Kansas firm to test LaPorte County wind

Toronto Grid Upgrade expands electricity capacity and reliability with new substations, upgraded transmission lines, and integrated renewable energy, supporting EV growth, sustainability goals, and resilient power for Toronto's growing residential and commercial sectors.

Key Points

A joint plan to boost grid capacity, add renewables, and improve reliability for Toronto's rising power demand.

✅ New substations and upgraded transmission lines increase capacity

✅ Integrates solar, wind, and storage for cleaner, reliable power

✅ Supports EV adoption, reduces outages, and future-proofs the grid

As Toronto's population and economy continue to expand, the surge in electricity demand in the city is also increasing rapidly. In response, the Ontario government, in partnership with the City of Toronto and various stakeholders, has launched an initiative to enhance the electricity infrastructure to meet future needs.

The Ontario Ministry of Energy and the City of Toronto are focusing on a multi-faceted approach that includes upgrades to existing power systems and the integration of renewable energy sources, as well as updated IoT cybersecurity standards for sector devices. This initiative is critical as Toronto looks towards a sustainable future, with projections indicating significant growth in both residential and commercial sectors.

Energy Minister Todd Smith highlighted the urgency of this project, stating, “With Toronto's growing population and dynamic economy, the need for reliable electricity cannot be overstated. We are committed to ensuring that our power systems are not only capable of meeting today's demands but are also future-proofed against the needs of tomorrow.”

The plan involves substantial investments in grid infrastructure to increase capacity and improve reliability. This includes the construction of new substations and the enhancement of old ones, along with the upgrading of transmission lines and exploration of macrogrids to strengthen reliability. These improvements are designed to reduce the frequency and severity of power outages while accommodating new developments and technologies such as electric vehicles, which are expected to place additional demands on the system.

Additionally, the Ontario government is exploring the potential for renewable energy sources, such as rooftop solar grids and wind, to be integrated into the city’s power grid. This shift towards green energy is part of a broader effort to reduce carbon emissions and promote environmental sustainability.

Toronto Mayor John Tory emphasized the collaborative nature of this initiative, stating, “This is a prime example of how collaboration between different levels of government and the private sector can lead to innovative solutions that benefit everyone. By enhancing our electricity infrastructure, we are not only improving the quality of life for our residents but also supporting Toronto's competitive edge as a global city.”

The project also includes a public engagement component, where citizens are encouraged to provide input on the planning and implementation phases. This participatory approach ensures that the solutions developed are in alignment with the needs and expectations of Toronto's diverse communities.

Experts agree that the timing of these upgrades is critical. As urban populations grow, the strain on infrastructure, especially in a powerhouse like Toronto, can lead to significant challenges. Proactive measures, such as those being implemented by Ontario and Toronto, and mirrored by British Columbia's clean energy shift underway on the west coast, are essential in avoiding potential crises and ensuring economic stability.

The success of this initiative could serve as a model for other cities facing similar challenges, highlighting the importance of forward-thinking and cooperation in urban planning and energy management. As Toronto moves forward with these ambitious plans, the eyes of the world, particularly other urban centers, will be watching and learning how to similarly tackle the dual challenges of growth and sustainability, with recent examples like London's newest electricity tunnel demonstrating large-scale grid upgrades.

This strategic approach to managing Toronto's electricity needs reflects a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in urban energy systems and a commitment to ensuring a resilient and sustainable future that aligns with Canada's net-zero grid by 2050 goals at the national level for all residents.

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Transcranial electrical stimulation synchronizes brain waves to bolster working memory, aligning neural oscillations across the prefrontal and temporal cortex. This noninvasive brain stimulation may counter cognitive aging by restoring network coupling and improving short-term recall.

Key Points

Transcranial electrical stimulation applies scalp currents to synchronize brain waves, briefly enhancing working memory.

✅ Synchronizes prefrontal-temporal networks to restore coupling

✅ Noninvasive tES/tACS protocols show rapid, reversible gains

✅ Effects lasted under an hour; durability remains to be tested

To read this sentence, you hold the words in your mind for a few seconds until you reach the period. As you do, neurons in your brain fire in coordinated bursts, generating electrical waves that let you hold information for as long as it is needed, much as novel devices can generate electricity from falling snow under specific conditions. But as we age, these brain waves start to get out of sync, causing short-term memory to falter. A new study finds that jolting specific brain areas with a periodic burst of electricity might reverse the deficit—temporarily, at least.

The work makes “a strong case” for the idea that out-of-sync brain waves in specific regions can drive cognitive aging, says Vincent Clark, a neuroscientist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, who was not involved in the research. He adds that the brain stimulation approach in the study may result in a new electrical therapy for age-related deficits in working memory.

