POWER

ALLETE Inc., a Minnesota holding company known mostly for its Minnesota Power subsidiary, is making a major strategic transition into the broader world of energy services, exemplified by its recent purchase of U.S. Water Services. At the same time, Minnesota Power, which previously transitioned from hydro to coal, now is shifting to a portfolio of […]

Europe—and especially Germany—has been struggling with how best to integrate large amounts of renewable generation while maintaining grid stability. While considerable attention has been devoted to expanding national transmission systems, new links between those national grids are growing in importance. The biggest project so far took a step forward when, on March 19, the consortium […]

Given the costs and other concerns about currently available technologies for capturing and storing carbon dioxide from fossil-fueled power plants, interest in new technologies remains high. Here’s a look at some potentially promising approaches that are advancing the technology frontier.  Frontiers represent the boundary between the known and the unknown. As researchers attempt to push […]

With plans for a “permanent” solution for storing waste from nuclear power generating plants permanently stalled, some are hoping that an “interim” site can be developed that would enable the removal of spent nuclear fuel from plant sites. Today, Holtec International and two New Mexico counties announced a memorandum of agreement to build such a […]

POWER Looking for your next career move? View more than 500 jobs in POWER’s Job Center. Central Control Operator – Mystic 7Exelon Corporation – Charlestown, MA ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN-WASHINGTON D.C.M.C. Dean, Inc. – Washington, DC Senior Engineer (Technical Advisor)U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Rockville, MD Supervisor Electrical Maintenance – Clinton, ILComEd, an Exelon Company – […]

Supports growth in Power and Process markets BURLINGTON, Mass.– CIRCOR International, Inc., a leading provider of valves and other highly engineered products for markets including oil & gas, power generation and aerospace & defense, announced the acquisition of Schroedahl, a privately held company headquartered in Germany that develops and manufactures high-quality specialty valves for power stations […]

POWER Looking for your next career move? View more than 500 jobs in POWER’s Job Center. Central Control Operator – Mystic 7Exelon Corporation – Charlestown, Massachusetts ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN-WASHINGTON D.C.M.C. Dean, Inc. – Washington, Dist. Columbia Senior Engineer (Technical Advisor)U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Rockville, Maryland Supervisor Electrical Maintenance – Clinton, ILComEd, an Exelon Company […]

MAN Success in the Caribbean 184MW Power Plant inaugurated by the Cuban Vice President  The power plant in Moa, Cuba, one of the largest projects designed and commissioned by MAN Diesel & Turbo in the Caribbean region, was recently inaugurated by the Cuban Vice President, Comandante Ramiro Valdez. Located at about 600m from the sea […]

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas Savannah Machinery Works is 2015 Winner of the Georgia Manufacturer of the Year Award (Savannah, GA – April 14, 2015) The Savannah Machinery Works of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas (“MHPSA”), received recognition as the 2015 Georgia Manufacturer of the Year for medium-sized businesses today. Governor Nathan Deal presented this award […]

Verona, Pennsylvania / Heatherbrae, New South Wales (April 1, 2015) Conco Systems Pty. Ltd. in  Heatherbrae, NSW, Australia, will begin a comprehensive re-tubing of Stanwell Power Station, one of Queensland, Australia’s largest power plants, with a total generating capacity of 1,460 megawatts. After a formal evaluation of competitive bids, Stanwell Power Station awarded a contract […]

Careers in POWER Featured Article: How U.S. Power Generators Are Preparing for 2015 Generating companies have different challenges topping their lists for the coming year, depending on their service territory—from integrating renewables, to responding to several new federal regulations, to anticipating variable natural gas prices. All, however, are confident their companies have the… READ MORE » […]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Hanson Professional Services Inc. will showcase its commitment to the energy industry at the firm’s booth during the 17th annual ELECTRIC POWER conference and exhibition April 21–23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Hanson has worked on a large variety of projects for coal-fired power plants involving geotechnical, […]

Careers in POWER Featured Article: How U.S. Power Generators Are Preparing for 2015 Generating companies have different challenges topping their lists for the coming year, depending on their service territory—from integrating renewables, to responding to several new federal regulations, to anticipating variable natural gas prices. All, however, are confident their companies have the… READ MORE » […]

