Does Lost Time Cost You Money and Create High Risk?

The aim of the case study is to express the delayed repair time impact on the revenues and profit in numbers with the example of the outage of power plant units. Main steps of risk assessment: • creating project plan suitable for risk assessment • identification of the risk factors for each project activities • scenario-analysis based evaluation of risk factors • selection of the critical risk factors based on the results of quantitative risk analysis • formulating risk response actions for the critical risks • running Monte-Carlo simulation [1] using the results of scenario-analysis • building up a macro which creates the connection among the results of the risk assessment, the production plan and the business plan

Issues common to Australian critical infrastructure providers scada networks discovered through computer and network vulnerability analysis

This paper reports on generic issues discovered as a result of conducting computer and network vulnerability assessments (CNVA) on Australian critical infrastructure providers. Generic issues discovered included policy, governance, IT specific such as segregation, patching and updating. Physical security was also lacking in some cases. Another issue was that previous security audits had failed to identify any of these issues. Of major concern is that despite education and awareness programs, and a body of knowledge referring to these issues, they are still occurring. It may be necessary for the federal government to force organisations to undergo computer and network vulnerability assessment from recognised experts on a regular basis

Shutdown of an offshore wind power plant without using a brake to meet the required ramp rate in various storm-driven conditions

This paper proposes an offshore WPP (wind power plant) shutdown algorithm that does not use a braking system and meets the required ramp rate in the grid code in various storm-driven conditions. The proposed algorithm determines the number of WGs (wind generators) to shut down simultaneously to achieve this requirement without using brakes. Based on the storm speed and direction measured at a WM (wind mast) installed several kilometers away from the WPP, the storm-arrival time from the WM to each WG is calculated. Then, an arrival-ordered sequence is generated for the WGs based on these storm-arrival times. The WGs are grouped in a predetermined number to shut down simultaneously. The shutdown start- and end-times of the WGs are determined by considering the storm-arrival time and the shutdown duration time. The algorithm re-calculates the storm-arrival times and the shutdown start- and end-times of the WGs if the storm speed and/or direction change. The various test results demonstrate that the algorithm successfully shuts down the WPP without using a brake by meeting the required ramp rate even when the storm speed and direction change

Transition Support Mechanisms for Communities Facing Full or Partial Coal Power Plant Retirement in New York

New York State is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented energy transformation, particularly in the electricity sector. As new resources and technologies emerge to meet the demands of 21st century life, regulators must balance the need for cost effective and equitable participation in wholesale power markets while maintaining reliability on the grid. Furthermore, it is critical that all New Yorkers participate fully in the promise of a revitalized and equitable energy future. Such a transformation requires that the needs of all communities are factored into the polices and regulations that move New York toward the bold goals set forth under its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative. The precipitous drop in natural gas prices, the decreased costs of wind and solar energy, and the rise in the cost of coal, have contributed to the mothballing or retiring of coal-fired and nuclear energy generators across the country, including in New York. Communities that have been home to the electric generation units of the past, particularly struggling coal-fired power plants, are especially vulnerable during this transformation, because these communities often rely on the generators for tax revenues, such as through Payments in Lieu of Tax agreements. New York has the opportunity to ensure a just transition for these communities by adopting new, clean energy resources, technologies, and markets while fostering a trained and skilled workforce to support its ambitious goals. For all New Yorkers to enjoy the new energy future, leadership must address the impact of lost jobs, declining economic activity and lost tax revenue, and must support essential services in impacted communities with the same level of urgency and expansive vision needed to balance the integration of new technologies in the most cost effective manner to maintain grid reliability. At the same time, state and federal funding must be allocated to communities in transition for the remediation and redevelopment of shuttered power plant sites, and to provide the necessary support, training and tools for impacted communities to actively participate in the transition and implementation of clean energy resources. The first section of this report examines the lessons learned from other jurisdictions in when and how to address the fiscal challenges of retiring electric generation units (EGU’s). The challenges New York faces are not unlike the challenges faced by communities, legislators, and plant owners during periods of deindustrialization of the late 1960’s through 1980’s, described in Section One below, which additionally provides: 1. An evaluation of case studies that address the process of retirement, decommissioning, remediation and preparation for redevelopment for future use, along with the state and federal policies and funding sources that made revitalization possible. 2. An overview of case studies that illustrate local government fiscal and workforce support to communities during periods of plant transformation. These periods encompass three historical phases: a. Deindustrialization of the 1960’s to1980’s; b. Federally Mandated Social Programs to Support Enforcement of Federal Regulations 1990’s to 2000; and c. Coal Plant Closures and Community Transition in the Age of Carbon Emissions Reductions: Federal and State Initiatives between 2000 to 2015; and Section Two examines four New York coal-fired generators, some of which are currently mothballed, retired, or struggling financially. In addition to providing profiles of each generator, Section Two also describes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements that these generators have entered into with the towns, school boards, and counties in whose jurisdictions they are located. Due to the plants’ finances, several of the generators have made reduced PILOT payments in recent years, creating “budget gaps” for some of the communities. Finally, Section Three describes state and federal funding and support mechanisms that may be available to the New York communities described in Section Two. Because each community faces unique challenges and opportunities, this report does not attempt to provide specific recommendations for any of the communities. Rather, Section Three lists a number of support mechanisms that each community could consider in developing its own transition plan. New York State leadership can capitalize on the legislative legacy of prior eras and develop comprehensive approaches to reinvest in communities with obsolete industrial facilities that were once the primary source of jobs and economic activity, and revenue to local budgets

