been recognized for decades, but the age. The project will look at reasons for cient power supplies, evaluating second- presence of corrosive sulfur in trans- the reemergence of the problem and ary power supplies (such as voltage former oil was thought to have been investigate how damage may relate to regulator modules in computers), and virtually eliminated by improved indus- different types of oil and various refining investigating the efficiency of display try standards and detection methods. and treatment processes. Means to halt technologies. The power quality charac- Now it appears that some relatively the process of corrosive sulfur contamina- teristics of various electronic loads may benign sulfur compounds, present even in tion, such as the use of passivators and also be examined; for example, field mea- some oils that meet current industry innovative filtration methods, will also be surements may determine the magnitude specifications, can be converted into explored. Testing is planned to determine of energy losses in office buildings associ- corrosive sulfur over time as a result of the effectiveness of such approaches. ated with low power factors and high elevated temperatures. Ultimately, the close cooperation harmonic distortion in power supplies. In order to conduct a comprehensive between EPRI and EPRI Solutions is For more information, contact Arshad investigation of this growing industry expected to produce new insights into the Mansoor, [email protected]. problem, EPRI Solutions is supporting a problem of sulfur corrosion and lead to major new collaborative R&D project development of better prevention and Cause of Puzzling Transformer through EPRI, while continuing to work mitigation strategies. A web-accessible Failures Identified directly with utility clients to mitigate the database will be established to help indi- Over the past few years, a number of impacts of corrosive sulfur. Specifically, vidual utility clients and project partici- failures have hit large power transformers EPRI Solutions has developed a number pants track the condition of their own and shunt reactors in countries around of new tests that can help identify the transformers and to aid them in the pro- the world. Such failures, which arise with transformers and reactors that are most curement of future equipment. no apparent cause and typically without likely to fail from contamination with For more information, contact Nick Abi- warning, are occurring at an increasing corrosive sulfur. In addition, hundreds Samra, [email protected]. rate. The transformers that have failed have not only been very expensive but have also performed critical functions; generator stepup units, for example, connect power plants to transmission systems, and their failure can result in heavy revenue loss for a plant. EPRI Solutions experts have now conclusively identified the underlying cause of some of these problems and are working with utilities and manufacturers to prevent their recurrence. As they investigated the puzzling failures, which sometimes affected even relatively new transformers, the experts confirmed that an old nemesis had returned: corrosive sulfur contamination of the insulating oil and other materials. Such contamination not only corrodes Copper sulfide deposits on insulating paper from a failed transformer.

spring 2 0 0 6 3 3 Technical Reports & Software

For more information, contact the EPRI Groundwater Monitoring Guidance for the Mercury Reactions in Power Plant Plumes: Customer Assistance Center at 800.313.3774 Industry Action Plan on Coal Combustion Pleasant Prairie Experiment and Compliance ([email protected]). Visit EPRI’s web site to Product Management Scenario Assessment download PDF versions of technical reports 1010064 (Technical Report) 1010142 (Technical Report) (www.epri.com). Program: Groundwater Protection and Coal Program: Air Toxics Health and Risk Assessment Combustion Products Management EPRI Project Manager: Leonard Levin EPRI Project Manager: Kenneth Ladwig Environment Longer-Term Mercury Emission Identifying Alternative Fish Protection Characterization of Power Plants With Fate and Effects of Selenium in Lentic and Technologies for Detailed Evaluation Selective Catalytic Reduction and Flue Gas Lotic Systems 1010111 (Technical Report) Desulfurization Systems 1005315 (Technical Report) Program: Section 316(a) and 316(b) Fish 1010154 (Technical Report) Program: Mercury, Metals, and Organics in Protection Issues Program: Plant Multimedia Toxics Charac Aquatic Environments EPRI Project Manager: Douglas Dixon terization (PISCES); Integrated Environmental EPRI