Renewable energy is on the rise, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is playing its part to support American renewable exporters in the global marketplace. Global installed capacity of renewable electricity over the last 10 years has increased by over 100%, to 1,560 GW, and now accounts for 23% of all […]

The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station led the U.S. in electrical generation in 2014, as it has done for 23 consecutive years, with a total output of 32.3 million MWh. That bested its previous record set in 2012. The Palo Verde plant is located about 45 miles west of Phoenix, Ariz. (Figure 5). It has […]

What turns a trend from trendy to established? In the energy industry it can be any number of things, from a technology breakthrough, to a new market, to forces of nature. The shale gas boom in the U.S. is the most well-known example of a technology trend that has changed the economics for all power […]

As this month marks the compliance date for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), it’s a good time to take a step back from the many months of concern and consideration of options to see how coal-fired power plants are actually responding to the new rule. It’s also a good time to acknowledge that […]

Transporting household and industrial waste as well as sewage sludge from a treatment plant to a power station can be a messy business. The utility company Linz AG found that a pipe conveyor system offered an optimal solution. The conveyor is not only highly energy efficient, but due to its closed design, it also allows […]

It’s been called “filling the duck pond,” and it’s the increasingly common challenge worldwide of balancing supply and demand when variable renewables are not feeding power to the grid. Gas-fired generation is often filling the pond, but the technology mix matters. The growing portfolio of renewable power generation around the world has made the selection […]

Studies and surveys have predicted a future shortage of skilled workers in the power industry for many years. Unfortunately, the future is here. When qualified workers are difficult to locate, some companies are finding that technology and service contracts allow them to do more with less. It’s no secret that the traditional power industry workforce […]

Wind turbine blades, gearboxes, and generators get most of the attention both within and beyond the power industry. The focus is often on increased capacity and blade lengths, as well as drive train premature failures. That’s natural, because those rotating blades are the most visible part of a wind project. However, successful operation of a […]

In order to comply with the Clean Air Act and subsequent regulations covering emissions, coal-fired utilities have installed multiple pollution control devices. Understanding key operating aspects of this equipment can help you avoid costly maintenance activities and forced shutdowns. Since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, the regulatory environment for control of […]

NextEra Energy consists of a traditional, vertically integrated electric utility with a heavy reliance on nuclear and natural gas—Florida Power & Light—and an aggressive foray into renewable energy outside of Florida—NextEra Energy Resources. Given its recent bid for Hawaii’s electric utility, which has a legacy of oil-fired generation and a state commission pushing renewables, NextEra […]

When the decision is made to retire a power plant, the work of getting there is just beginning. Maintaining safe and reliable generation requires strong leadership, clear communications, and heightened attention to operations and maintenance, staff morale, and post-shutdown plans.   For utilities and other generators facing the challenge of winding down operations at an […]

Estimates vary widely, but even the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that lowering the ozone standard will cost billions. How will it affect power companies? It could make approval of new projects much more difficult. Even in the annals of expensive environmental regulations and the hyperbole that often accompanies them, the numbers are eye-popping: $140 billion […]

Minimizing the impact of electrical fires in power plants requires a combination of prevention, compartmentalization, detection, and suppression strategies. But first, everyone in a plant needs to understand the hazard. Fires at electric generating stations are rare—but not as rare as one might think. Loss history at hydroelectric facilities, for example, shows that fires involving […]

Everyone loves efficiencies. Combining generation technologies can create a plant that’s more than the sum of its parts, but engineering challenges mean these projects are not for the faint of heart. When you think of “hybrids” these days, your first thought is probably of automobiles. But hybrids—hybrid power plants, that is—are starting to emerge in […]

In South Korea, the second unit at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s (KHNP’s) Shin-Wolsong reactor (Figure 3) was finally connected to the grid in late February. 3. Finally connected. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s Shin-Wolsong 2 was grid-connected in late February, nearly two years after it was completed. Courtesy: KHNP Though the reactor was completed […]

Stacking perovskites, a crystalline material, onto a conventional silicon solar cell may dramatically improve the overall efficiency of the cell, scientists from Stanford University concluded in a new study. “Right now, silicon solar cells dominate the world market, but the power conversion efficiency of silicon photovoltaics has been stuck at 25% for 15 years,” explained […]

Though offshore wind is becoming increasingly important in Europe, with many hundreds-of-megawatts projects in service, the sector has stagnated in the U.S., with no operational facilities—and some