Greentech Lead America: GE Energy Financial Services will
auction 225 MW of bi-directional electricity transfer capacity from its Linden
variable frequency transformer (VFT) smart grid project at the intersection of
the New York City and PJM power grids.
Through this auction GE will sell nine blocks of 25 MW of
transmission scheduling rights that will become available on November 1, 2012.
Bidders can procure up to nine available 25 MW blocks for
terms ranging from a minimum of one year, up to 10 years and seven months.
Bidders are allowed to make multiple offers for the desired number of blocks,
where each offer corresponds to different contract duration.
These blocks can be used by the project’s customers to
sell power capacity and energy sourced in the PJM Interconnection into the New
York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and its zone serving the New York
metropolitan area. Linden VFT customers also can route energy from NYISO to the
PJM Interconnection.
The project has a capacity to transfer 315 MW of power
between PJM and NYISO, through its connection to a cable running in bedrock 60
feet beneath the Arthur Kill waterway – originating at GE’s 900-megawatt Linden
cogeneration power plant – and connecting to Consolidated Edison’s Goethals
substation in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
The Linden VFT project has successfully demonstrated the
flexibility to flow power in both directions between NYISO and PJM. These
variable frequency transformers provide a precise control path between
electrical grids, permitting power exchanges previously impossible because of
technical constraints. They enable transmission system operators at PJM and
NYISO to control power flows with high reliability, speed and efficiency, while
offering flexibility in how utilities meet growing energy demand.
In January 2007 four power marketing and trading
companies won an initial auction for the Linden VFT’s electric transmission
capacity.
Recently,
GE Energy Financial Services and JP Morgan jointly invested $225 million in a
partnership that owns the 662.5-megawatt Capricorn Ridge wind farm in West
Texas.