Project Manager: Richard Carlton Controls Framework to Evaluate Water Demands and EPRI Project Manager: Paul Chu RF Estimator, EPRI Radio Frequency Exposure Availability for Electrical Power Production Estimator, Version 1.05 Within Watersheds Across the United States: Occupational Health and Safety Annual 1005420 (Software) Development and Applications Report 2005 Program: EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety 1010116 (Technical Report) 1010164 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Robert Kavet Program: Watershed Management and Water Program: Occupational Health and Safety Resource Sustainability EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager Enhancement of Watershed Analysis Risk EPRI Project Manager: Robert Goldstein Management Framework (WARMF) for Program on Technology Innovation: Managing Mercury Watershed Management and Total Guidelines for Integrated Management of the Risks of Climate Policies Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Multiple Constituents in Ash Ponds—Volume 1 1010173 (Technical Report) 1005471 (Technical Report) 1010123 (Technical Report) Program: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Options; Program: Watershed Management and Water Program: Integrated Facilities Water Technology Innovation Resource Sustainability Management EPRI Project Manager: Thomas Wilson EPRI Project Manager: Robert Goldstein EPRI Project Manager: Richard Carlton Evaluation of Mercury Speciation in a Power Air-Cooled Condenser Design, Specification, Electric Transmission Right-of-Way Invasive Plant Plume and Operation Guidelines Non-Native Woody Plant Species Control 1011113 (Technical Report) 1007688 (Technical Report) 1010127 (Technical Report) Program: Air Toxics Health and Risk Assessment Program: Integrated Facilities Water Program: Rights-of-Way Environmental Issues EPRI Project Manager: Leonard Levin Management in Siting, Development, and Management EPRI Project Manager: Charles McGowin EPRI Project Manager: John Goodrich-Mahoney Childhood Leukemia 1011716 (Technical Report) Parameter Development for Equivalent Adult Aerial Patrol Rights-of-Way for Integrated Program: EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety and Production Foregone Models Vegetation Management EPRI Project Manager: Gabor Mezei 1008832 (Technical Report) 1010129 (Technical Report) Program: Section 316(a) and 316(b) Fish Program: Rights-of-Way Environmental Issues in Characterizing Contact Current and Nuisance Protection Issues Siting, Development, and Management Shocks in the Workplace EPRI Project Manager: Douglas Dixon EPRI Project Manager: John Goodrich-Mahoney 1011718 (Technical Report) Program: EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety Effects of Ammonia on Trace Element Leaching Compendium of Animal-Caused Outage EPRI Project Manager: Robert Kavet From Coal Fly Ash Prevention Devices 1010063 (Technical Report) 1010131 (Technical Report) Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) Workstation Program: Groundwater Protection and Coal Program: Rights-of-Way Environmental Issues in 2005 Program Combustion Products Management Siting, Development, and Management 1011720 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: Kenneth Ladwig EPRI Project Manager: Richard Carlton Program: EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety EPRI Project Manager: Brian Cramer Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) Air Monitoring Survey Report Overview of Wireless Facilities for the Electric 1010141 (Technical Report) Power Industry Program: MGP Site Management 1011722 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: James Lingle Program: EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety EPRI Project Manager: Robert Kavet

3 4 EPRI JOURNAL Evaluation of an Angled Louver Facility for GHG-RISK 1.0—Greenhouse Gas Risk Fleetwide Monitoring for Equipment Guiding Sturgeon to a Downstream Bypass Assessment Prototype Spreadsheet Model, Condition Assessment 1011786 (Technical Report) Version 1.0 1010266 (Technical Report) Program: Hydropower Environmental Issues 1013094 (Software) Program: I&C and Automation for Improved EPRI Project Manager: Douglas Dixon Program: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Options Plant Operations Technical Reports & Software EPRI Project Manager: Adam Diamant EPRI Project Manager: Aaron Hussey Valuing Regional Haze Changes: The Sensitivity of Contingent Valuation Results SCICHEM, Version 1.602 on CD-ROM Status of Mercury Control Technologies: to Questionnaire Format 1013197 (Software) Activated Carbon Injection and Boiler 