Working memory is “the sketchpad of the mind,” allowing us to hold information in our minds over a period of seconds. This short-term memory is critical to accomplishing everyday tasks such as planning and counting, says Robert Reinhart, a neuroscientist at Boston University who led the study. Scientists think that when we use this type of memory, millions of neurons in different brain areas communicate through coupled bursts of activity, a form of electrical conduction that coordinates timing across networks. “Cells that fire together, wire together,” Reinhart says.

But despite its critical role, working memory is a fragile cognitive resource that declines with age, Reinhart says. Previous studies had suggested that reduced working-memory performance in the elderly is linked to uncoupled activity in different brain areas. So Reinhart and his team set out to test whether recoupling brain waves in older adults could boost the brain’s ability to temporarily store information, a systems-level coordination challenge akin to efforts to use AI for energy savings on modern power grids.

To do so, the researchers used jolts of weak electrical current to synchronize waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex—two brain areas critical for cognition, a targeted approach not unlike how grids use batteries to stabilize power during strain—and applied the current to the scalps of 42 healthy people in their 60s and 70s who showed no signs of decline in mental ability. Before their brains were zapped, participants looked at a series of images: an everyday object, followed briefly by a blank screen, and then either an identical or a modified version of the same object. The goal was to spot whether the two images were different.

Then the participants took the test again, while their brains were stimulated with a current. After about 25 minutes of applying electricity, participants were on average more accurate at identifying changes in the images than they were before the stimulation. Following stimulation, their performance in the test was indistinguishable from that of a group of 42 people in their 20s. And the waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex, which had previously been out of sync in most of the participants, started to fire in sync, the researchers report today in Nature Neuroscience, a synchronization imperative reminiscent of safeguards that prevent power blackouts on threatened grids. No such effects occurred in a second group of older people who received jolts of current that didn’t synchronize waves in the prefrontal and temporal cortex.

By using bursts of current to knock brain waves out of sync, the researchers also modulated the brain chatter in healthy people in their 20s, making them slower and less accurate at spotting differences in the image test.

“This is a very nice and clear demonstration of how functional connections underlie memory in younger adults and how alterations … can lead to memory reductions in older adults,” says Cheryl Grady, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto, Canada. It’s also the first time that transcranial stimulation has been shown to restore working memory in older people, says Michael O’Sullivan, a neuroscientist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, though electricity in medicine extends far beyond neurostimulation.

But whether brain zapping could turbocharge the cognitive abilities of seniors or help improve the memories of people with diseases like Alzheimer’s is still unclear: In the study, the positive effects on working memory lasted for just under an hour—though Reinhart says that’s as far as they recorded in the experiment. The team didn’t see the improvements decline toward the end, so he suspects that the cognitive boost may last for longer. Still, researchers say much more work has to be done to better understand how the stimulation works.

Clark is optimistic. “No pill yet developed can produce these sorts of effects safely and reliably,” he says. “Helping people is the ultimate goal of all of our research, and it’s encouraging to see that progress is being made.”

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Wind Turbine Cancer Claim debunked: Iowa Republican senators back wind energy as fact-checks and DOE research find no link between turbine noise and cancer, limited effects on property values, and manageable wildlife impacts.

Key Points

Claims that turbine noise causes cancer, dismissed by studies and officials as unsupported by evidence.

✅ Grassley and Ernst call the claim idiotic and ridiculous

✅ DOE studies find no cancer link; property impacts limited

✅ Wildlife impacts mitigated; climate change poses larger risks

President Donald Trump may not be a fan of wind turbines, as shown by his pledge to scrap offshore wind projects earlier, suggesting that the noise they produce may cause cancer, but Iowa's Republican senators are big fans of wind energy.

Sen. Chuck Grassley called Trump's cancer claim "idiotic." On Thursday, Sen. Joni Ernst called the statement "ridiculous."

"I would say it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous," Ernst said, according to WHO-TV.

She likened the claim that wind turbine noise causes cancer to the idea that church bells do the same.

"I have church bells that ring all the time across from my office here in D.C. and I know that noise doesn't give me cancer, otherwise I'd have 'church bell cancer,'" Ernst said, adding that she is "thrilled" to have wind energy generation in Iowa, which aligns with a quarter-million wind jobs forecast nationwide. "I don't know what the president is drawing from."

Trump has a history of degrading wind energy and wind turbines that dates back long before his Tuesday claim that turbines harm property values and cause cancer, and often overlooks Texas grid constraints that can force turbines offline at times.

Not only are wind farms disgusting looking, but even worse they are bad for people's health.

"Not only are wind farms disgusting looking, but even worse, they are bad for people's health," Trump tweeted back in 2012.

