POWER

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

Argentina’s Ministry of Federal Planning in early February signed an agreement with the National Energy Administration of China and China National Nuclear Co. (CNNC) to build Argentina’s fourth nuclear reactor, an 800-MW CANDU design, on the site of the existing Atucha nuclear power plant. Under the agreement, Nucleoeléctrica Argentina—holder of the rights to Canadian CANDU […]

Reliability of the bulk power system may not be as sexy as news of “got-rich-quick” energy traders and alleged insidious market manipulation. But for those on the ground balancing the practicalities of ensuring electricity arrives when and where it is needed with a carousal of mandatory regulations, it can be every bit as interesting. Cue […]

$1.9B Pan-African Renewable Energy Platform Launched. Renewables company Mainstream Renewable Power and private equity firm Actis on Feb. 17 launched a pan-African renewable energy platform dubbed Lekela Power, with ambitions to provide between 700 MW and 900 MW of wind and solar power across Africa by 2018. Mainstream will take responsibility for the full end-to-end […]

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 » […]

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 » […]

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 » […]

HOUSTON, TX, (March 5, 2015) – FORTUNE magazine has named PCL Construction to its “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the 10th consecutive year. PCL, a top general contractor in North America, ranked 67 on the list this year. PCL is one of two commercial construction firms on the list. “It is an […]

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 » […]

Unimar Now a certified atex assembler Unimar recEives ATEX cerificate for explosion proof CONTROLS Syracuse, NY: (December 2014) – Unimar Inc., a designer and manufacturer of custom control panels for hazardous environments, proudly announces the completion of the certification process to assemble explosion proof equipment meeting ATEX directives. This includes controls for hazardous duty applications, […]

Here are selected thought-provoking (and even unexpected) comments made by presenters at the 10th annual MIT Energy Conference on Feb. 27 and 28 in Cambridge, Mass. Comments are summarized and paraphrased unless presented in quotes. For more on the event, see “Exelon: The Utility of the Future Views Change as Enabling, Not Disruptive” and the […]

Integrating more variable generation and storage, but no new nuclear units, are among the characteristics Exelon sees in the utility of the future, as outlined by Chief Strategy Officer William A. Von Hoene Jr. at the MIT Energy Conference, held Feb. 27–28. He began his Saturday address by saying that innovation is “absolutely indispensible.” Old, […]

Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a method to manufacture nanoporous graphene for use in supercapacitors from atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Graphene is a form of carbon that is

With the final Clean Power Plan rule covering existing power plants scheduled for release this summer, and the amount of flexibility that has been afforded to the states to meet emissions targets, states have

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $2.5 million contract to Finnish environmental and industrial data firm Vaisala to coordinate a study of methods to improve wind energy forecasting in complex

Originally, the modern combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit was developed to act as a largely baseload source of generation due to its high thermal efficiency and low initial capital cost. But as markets