1011852 (Technical Report) Program: Assessment Tools for Ozone, Chemical Additives Program: Assessment Tools for Ozone, Particulate Matter, and Haze 1010349 (Technical Report) Particulate Matter, and Haze EPRI Project Manager: Naresh Kumar Program: Integrated Environmental Controls EPRI Project Manager: Naresh Kumar EPRI Project Manager: Ramsay Chang Generation Potential Health Effects of Crystalline Advanced Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) Power Silica Exposures From Coal Fly Ash: Plant Status Management Guideline Supplies Update A Literature Review 1008257 (Technical Report) 1010361 (Technical Report) 1012821 (Technical Report) Program: Operations Management Program: Particulate and Opacity Control Program: Occupational Health and Safety and Technology EPRI Project Manager: Ralph Altman EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager EPRI Project Manager: Wayne Crawford CTCC O&M Cost Analyzer 5.0—Combustion Test Performance for Assessment of Condensate Polishing Guidelines for Turbine/Combined-Cycle Operations and Neurodevelopment in Children Fossil Plants Maintenance Cost Analyzer, Version 5.0 1012822 (Technical Report) 1010181 (Technical Report) 1010404 (Software) Program: Air Toxics Health and Risk Assessment Program: Boiler and Turbine Steam and Program: Combustion Turbine (CT) and EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager Cycle Chemistry Combined-Cycle (CC) O&M EPRI Project Manager: Barry Dooley EPRI Project Manager: Dale Grace Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure and Developmental Effects Simulated Boiler Corrosion Studies Using Renewable Energy Technical Assessment Guide 1012824 (Technical Report) Electrochemical Techniques (TAG-RE) Electronic Media Program: Air Toxics Health and Risk Assessment 1010187 (Technical Report) 1010405 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager Program: Boiler and Turbine Steam and Program: Renewable Energy Technology Cycle Chemistry and Strategy Ergonomic Interventions for Fossil-Fueled EPRI Project Manager: Barry Dooley EPRI Project Manager: Charles McGowin Electric Power Plants 1012957 (Technical Report) Guidelines for Reducing the Time and Cost of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Update—2005 Program: Occupational Health and Safety Turbine-Generator Maintenance Overhauls 1010412 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager and Inspections—2005 Program: Renewable Energy Technology 1010190 (Technical Report) and Strategy Ergonomic Design for Fossil-Fueled Electric Program: Steam Turbines, Generators, and EPRI Project Manager: Alejandro Jimenez Power Plants Balance-of-Plant 1012958 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Stephen Hesler Condition Monitoring of Wind Turbines Program: Occupational Health and Safety 1010419 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Janice Yager Turbine-Generator Auxiliary Systems Program: Operations Management 1010191 (Technical Report) and Technology Mitigation of SCR-Ammonia Related Aqueous Program: Steam Turbines, Generators, and EPRI Project Manager: Charles McGowin Effects in a Fly Ash Pond Balance-of-Plant 1013035 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Stephen Hesler Cycle Chemistry Guidelines for Shutdown, Program: Mercury, Metals, and Organics in Layup, and Startup of Combined-Cycle Units Aquatic Environments; Integrated Facilities Replacement Interstage Seals for With Heat Recovery Steam Generators Water Management Steam Turbines 1010437 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: John Goodrich-Mahoney 1010214 (Technical Report) Program: Heat Recovery Steam Generator Program: Steam Turbines, Generators, and (HRSG) Dependability Program on Technology Innovation: Electric Balance-of-Plant EPRI Project Manager: Barry Dooley Technology in a Carbon-Constrained World EPRI Project Manager: Stephen Hesler 1013041 (Technical Report) Cycle Chemistry Guidelines for Combined- Program: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Options; Advanced Control Demonstration on a Cycle/Heat Recovery Steam Generators Technology Innovation Combined-Cycle Plant (HRSGs) EPRI Project Manager: Thomas Wilson 1010261 (Technical Report) 1010438 (Technical Report) Program: I&C and Automation for Improved Program: Heat Recovery Steam Generator EPRI-GTC Overhead Electric Transmission Line Plant Operations (HRSG) Dependability Siting Methodology EPRI Project Manager: Ramesh Shankar EPRI Project Manager: Barry Dooley 1013080 (Technical Report) Program: Rights-of-Way Environmental Issues in Siting, Development, and Management EPRI Project Manager: John Goodrich-Mahoney