Repeated fact-checks have found no scientific evidence to support the claim that wind turbines and the noise they make can cause cancer. The White House has reportedly provided no evidence to support Trump's cancer claim when asked this week

"It just seems like every time you turn around there's another thing the president is saying -- wind power causes cancer, I associate myself with the remarks of Chairman Grassley -- it's an 'idiotic' statement," Pelosi said in her weekly news conference on Thursday.

The president made his latest claim about wind turbines in a speech on Tuesday at a Republican spring dinner, as the industry continued recovering from the COVID-19 crisis that hit solar and wind energy.

"If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value -- and they say the noise causes cancer," Trump said Tuesday, swinging his arm in a circle and making a cranking sound to imitate the noise of windmill blades. "And of course it's like a graveyard for birds. If you love birds, you never want to walk under a windmill. It’s a sad, sad sight."

Wind turbines are not, in fact, proven to have widespread negative impacts on property values, according to the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information in the largest study done so far in the U.S., even as some warn that a solar ITC extension could be devastating for the wind market, and there is no peer-reviewed data to back up the claim that the noise causes cancer.

I am considered a world-class expert in tourism. When you say, 'Where is the expert and where is the evidence?' I say: I am the evidence.

It's true wildlife is affected by wind turbines -- particularly birds and bats, with research showing whooping cranes avoid turbines when selecting stopover sites. One study estimated between 140,000 and 328,000 birds are killed annually by collisions with turbines across the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated, however, that other human-related impacts also contribute to declines in population.

The wind industry works with biologists to find solutions to the impact of turbines on wildlife, and the Department of Energy awards grants each year to researchers addressing the issue, even as the sector faced pandemic investment risks in 2020. But, overall, scientists warn that climate change itself is a bigger threat to bird populations than wind turbines, according to the National Audobon Society.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "It just seems like every time you turn around, there's another thing. The president is saying wind power causes cancer. I associate myself with the remarks of Chairman Grassley; It's an 'idiotic' statement"

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Philippines Clean Energy Commitment underscores APEC-aligned renewables, energy transition, and climate resilience, backed by policy incentives, streamlined regulation, technology transfer, and public-private investments to boost energy security, jobs, and sustainable growth.

Key Points

It is the nation's pledge to scale renewables and build climate resilience through APEC-aligned energy policy.

✅ Policy incentives, PPPs, and streamlined permits

✅ Grid upgrades, storage, and smart infrastructure

✅ Regional cooperation on tech transfer and capacity building

At the recent Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, the Philippines reiterated its dedication to advancing clean energy initiatives as part of its sustainable development agenda. This reaffirmation underscores the country's commitment to mitigating climate change impacts, promoting energy security, and fostering economic resilience through renewable energy solutions, with insights from an IRENA study on the power crisis informing policy direction.

Strategic Goals and Initiatives

During the summit, Philippine representatives highlighted strategic goals aimed at enhancing clean energy adoption and sustainability practices. These include expanding renewable energy infrastructure, accelerating energy transition efforts toward 100% renewables targets, and integrating climate resilience into national development plans.

Policy Framework and Regulatory Support

The Philippines has implemented a robust policy framework to support clean energy investments and initiatives. This includes incentives for renewable energy projects, streamlined regulatory processes, and partnerships with international stakeholders, such as ADFD-IRENA funding initiatives, to leverage expertise and resources in advancing sustainable energy solutions.

Role in Regional Cooperation

As an active participant in regional economic cooperation, the Philippines collaborates with APEC member economies to promote knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and capacity building in renewable energy development, as over 30% of global electricity is now generated from renewables, reinforcing the momentum. These partnerships facilitate collective efforts to address energy challenges and achieve mutual sustainability goals.

Economic and Environmental Benefits

Investing in clean energy not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also stimulates economic growth and creates job opportunities in the renewable energy sector. The Philippines recognizes the dual benefits of transitioning to cleaner energy sources, with projects like the Aboitiz geothermal financing award illustrating private-sector momentum, contributing to long-term economic stability and environmental stewardship.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite progress, the Philippines faces challenges such as energy access disparities, infrastructure limitations, and financing constraints in scaling up clean energy projects, amid regional signals like India's solar slowdown and coal resurgence that underscore transition risks. Addressing these challenges requires innovative financing mechanisms, public-private partnerships, and community engagement to ensure inclusive and sustainable development.

Future Outlook

Moving forward, the Philippines aims to accelerate clean energy deployment through strategic investments, technology innovation, and policy coherence, aligning with the U.S. clean energy market trajectory toward majority share to capture emerging opportunities. Embracing renewable energy as a cornerstone of its economic strategy positions the country to attract investments, enhance energy security, and achieve resilience against global energy market fluctuations.

