System helps prevent power grid failures - In the age of electricity deregulation, information has become equivalent to power. Providers who know of potential outage conditions often can take action to ensure "the lights stay on" if they have the right information. A system developed using technology from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Bonneville Power Administration soon will provide this key information to California power providers that are challenged by increased loads and decreased supply.
The system, called WAMS for Wide Area Measurement System, continuously monitors grid performance across the Western power system. It provides operators with high- quality data and analysis tools to detect impending grid emergencies or to mitigate grid outages.
WAMS data access and toolsets are being provided to California's Independent System Operator, which manages wholesale power delivery in that state. Funding is being provided by the California Energy Commission and DOE through the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technologies. PNNL is a consortium member. WAMS' initial development was supported by DOE and the Electric Power Research Institute.
DOE named WAMS one of the top 100 innovations since that agency was created in 1977.
Biotechnology strikes out chlorinated solvents - A Pacific Northwest National Laboratory cleanup technology that's attacking chromate seeping into groundwater at the the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Washington state now stands ready to serve the military and commercial companies with another troubling environmental concern: halting the seepage of chlorinated solvents.
In-Situ Redox Manipulation, or ISRM, uses standard groundwater monitoring wells to inject chemical reagents and buffers into the subsurface, creating a barrier that organic contaminants, such as trichloroethylene, move through then are destroyed in the process. Laboratory and field tests conducted a
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Contact: Greg Koller
greg.koller@pnl.gov
509-372-4864
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
10-Jan-2001