spring 2 0 0 6 3 5 CC ChemExpert, Version 1.0 Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems CIR II Program: Crack Growth Testing of Fast 1010439 (Software) 1011913 (Technical Report) Reactor Irradiated Type 304L Stainless Steel Program: Heat Recovery Steam Generator Program: Fossil Materials and Repair in BWR Environments (HRSG) Dependability EPRI Project Manager: David Gandy 1009893 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Barry Dooley Program: Nuclear Power Field Evaluation of Fumigation Bi-Fuel Systems EPRI Project Manager: Rajeshwar Pathania Pulverizer Maintenance Guide Installed on Diesel Engine-Generators 1010443 (Technical Report) 1012429 (Technical Report) Nuclear Maintenance Applications Center: Program: Fossil Maintenance Applications Program: Distributed Energy Resources Main Steam Isolation Valve Maintenance Center (FMAC) EPRI Project Manager: David Thimsen Guide—Update to NP-7211 EPRI Project Manager: Alan Grunsky 1010012 (Technical Report) Evaluation of Plug Power Gensys 5C Fuel Program: Nuclear Power Demonstration of Wear and Tear Sensors Cell System in Mesa, AZ: Final Report EPRI Project Manager: Leonard Loflin for Measurement of Damage 1012836 (Technical Report) 1010462 (Technical Report) Program: Distributed Energy Resources Plant Support Engineering: Life Cycle Program: I&C and Automation for Improved EPRI Project Manager: David Thimsen Management Planning Sourcebook— Plant Operations Medium-Voltage Switchgear EPRI Project Manager: Aaron Hussey Petcoke and Low-Rank Coal/Lignite Supply 1010031 (Technical Report) Outlook for IGCC Evaluations Program: Nuclear Power Feasibility of Renewable Energy From Poultry 1013038 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Gary Toman Litter in the TVA Region Program: CoalFleet for Tomorrow 1010486 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: John Parkes Baseline Materials Data to Support Program: Renewable Energy Technology Procedures for Rewinding Environmentally and Strategy Coal Fleet Integrated-Gasification–Combined- Qualified Motors EPRI Project Manager: David O’Connor Cycle (IGCC Permitting) Guidelines 1010640 (Technical Report) 1013046 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power TULIP 2.0—Tube Life Probability, Version 2.0 Program: CoalFleet for Tomorrow EPRI Project Manager: Neil Wilmshurst 1010621 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: John Parkes Program: Boiler Life and Availability BWRVIP-151: BWR Vessel and Internals Improvement Program CatReact (Catalyst Reaction), Version 1.1 Project, Technical Basis for Revision to EPRI Project Manager: Richard Tilley 1013047 (Software) BWRVIP-97 Welding Guidelines

Program: Postcombustion NOx Control 1011692 (Technical Report) Best Practices Guidebook for Integration EPRI Project Manager: David Broske Program: Nuclear Power of Distributed Energy Resources Into EPRI Project Manager: Robert Carter Utility System Planning West Oahu Solar-Powered LED Lighting System 1011250 (Technical Report) 1013115 (Technical Report) BWRVIP-152: BWR Vessel and Internals Program: Distributed Energy Resources Program: Renewable Energy Technology Project—NDE Development 2005 EPRI Project Manager: William Steeley and Strategy 1011697 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Alejandro Jimenez Program: Nuclear Power Ash Handling System Maintenance Guide EPRI Project Manager: Jeff Landrum 1011684 (Technical Report) Technical Assessment Guide (TAG)—Central Program: Fossil Maintenance Applications Stations and Wind Energy BWRVIP-153: BWR Vessel and Internals Center (FMAC) 1013215 (Technical Report) Project, Crack Growth in High Fluence BWR EPRI Project Manager: Alan Grunsky Program: Technology-Based Business Planning Materials—Progress Report for 2005 Information and Services (TAG) 1011700 (Technical Report) 2005 Workshop on Selective EPRI Project Manager: Gopalachary Program: Nuclear Power Catalytic Reduction Ramachandran EPRI Project Manager: Rajeshwar Pathania 1011796 (Technical Report)

Program: Postcombustion NOx Control Nuclear BWRVIP-154: BWR Vessel and Internals EPRI Project Manager: David Broske Project, Fracture Toughness in High Fluence Materials Reliability Program: Alloy 82/182 BWR Materials—Progress Report for 2005 Severe Duty Valve Maintenance Guide Pipe Butt Weld Safety Assessment for U.S. 1011701 (Technical Report) 1011828 (Technical Report) PWR Plant Designs (MRP-113) Program: Nuclear Power Program: Fossil Maintenance Applications 1009549 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Anne Demme Center (FMAC) Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Leonard Loflin EPRI Project Manager: Christine King BWRVIP-150: BWR Vessel and Internals Project, Report and NRC Correspondence, Metallurgical Guidebook for Fossil Power Procedure for Rewinding AC Random-Wound DVD, Version 12.2005 Plant Boilers Stators for Environmentally Qualified Motors: 1011703 (Technical Report) 1011912 (Technical Report) Continuous Duty Applications Program: Nuclear Power Program: Fossil Materials and Repair 1009747 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Tom Mulford EPRI Project Manager: David Gandy Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Neil Wilmshurst

