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O&M
Commitment, Teamwork, and Perseverance Pay Off as Nuclear Unit Wins Plant of the Year
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 was the first new nuclear unit added to the U.S. fleet in more than 20 years. There were challenges along the way, but the colossal effort
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O&M
Mirfa IWPP Doubles Water, Triples Power Capacity
In the United Arab Emirates, demand for power and water are inextricably linked. One of its newer and larger plants, the Mirfa Independent Water and Power Plant—which has a power capacity of 1.6 GW and
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IIOT Power
NYPA’s iSOC: The Path to a Digital Utility
The New York Power Authority’s Integrated Smart Operations Center (iSOC) is the first step in the public power utility’s goal to become the first end-to-end digital electricity system. And it’s a big
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International
Trends and Obstacles in the Power Industry Workforce
Baby boomers are retiring, unemployment is low, skilled craft workers are in short supply, and human resources in the workforce are a growing issue for power industry management. “Demography is destiny.”
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Renewables
Floating Solar Panel Industry Makes a Splash
Floating solar panel technology has been gaining traction as a favorable and cost-effective alternative to land-based photovoltaic systems. Thriving on the cusp of a massive inclination toward renewable energy
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O&M
Innovative Narrowband Solution for SCADA Communications
Great River Energy rolled out an extensive 700-MHz point-to-multipoint communications project within its 56,000-square-mile service area. Using high-order modulation, combined with full-duplex
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Commentary
Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing: FERC’s Rulemaking and How Our Energy Markets Are Responding
Kenneth W. Irvin and Christopher Polito1 Sidley Austin LLP – Washington, D.C. What is “resilience,” and do we need it? As anyone who has not been on Mars knows, last year, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in our generation resource […]
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Commentary
Hurricane Season is Here; Is Your Grid Prepared?
When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, no one could predict the level of devastation those 155-mph sustained winds would deliver. In its wake, Maria plunged the entire island of Puerto Rico into darkness, and decimated its aging distribution, transmission and generation infrastructure. By all predictions, it was going to […]
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Renewables
Developments in Energy Storage Could Spell the End of the Duck Curve
The duck curve is named for its resemblance to a duck, with its peaks and valleys highlighting the effect solar production has on the power demanded from thermal generators and hydropower resources throughout
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Press Releases
Equipment Showcase: Boilers, Burners, Combustion
Boiler and burner manufacturers, along with those who supply combustion control systems, work with a variety of industries, providing power generation to commercial, industrial, and residential sites. A 2017
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Commentary
Why the EPA’s Proposed Coal Ash Rule Is Concerning
Over the past decade, together with my students and colleagues at Duke University and other academic institutions, I have conducted scientific research and published 13 scientific articles on different aspects
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Commentary
The Power Grid’s Great Transition
POWER has been reporting for many years on changes taking place in the power generation mix around the globe. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar generation, has been growing steadily in most parts of the
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Renewables
Hybrid Energy Storage System Gets First-of-Its-Kind Certification
Geothermal energy is a growth business. Several countries, such as Kenya and Indonesia, are rich in geothermal resources, and others such as Chile, Mexico, and the Philippines are looking to rapidly develop
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O&M
Using Artificial Intelligence to Develop Electricity Load Forecasts
Electricity is produced by a variety of generating units, each with different lead times and costs to be readied for service, and production costs once brought online. Because electricity is a commodity that
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Commentary
5 Key Takeaways from FERC’s Recent Energy Storage Order
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) recent Order 841, “Electric Storage Participation in Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations [RTOs] and Independent System Operators
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O&M
Common Goals and Team Mentality a Winning Combination
A lot of things factor into success at a coal-fired power plant, but leadership and teamwork certainly rank high on the list. Comanche Generating Station has parlayed those two attributes, among others, into a
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Legal & Regulatory
Power in Africa: Prospects for an Economic Foothold
To sustain unprecedented economic growth, lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, and attract investment, African countries are taking bold steps to expand electricity infrastructure. Are the continent’s
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Renewables
Power Plant Efficiency: A Key to Profitable Performance
Building power plants is only the first step to generating success. Running plants efficiently, and consistently improving efficiency as they run, is the path to putting profits on the bottom line. Building
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O&M
Building the Case for Power System Hardening
Purse-string holders are pretty easily swayed to approve funding to upgrade transmission and distribution systems following major events like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene. However, it is becoming
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Renewables
The Shift from Coal to Biomass Is on in Europe
Various schemes are underway in Europe as nations use existing coal-fired power plants to generate electricity without coal as the feedstock. With rising carbon prices, some big utilities are repowering with
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O&M
Improving Plant Efficiency with Pump Performance and Condition Monitoring
All the elements necessary to implement a complete and economical pump monitoring system are now available. It’s simply a matter of assembling the pieces. Within the walls of a thermal generating plant using
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IIOT Power
DOE Announces New Efforts in Energy Sector Cybersecurity
On May 14, 2018, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability released its Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity (“Plan”). The Plan is significantly guided by DOE’s 2006 Roadmap to Secure Control Systems in the Energy Sector and 2011 Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity. Taken together with DOE’s […]
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Commentary
Have a Seat: Welcoming Women to the Energy Sector
In addition to the record-breaking number of women running for office, we are also seeing an uptick in women getting involved within the energy sector—an industry long dominated by men. Although the energy sector still remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors, more and more women are creating green energy initiatives, founding renewable energy companies, […]
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O&M
How the Middle East Is Transforming Its Power and Water Industry
Global demand for power and water is accelerating—and the Middle East is no exception. A burgeoning population combined with multiple industrial diversification programs is fueling a boom in power and water projects. During the first three quarters of 2017, about $30 billion of major power contracts and $20 billion of water projects were awarded across […]
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IIOT Power
Immersive Visual Environments, Advanced Analytics Drive Operational Optimization
As data volume, variety, and velocity continue to accelerate, power plant operators increasingly encounter situations where 2-D desktop data visualization is insufficient to convey context for advanced
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O&M
Basics of Sound and Noise Propagation
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 22 million people—including nearly all power plant workers—are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year in the U.S. Hearing
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Coal
Equipment Showcase: Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems and Gas Analyzers
A continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) is required in the U.S. under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to continuously collect, record, and report emissions data. CEMS are used to
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Commentary
The Nuclear Waste Impasse Can Only Be Resolved by the Public
The more I review the Yucca Mountain political boondoggle, the more I am convinced the stalemate will have to be resolved through a grassroots public campaign. At the outset of the Yucca startup, the
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Nuclear
Could Advanced Reactor Technology Save the Nuclear Industry?
Constructing a new nuclear power plant is a massive undertaking. It involves years of planning and countless hurdles just to get the necessary regulatory approval to break ground. Once physical work begins
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Coal
German Giants Swap Assets and Reshape Energy Sector
Germany’s electricity sector faced a renewed, violent shakeup in March as two of its biggest utilities, E.ON and RWE, announced a complex asset exchange that experts said points to the death of the