Conclusion

The Philippines' reaffirmation of its commitment to clean energy at the APEC Summit underscores its leadership in promoting sustainable development and addressing climate change challenges. By prioritizing renewable energy investments and fostering regional cooperation, the Philippines aims to build a resilient energy infrastructure that supports economic growth and environmental sustainability. As the country continues to navigate its energy transition journey, collaboration and innovation will be key in realizing a clean energy future that benefits present and future generations.

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Utility Pandemic Preparedness strengthens grid resilience through continuity planning, critical infrastructure protection, DOE-DHS coordination, onsite sequestration, skeleton crews, and deferred maintenance to ensure reliable electric and gas service for commercial and industrial customers.

Key Points

Plans that sustain grid operations during outbreaks using staffing limits, access controls, and deferred maintenance.

✅ Deferred maintenance and restricted site access

✅ Onsite sequestering and skeleton crew operations

✅ DOE-DHS coordination and control center staffing

Commercial and industrial businesses can rest assured that the current pandemic poses no real threat to our utilities, with the U.S. grid remaining reliable for now, as disaster planning has been key to electric and gas utilities in recent years, writes Forbes. Beginning a decade ago, the utility and energy industries evolved detailed pandemic plans, outlining what to know about the U.S. grid during outbreaks, which include putting off maintenance and routine activities until the worst of the pandemic has passed, restricting site access to essential personnel, and being able to run on a skeleton crew as more and more people become ill, a capability underscored by FPL's massive Irma response when crews faced prolonged outages.

One possible outcome of the current situation is that the US electric industry may require essential staff to live onsite at power plants and control centers, similar to Ontario work-site lockdown plans under consideration, if the outbreak worsens; bedding, food and other supplies are being stockpiled, reflecting local response preparations many utilities practice, Reuters reported. The Great River Energy cooperative, for example, has had a plan to sequester essential staff in place since the H1N1 bird flu crisis in 2009. The cooperative, which runs 10 power plants in Minnesota, says its disaster planning ensured it has enough cots, blankets and other necessities on site to keep staff healthy.

Electricity providers are now taking part in twice-weekly phone calls with officials at the DOE, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies, as Ontario demand shifts are monitored, according to the Los Angeles Times. By planning for a variety of worst case scenarios, including weeks-long restorations after major storms, “I have confidence that the sector will be prepared to respond no matter how this evolves,” says Scott Aaronson, VP of security and preparedness for the Edison Electric Institute.

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Advanced Nuclear Reactors drive U.S. clean energy with small modular reactors, a new test facility at Idaho National Laboratory, and public-private partnerships accelerating nuclear innovation, safety, and cost reductions through DOE-backed programs and university simulators.

Key Points

Advanced nuclear reactors are next-gen designs, including SMRs, offering safer, cheaper, low-carbon power.

✅ DOE test facility at Idaho National Laboratory

✅ Small modular reactors with passive safety systems

✅ University simulators train next-gen nuclear operators

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is advancing plans to shift the United States towards next-gen nuclear power reactors.

The Energy Department announced this week it has launched a new test facility at the Idaho National Laboratory where private companies can work on advanced nuclear technologies, as the first new U.S. reactor in nearly seven years starts up, to avoid the high costs and waste and safety concerns facing traditional nuclear power plants.

“[The National Reactor Innovation Center] will enable the demonstration and deployment of advanced reactors that will define the future of nuclear energy,” Perry said.

With climate change concerns growing and net-zero emissions targets emerging, some Republicans and Democrats are arguing for the need for more nuclear reactors to feed the nation’s electricity demand. But despite nuclear plants’ absence of carbon emissions, the high cost of construction, questions around what to do with the spent nuclear rods and the possibility of meltdown have stymied efforts.

A new generation of firms, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ Terra Power venture, are working on developing smaller, less expensive reactors that do not carry a risk of meltdown.

“The U.S. is on the verge of commercializing groundbreaking nuclear innovation, and we must keep advancing the public-private partnerships needed to traverse the dreaded valley of death that all too often stifles progress,” said Rich Powell, executive director of ClearPath, a non-profit advocating for clean energy and green industrial strategies worldwide.

The new Idaho facility is budgeted at $5 million under next year’s federal budget, even as the cost of U.S. nuclear generation has fallen to a ten-year low, which remains under negotiation in Congress.

On Thursday another advanced nuclear developer working on small modular systems, Oregon-based NuScale Power, announced it was building three virtual nuclear control rooms at Texas A&M University, Oregon State University and the University of Idaho, with funding from the Energy Department.

The simulators will be open to researchers and students, to train on the operation of smaller, modular reactors, as well as the general public.

NuScale CEO John Hopkins said the simulators would “help ensure that we educate future generations about the important role nuclear power and small modular reactor technology will play in attaining a safe, clean and secure energy future for our country.”

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