3 6 EPRI JOURNAL Treatment of External Events in Configuration An Evaluation of Flow-Accelerated Corrosion Proceedings: 2005 ASME/EPRI Radwaste Risk Management: An Implementation Guide in the Bottom Head Drain Lines of Boiling Workshop 1011762 (Technical Report) Water Reactors 1013163 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power 1013013 (Tech Report Software) Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: John Gaertner Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Sean Bushart EPRI Project Manager: Albert Machiels Residual Chromium Effects on Flow- Proceedings: 2005 EPRI International Low- Accelerated Corrosion of Carbon Steel Materials Reliability Program, Environmental Level Waste Conference and Exhibit 1011837 (Technical Report) Fatigue Testing of Type 304L Stainless Steel 1013164 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power U-Bends in Simulated PWR Primary Water Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Albert Machiels (MRP-188) EPRI Project Manager: Sean Bushart 1013028 (Technical Report) The Operational Risk Simulation Program: Nuclear Power Proceedings: 2005 Condensate Model (ORSIM) EPRI Project Manager: John Carey Polishing Workshop 1011911 (Technical Report) 1013173 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power GOTHIC 7.2a—Generation of Thermal Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Martin Bridges Hydraulic Information in Containments, EPRI Project Manager: Keith Fruzzetti Version 7.2a on CD-ROM for Win XP, Use of MCC-Based Motor Torque NQA Product Power Delivery and Markets Measurements for Periodic Verification 1013072 (Software) of Motor-Operated Valves Program: Nuclear Power Integration of COMTRADE Data Into a PQ 1011919 (Tech Report Software) EPRI Project Manager: Frank Rahn Monitoring System Database Program: Nuclear Power 1010185 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: John Hosler GOTHIC 7.2a—Generation of Thermal Program: Power Quality Hydraulic Information in Containments, EPRI Project Manager: Marek Samotyj 2005 EDF/EPRI Collaboration on Life Cycle Version 7.2a (UNIX), NQA Product Management and Nuclear Asset Management 1013073 (Tech Report Software) T&D System Design and Construction for 1011925 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power Enhanced Reliability and Power Quality Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Frank Rahn 1010192 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: George Sliter Program: Power Quality EQMS 3.0—Environmental Qualification EPRI Project Manager: Marek Samotyj MAAP4 4.0.6: Modular Accident Analysis Management System, Version 3.0 Program (MAAP4), Version 4.0.6 1013076 (Software) Automated Algorithms to Identify Operations 1012091 (Software) Program: Nuclear Power of Overcurrent Protective Devices: A Proof Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Christopher Abernathy of Concept EPRI Project Manager: Frank Rahn 1010196 (Technical Report) The Use of Proton Irradiation to Determine Program: Power Quality Alloy 600/182 Material Characterization IASCC Mechanisms in Light Water Reactors EPRI Project Manager: Marek Samotyj Using Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) Sensors 1013081 (Technical Report) 1012619 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power Service Quality Index—Example Application Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Rajeshwar Pathania 1010199 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Kenji Krzywosz Program: Power Quality Plant Support Engineering: Advanced EPRI Project Manager: Marek Samotyj TFE v1.0, MRP-170: EPRI Thermal Fatigue Diagnostics and Life Estimation of Extruded Evaluation per MRP-146 on CD-ROM for Win Dielectric Cable Steady-State Trend Data Analysis for 2000/XP 1013085 (Technical Report) Applications in Predictive Maintenance 1012905 (Software) Program: Nuclear Power and Operations Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Gary Toman 1010200 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: John Carey Program: Power