Letter: Smart meters hold great promise

“Smart meters are a necessary step if our electricity grid is going to accommodate distributed storage (residential batteries like the Tesla power wall). They also offer endless opportunities for apps and other data-driven efficiency strategies that we haven’t dreamed of yet. There’s also a reduction in fossil fuel use when meter readers don’t have to drive to homes anymore.”

Sparks fly: city struggles to locate, regulate new electrical substation­s

To meet growing power demand, Duke Energy says it will need to build three new electrical substations close to downtown over the next ten years. The city is rushing to put an ordinance establishing requirements for substation screening in place while residents are banding together to oppose substations in their neighborhoods.

Duke Energy changes power plans, drops new transmissi­on lines

Responding to a major public outcry against all of the routes proposed for the transmission lines, Duke has reconfigured its plans for upgrading the coal-fired power plan in Skyland. The revised plans eliminate the need for a Campobello, S.C. substation and a high-voltage transmission line connecting that plant with the Asheville facility.

Local conference highlights renewable energy economy

Of the 30 utility-scale solar projects built in the Southeast last year, 21 were in North Carolina. That’s the kind of good news business leaders heard when they gathered June 19 in Asheville to celebrate the successes and discuss the challenges facing the rapidly growing renewable energy industry. (pictured: Ivan Urlaub of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association; photo by Max Cooper)