Todd Hillman As hurricane season begins this year, utilities across the Gulf Coast will have a new partner as they work to keep the lights on after extreme weather events. Starting in late 2013, the

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) this April replaced its 44-year-old primary power control center with a state-of-the-art facility in Rensselaer County that is outfitted with digital monitoring

Forty years ago, musical genius Paul Simon outlined “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” In New Orleans in early April at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference, Mike Firstenberg of Waterfall Security Solutions laid out

With 4.4 million customers and nearly 46 GW of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has doubled the size of its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system in the past three years and

The share of non-hydro renewables in total U.S. power generation shot up to 6.5% in 2013 from 2.4% in 2003, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The past five years alone have been

Brazil’s Belo Monte hydropower project includes a complex of dams, numerous dikes, and a series of canals supplying two different power stations with water. With a rated capacity of 11,233 MW, it will be the

We all know someone who either is, or was, in the military. In fact, many utility industry professionals were once in the military themselves. Personnel learn many valuable lessons in the armed forces

After two years of work, about a dozen conferences and meetings, and multiple rounds of comments, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on Mar. 20 that it was ready to begin the process of

Climate change is changing the odds of extreme weather events, Entergy’s Rod West told the audience at the opening keynote session of ELECTRIC POWER 2014. West, who serves as Entergy’s executive vice

On May 16, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to release its long-delayed final 316(b) rule for existing facilities. The rule—which was supposed to have been issued Apr. 17 after

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standards Version 5 represents the first major change in requirements and approach since its predecessor, Urgent

Generators of electric power face a big effort to comply with the upcoming North American Electric Reliability Corp. Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) Version 5 (V5) cybersecurity standards

On August 14, 2003, large parts of the Northeast and Midwest of the U.S. and the Canadian province of Ontario experienced one of the largest blackouts in history: 61,000 MW of electric load were lost

With the growing need for operational flexibility across the power industry, the combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) fleet is increasingly being subjected to load-following and cyclic operation. This change in

There is no hotter market in power generation than gas. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. is projected to add just under 60 GW of new generating capacity between 2013 and 2017

For the first time ever, the U.S. has filed criminal charges against known state actors for hacking U.S. interests. A grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage, and other offenses directed at six American victims in the U.S. nuclear power, metals, and solar products […]

Gas, wind, and solar are it for any new generation in North America for the next five to 10 years (with a few one-offs), speakers at this year’s Platts Global Power Markets conference agreed. The annual event for those involved in power project development, financing, and litigation was held in Las Vegas Apr. 7 to […]

The Himalayan Mountains tower over some of the most rugged terrain and harshest climate conditions on the planet. Melting snows from Mount Everest, K2, and hundreds of other snow-capped peaks carve out more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to propose first-of-a-kind greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits for existing power plants by June 2014. The EPA will do so under a rarely used

Marilu Hastings With all the recent scientific studies, media coverage, and policy decisions about reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, one might think that the emissions issue is the only challenge that

There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about “disruption” to the long-established status quo in the electric utility and power generation sector. But I would argue that both terms in this

The inherently unpredictable and variable nature of wind power can present significant integration challenges when increasing the penetration of wind turbines within already highly stressed medium-voltage (MV)

It’s no secret that equipment requires maintenance. Just as your personal vehicle needs an oil change periodically, a power plant needs to shut down regularly for a tune-up to take care of all those little

The downward trend in solid fuel quality has negatively affected many power generators that rely on imported fuels. For others, this represents a market opportunity. A quick survey of recent installations found that fuel-flexible circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers addressed owners’ fuel source concerns by efficiently burning low-quality, high-moisture coals, even when mixed with biomass and […]

Energy-starved India has been diversifying increasingly into renewable energy (RE), becoming in the process one of the world’s most vibrant markets for this sector. This bodes well for a country that has

Several years ago, Jean and Bob Galey of Catoctin Creek Farm in rural western Maryland installed solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the south-facing roof of one of their outbuildings. Since then, they’ve

After years of dithering on energy policy, the UK government has nearly finalized its plans for electricity market reform. Guaranteed prices for low-carbon power, plus a carbon floor price to discourage the

After operating on the sidelines for years, the energy storage sector is finally poised to begin making its mark, driven by greater policy support and technological advances that have begun making new solutions economic. “Just-in-time” delivery has become an ideal for many industries looking to optimize their efficiency and responsiveness. For the power sector, though, […]

India and Russia on Apr. 1 said they had devised a significant deal that will allow the first import of nuclear reactors in India, despite India’s 2010-passed nuclear liability law that allows nuclear power

After a lull that spanned nearly two decades, a hoard of new massive hydropower projects are being developed around the world. Some, like the 11.2-GW Belo Monte dam in Brazil, the 4.5-GW Diamer-Bhasha project