Quality Graphite Decommissioning EPRI Project Manager: Marek Samotyj Proactive Assessment of Organizational and 1013091 (Tech Report Software) Workplace Factors, Version 2.2 Program: Nuclear Power Vibration 3.0—Overhead Line Vibration 1012959 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: Christopher Wood Analysis and Design Program, Version 3.0 Program: Nuclear Power 1010219 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: David Ziebell EPRI NDE Center Product Catalog: Program: Overhead Transmission 2005 Update EPRI Project Manager: John Chan Determining Piping Wear Caused by Flow- 1013101 (Technical Report) Accelerated Corrosion From Single-Outage Program: Nuclear Power OTLOT 1.0—Overhead Transmission Line Inspection Data EPRI Project Manager: Greg Selby Inspection Online Training, Version 1.0 1013012 (Technical Report) 1010220 (Software) Program: Nuclear Power Pipe Rupture Frequencies for Internal Flooding Program: Overhead Transmission EPRI Project Manager: Albert Machiels PRAs, Revision 1 EPRI Project Manager: Andrew Phillips 1013141 (Technical Report) Program: Nuclear Power EPRI Project Manager: Frank Rahn

spring 2 0 0 6 3 7 230-kV Accelerated Aging Chamber Energy Storage and Distributed Diesel Engine Idle Reduction in Class 8 Trucks 1010250 (Technical Report) Generation Technologies Using On-Vehicle Equipment With Optional Program: Overhead Transmission 1010746 (Technical Report) Shore Power EPRI Project Manager: Andrew Phillips Program: Energy Storage for DER, Renewable 1012920 (Technical Report) and T&D Applications Program: Electric Transportation Maintenance Best Practices for Switching EPRI Project Manager: Robert Schainker EPRI Project Manager: Andra Rogers Equipment and Transformers With Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Algorithms EPRI Transmission Line Grounding Guide Pilot Application of Enterprise Project for “Living” Reliability-Centered Maintenance Software (EGGS), Version 1.01 Prioritization Process at Nebraska Public (RCM) and Performance-Based 1011654 (Software) Power District (NPPD) Maintenance (PBM) Program: Overhead Transmission 1012954 (Tech Report Software) 1010555 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Andrew Phillips Program: Power Delivery Asset Management Program: Substations EPRI Project Manager: Jeremy Bloom EPRI Project Manager: Bhavin Desai GPPTS, Guidelines for the Preparation of Power Transformer Specifications, Version 1.0 EPM 5.0—EPRI Energy Portfolio Manager, The Direct and Indirect Costs of Regulatory 1011658 (Software) Version 5.0 Compliance Program: Substations 1012981 (Software) 1010567 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Ying Shen Program: Value and Risk in Energy Markets Program: Electric Transportation EPRI Project Manager: Art Altman EPRI Project Manager: Robert Graham Compliance Guidelines for Cyber Security Reliability Standards EPRI CIM Installer and Integration Project Overview of Methodologies for the 1011750 (Technical Report) at LIPA Determination of Fuel-Cycle Emissions for Program: Energy Information Security 1012991 (Technical Report) Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles EPRI Project Manager: Thomas Kropp Program: Grid Operations and Planning 1010569 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: David Becker Program: Electric Transportation Assessment of Wireless Technologies in EPRI Project Manager: Robert Graham Substation Functions XVisor 1.2 —XVisor Transformer Diagnostic 1011751 (Technical Report) Software, Version 1.2 Seaport Land-Side Equipment Electrification Program: Energy Information Security 1013056 (Software) Opportunities EPRI Project Manager: Thomas Kropp Program: Substations 1010577 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Luke van der Zel Program: Electric Transportation Technologies for Remote Monitoring of EPRI Project Manager: Robert Graham Substation Assets: Physical Security Program on Technology Innovation: 1011752 (Technical Report) Development of Acetylene Metal-Insulator- Transformer Cooling Systems Improvements Program: Energy Information Security Semiconductor (MIS) Sensors for Use in 1010585 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Thomas Kropp Transformers Program: Substations 1013084 (Technical Report) EPRI Project Manager: Raymond Lings HERBS 2.0: Hyperlinked EPRI Redbook Program: Substations (Transmission Line Reference Book—200 kV EPRI Project Manager: Ying Shen Application Guide for the Automation of and Above, Red Book Applets) on CD-ROM Distribution Feeder Capacitors for Win 2000/XP STLOAD 1.0, Substation Equipment Thermal 1010655 (Technical Report) 1011973 (Software) Loading Program Program: Distribution Systems Program: Overhead Transmission 1013103 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: Ashok Sundaram EPRI Project Manager: Raymond Lings Program: System Approach to Increased Transmission Capacity Delta Hedging Energy Portfolios: HERBS: Transmission Line Reference Book— EPRI Project Manager: Rambabu Adapa An Exploratory Study 200 kV and Above, Third Edition 1010686 (Technical Report) 1011974 (Technical Report) Study of Outage Request Switching and Program: Value and Risk in Energy Markets Program: Overhead Transmission Clearance Forms EPRI Project Manager: Art Altman EPRI Project Manager: Raymond Lings 1013109 (Technical Report) Program: Substations Probabilistic Load Flow, Version 3.0 IntelliGridSM Architecture Report: Volume 1— EPRI Project Manager: George Gela 1010696 (Software) IntelliGrid User Guidelines and Program: Grid Operations and Planning Recommendations Harmonization of CIM With IEC Standards EPRI Project Manager: Pei Zhang 1012160 (Technical Report) 1013110 (Tech Report Software) Program: IntelliGrid Program: Grid Operations and Planning Guidelines for Power Delivery Asset EPRI Project Manager: Joseph Hughes EPRI Project Manager: David Becker Management 1010728 (Technical Report) Linux PACE/OTS 3.6.26—Power Simulator TOS 1.0—Transmission Outage Screening Program: Power Delivery Asset Management With EPRI Operator Training Simulator, Using Network Flow Model, Version 1.0 EPRI Project Manager: Jeremy Bloom Version 3.6.26 1013203 (Software) 1012878 (Software) Program: Grid Operations and Planning P2: Project Prioritization System, Version 3.0 Program: Grid Operations and Planning EPRI Project Manager: Peter Hirsch 1010741 (Software) EPRI Project Manager: Peter Hirsch Program: Power Delivery Asset Management EPRI Project Manager: Jeremy Bloom

3 8 EPRI JOURNAL EPRI Events

For further event listings, visit EPRI’s web site 19–22 26–27 (www.epri.com). Repair and Replacement Applications Center ASME/EPRI Radwaste Workshop Technical Program Meeting Albuquerque, NM June Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Contact: Linda Nelson, 518.374.8190 Contact: Stacey Burnett, 704.595.2176 6–7 26–28 Work Planning Users Group 19–23 CHECWORKS User Group Charlotte, NC The High-Voltage Transmission Line Design Las Vegas, NV Contact: Vicki Buchanan, 704.595.2158 and Operation Seminar Contact: Katy Ahrens, 415.455.9583 Lenox, MA 7–8 Contact: EPRI Order Management, 26–28 Jodie Lane National Conference for Stray [email protected] EPRI Plant Performance Enhancement Program Voltage Detection, Mitigation, and Prevention (P2EP) Annual Coordinators Meeting New York, NY 20 Orlando, FL Contact: Robert Keefe, 650.855.1007 Fossil Repair Applications Center Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 Members Meeting 7–8 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 26–28 Preserving Equipment Qualification Training Contact: Stacey Burnett, 704.595.2176 Ninth EPRI Balance-of-Plant Heat Exchanger Course NDE Symposium Charlotte, NC 20–21 Big Sky, MT Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 BWRVIP Assessment Committee Meeting Contact: Jill Lucas, 704.595.2074 Providence, RI 8–9 Contact: Bob Carter, 704.595.2019 26–28 EPRI Rod Control System Reliability Workshop PSE Electrical Aspects of Thermal Performance Williamsburg, VA 20–21 Engineering Pilot Training Course Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 EPRI Vertical Pump Workshop Orlando, FL Charlotte, NC Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 12–13 Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 Distribution Advisory Council Meeting 26–30 Detroit, MI 20–22 Materials Reliability in Nuclear Logistical and Registrar Contact: Joyce Jones, Eighth International Conference on Power Systems 413.499.5701 Cycle Chemistry in Fossil and Combined- Dedham, MA Cycle Plants Contact: http://web/mit.edu/canes/ 12–14 Alberta, Calgary, Canada education/materialsreliability.html Transformer and Switchyard Users Group Contact: Tina Jackman or Carol Galle, Meeting 248.336.8611 27–29 Portland, OR BWRVIP IVVI Training Session Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 21–22 San Jose, CA BWRVIP Mitigation Committee Meeting Contact: Greg Selby, 704.547.2095 18 Providence, RI EPRI Bidirectional HVDC Thyristor Valve/ Contact: Raj Pathania, 650.855.2998 27–29 Tripole Transmission Workshop EPRI International Low-Level Waste Conference Montreal, Canada 21–23 and Exhibit Contact: Angelica Kamau, 650.855.7987 Seventh International EPRI Conference: Albuquerque, NM Welding and Repair Technology for Power Contact: Linda Nelson, 518.374.8190 19 Plants Electric Power Materials Committee Meeting Ponte Vedra Beach, FL July Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Contact: Stacey Burnett, 704.595.2176 Contact: Stacey Burnett, 704.595.2176 10–12 22–23 Fourteenth Annual NMAC Terry Turbines Users 19–22 Energy Information Security Advisory Group Meeting EPRI Fire Modeling Course 2006 Council Meeting Monterey, CA San Luis Obispo, CA Washington, D.C. Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 Contact: Bijan Najafi, 650.855.2061 Logistical and Registrar Contact: Angelica Kamau, 650.855.7987