Multi-Layer Cyber-Physical Security and Resilience for Smart Grid

The smart grid is a large-scale complex system that integrates communication technologies with the physical layer operation of the energy systems. Security and resilience mechanisms by design are important to provide guarantee operations for the system. This chapter provides a layered perspective of the smart grid security and discusses game and decision theory as a tool to model the interactions among system components and the interaction between attackers and the system. We discuss game-theoretic applications and challenges in the design of cross-layer robust and resilient controller, secure network routing protocol at the data communication and networking layers, and the challenges of the information security at the management layer of the grid. The chapter will discuss the future directions of using game-theoretic tools in addressing multi-layer security issues in the smart grid.Comment: 16 page

The Effects of an Extended Power Plant Shutdown on the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Port Everglades, Florida

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) seek out warmer waters during winter months when ambient water temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius. Over time, manatees have discovered artificial warm water sites from power plant discharges in addition to natural sites such as springs and passive thermal refugia (PTRs). The Florida Power and Light (FPL) Port Everglades power plant in Broward County is one such artificial warm water refuge used by manatees. This plant was shutdown on July 16, 2013, and is expected to remain off line for at least three years during demolition and construction of a new facility. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in habitat usage and other responses to the disruption of a warm water refugia (the closure of a power plant) on Florida manatees within the greater Port Everglades region. From November 15, 2013 to March 31, 2014, manatees were counted at the site via shore line and aerial surveys. Environmental data were collected to determine variables correlated to manatee presence and absense. Two manatees were radio-tagged using remote sensing devices in an effort to identify alternative warm water refugia and feeding areas. Data were collected from state and local organizations and photo-identified manatees were used to analyze for trends in cold stress syndrome (CSS) lesions and watercraft scarring. Results confirmed that manatee presence was positively correlated with heater outlet temperature. Differences did not exist between the results of survey methods between the FPL Port Everglades (PE) and Fort Lauderdale (FL) power plant sites, however, differrences in the aerial survey counts showed an increased presence at the FL site during the colder month of January 2014. Data from tagging identified one manatee that preferred the FL site while another preferred PE, presumably due to more convenient access to feeding grounds in Biscayne Bay. Data from mortality events indicated a low number of CSS and watercraft deaths in Broward County as compared to other parts of the state of Florida. Further monitoring of the study area for the remainder of the shutdown period is recommended, as are improvements in survey design, expansion to include additional environmental data from FL, continued mortality statistic analysis and locating possible PTRs

Task 4 completion report for 40 Kilowatt grid connected modification contract

Startup, operation in grid connect mode, shutdown from grid connects, operation in isolated mode, shutdown from isolated mode, steady state operation, mode transfers, and voltage disconnects are addressed

Issues common to Australian critical infrastructure providers SCADA networks discovered through computer and network vulnerability analysis

This paper reports on generic issues discovered as a result of conducting computer and network vulnerability assessments (CNVA) on Australian critical infrastructure providers. Generic issues discovered included policy, governance, IT specific such as segregation, patching and updating. Physical security was also lacking in some cases. Another issue was that previous security audits had failed to identify any of these issues. Of major concern is that despite education and awareness programs, and a body of knowledge referring to these issues, they are still occurring. It may be necessary for the federal government to force organisations to undergo computer and network vulnerability assessment from recognised experts on a regular basis

Impacts of variable renewable energy on wholesale markets and generating assets in the United States: A review of expectations and evidence

We synthesize available literature, data, and analysis on the degree to which growth in variable renewable energy (VRE) has impacted or might in the future impact bulk power system assets, pricing, and costs in the United States. Most studies of future scenarios indicate that VRE reduces wholesale energy prices and capacity factors of thermal generators. Traditional baseload generators are more exposed to these changing market conditions than low-capital cost and more flexible intermediate and peak-load generators. From analysis of historical data we find that VRE is already influencing the bulk power market through changes in temporal and geographic patterns areas with higher levels of VRE. The most significant observed impacts have concentrated in areas with significant VRE and/or nuclear generation along with limited transmission, with negative pricing also often occurring during periods with lower system-wide load. So far, however, VRE, has had a relatively modest impact on historical average annual wholesale prices across entire market regions, at least in comparison to other drivers. The reduction of natural gas prices is the primary contributor to the decline in wholesale prices since 2008. Similarly, VRE impacts on thermal plant retirements have been limited and there is little relationship between the location of recent retirements and VRE penetration levels. Although impacts on wholesale prices have been modest so far, impacts of VRE on the electricity market will be more significant under higher VRE penetrations