GOOD NEWS: Clemson to host world energy conference her Nov. 12-14

Staff reports  |   Clemson University will host the world energy conference for the first time in the United States in November in North Charleston.

The IEEE Electronic Power Grid (eGRID) Conference , which will take place Nov. 12-14,  will unite several of the globe’s leading energy experts from government, industry and academia so they can share ideas, problems and solutions to the planet’s energy challenges.

“For years, there have basically been two silos in the energy world: those focusing on power systems and those focusing on power electronics, but there is so much that can be learned from each other,” said Johan Enslin, Duke Energy Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technology and executive director of the energy systems program at the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI) in North Charleston. “This conference brings them together so that they can share some of the great information and ideas they have so they can all work together to come up with even better energy solutions.”

The event will consist of several keynote speakers, executive sessions, industry panel sessions and technical electronic poster displays.

The Clemson University Restoration Institute’s 82,000-square-foot, $98-million SCE&G Energy Innovation Center is under contract to test and verify the world’s largest wind turbine, the MHI Vestas V164 9.5 megawatt turbine, in one of its two test beds. Also at CURI, the Duke Energy eGRID, a 15-megawatt hardware-in-the-loop grid simulator that supports education and research to speed new electrical technologies to market, is supporting projects in conjunction with the Department of Energy as well as the private sector.

In other Good News:

Campbell, Bennett chair committees.  State Sens. Paul Campbell, R-Charleston, and Sean Bennett, R-Dorchester, are new chairs of Senate committees.  Following the resignation of Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, in a corruption scandal, a political game of musical chairs led to Campbell, who was chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, to take the top spot on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  Bennett took over for Campbell at Ethics.  More.

Nuclear regulation.  Our sister journal, Statehouse Report, reported Friday that a leak of nuclear material at a Columbia-area uranium fuel plant has prompted lawmakers and neighbors to ask why they weren’t notified as fears of groundwater contamination are renewed. State and federal regulators say uranium that leaked through  the plant floor poses no public threat, and the plant’s owner, Westinghouse Electric, has renewed a pledge to keep the community informed.  State, federal and company officials say the plant is operating within guidelines. But, as reported by Lindsay Street,  some state lawmakers are looking into the possibility of more state regulation and are questioning the plant’s leak history and shaky communications.  More.