spring 2 0 0 6 3 9 10–12 24–26 31–August 2 IntelliGrid Steering Committee Advisory EPRI PQA 2006 and Advanced Distribution Identification and Detection of Aging Issues Meeting Automation Joint Conference and Exhibition Training Course Baden, Switzerland Atlanta, GA Charlotte, NC Contact: Josephine Garcia, 650.855.8619 Contact: Lisa Wolfenbarger, 865.218.8026 Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036

10–14 24–26 August Predictive Maintenance Users Group Meeting IERE 2006 North America Workshop and Vibration Technology Forum Charlotte, NC 1–3 Annapolis, MD Contact: Suzette Yu, 650.855.2798 Cooling Tower Technology Seminar Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 and Conference 24–26 Des Moines, IA 11–12 PSE Service Water Piping Pilot Training Course Contact: Melissa Wade, 800.313.3774 BWRVIP Inspection Focus Group Meeting Annapolis, MD Tampa, FL Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 1–3 Contact: Brent Lancaster, 704.595.2017 Technical Advisory Group Meeting 24–26 Denver, CO 11–12 Twenty-Fifth EPRI Steam Generator Contact: Ulla Gustafsson, 650.941.8552 Cable Aging Management Training Course NDE Workshop Charlotte, NC Marco Island, FL 8–10 Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 Contact: Brent Lancaster, 704.595.2017 Summer Pump Users Group Meeting Chattanooga, TN 12–13 24–27 Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.547.6061 Hoisting, Rigging, Crane Users Group Meeting NDE Performance Demonstration Workshop St. Louis, MO Myrtle Beach, SC 21–22 Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 Contact: Lynette Gulledge, 704.595.2194 BOP Corrosion Advisory Council Meeting Chicago, IL 12–14 24–28 Contact: Albert Machiels, 650.855.2054 HVDC 2006 Congress—Meeting the Power EPRI Steam Turbine Generator Technology Challenges of the Future Using HVDC Transfer Workshop and TGUG Meeting 21–22 Technology Solutions Charlotte, NC Chemistry, LLW, and RM TAC Advisory Council University of KwaZulu-Natal, Natal, Westville, Contact: Leah Graff, 704.595.2254 Meeting South Africa Chicago, IL Contact: [email protected] 25–28 Contact: Tracy Wilson, 704.595.2043 ABB Circuit Breaker Users Group Meeting 16–19 Nashville, TN 21–22 Substation Equipment Diagnostics Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 EPRI’s Increased Power Flow Conference and Conference XIV Call for Papers San Diego, CA 25–28 Boston, MA Contact: Paula Foster, 817.234.8221 Fuel Reliability Program Working Group 3 and Contact: Melissa Wade, 704.595.2259 4 Meeting 17–19 Freeport, ME 21–22 Nuclear Utility Procurement (NUP) Contact: Evelyn Simons, 650.855.2728 Instrumentation and Control Advisory Training Course Council Meeting Charlotte, NC 26–27 Chicago, IL Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 Third Annual Operations Conference Contact: Tracy Wilson, 704.595.2043 Location to be determined 18–20 Contact: Thomas Nguyen, 704.595.2020 21–23 Generator/Motor Rewind Seminar EPRI Western Region R&D Collaborative Round Rock, TX 27–28 Palo Alto, CA Contact: Jim Oliver, 951.735.5239 PSE SWAP Coordinators Annual Meeting Contact: Melissa Wade, 800.313.3374 Annapolis, MD 18–21 Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 21–24 EPRI Infrared Thermography Utility Group NMAC Large Electric Motor Users Group (IRUG) Meeting 27–28 Meeting and Workshop New Orleans, LA RI-ISI New Initiatives Workshop Denver, CO Contact: Judy Brown, 704.595.2197 Myrtle Beach, SC Contact: Linda Parrish, 704.595.2061 Contact: Lynette Gulledge, 704.595.2194 20–21 ASME Procurement Training Course 31–August 2 Charlotte, NC EPRI Utilities Wireless and RFID Technology Contact: Beth McRimmon, 704.595.2036 Conference 2006 Chicago, IL Contact: Brent Lancaster, 407.595.2017

4 0 EPRI JOURNAL SPRING 2006 1013289 PAID SALEM OR, U.S. U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT NUMBER 526 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE ELECTRIC POWERRESEARCH INSTITUTE Printed on recycled paper in the United States of America Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Post Office10412 Box