Author Archives: Aaron Larson

The POWER Podcast

07/18/2019 | POWER

The POWER Podcast Archive: Reversing Climate Change with Nuclear Power Interview with Bret Kugelmass, managing director of the Energy Impact Center. https://www.powermag.com/reversing-climate-change-with-nuclear-power-podcast/ Lithium-Ion Batteries: Costs Down, Benefits Up Interview with Tony Cooper, general manager of Green Cubes Technology’s Motive division. https://www.powermag.com/lithium-ion-batteries-costs-down-benefits-up-podcast/ How to Monitor and Predict Operational Performance with Digital Analytics Interview with Thomas Dhollander, CTO and co-founder […]

Reversing Climate Change with Nuclear Power [PODCAST]

07/18/2019 | Aaron Larson

According to the Energy Impact Center, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute focused on deep decarbonization, CO2 emissions “must go net-negative by 2040, globally across all energy sectors” to begin countering climate change. The only way it sees to accomplish this is to “produce energy inexpensive enough to make carbon negative fuels that compete with fossil […]

Lithium-Ion Batteries: Costs Down, Benefits Up [PODCAST]

07/03/2019 | Aaron Larson

The price of lithium-ion batteries has plummeted over the past decade. Battery pack prices averaged $1,160 per kWh in 2010, according to BloombergNEF, but they dropped to $176 per kWh last year, and experts suggest they could be less than $100 by 2024. Tony Cooper, general manager of Green Cubes Technology’s Motive division, was a […]

How to Position Your Power Company for the Future

07/01/2019 | Casey Herman

Faced with the challenge of making the right moves to accommodate a swiftly changing energy ecosystem, one question draws into sharp focus for generators and the entire power and utilities industry: What will their role become in the years ahead, considering evolving portfolio mixes and changing industry dynamics? Leaders know there’s a very real possibility […]

A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power)

07/01/2019 | Jim Romeo

The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an advantageous complement; the two benefit each other. The synergistic combination is an emerging trend in renewable energy and power generation as costs drop. The pairing […]

Long-Delayed EPR Nuclear Plants Face Further Holdups

06/27/2019 | Aaron Larson

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), owner of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor) nuclear unit that is under construction in Finland, has said fuel will not be loaded in the reactor before the end of August, while it awaits completion of a schedule review being conducted by the construction consortium. Meanwhile, EDF, which is […]

How to Monitor and Predict Operational Performance with Digital Analytics [PODCAST]

06/26/2019 | Aaron Larson

Power plants are capturing operational data in ever-increasing amounts. However, analyzing all the data can be challenging. A number of tools are available that can help. In this episode of The POWER Podcast, two experts from one technology provider explain how big data can be analyzed to identify trends and create actionable information to solve […]

Energy Infrastructure on Tenuous Winning Streak in the Courts

06/20/2019 | Jeff Wood and Chris Carr

Federal courts have been pretty kind to energy infrastructure in recent weeks, particularly in cases involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For starters, this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit removed one of the hurdles to construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The court decided that a new presidential permit—issued […]

New Record for Solar PV Installations

06/20/2019 | Aaron Larson

More than 2 million new solar PV installations were installed in the U.S. in the first three months of 2019—a new record for the first quarter of the year—according to the Wood Mackenzie/Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) U.S. Solar Market Insight report, which was released this week. Utilities led the way, installing 1.6 GWdc of […]

Power Plant Emissions Down Substantially in U.S. Since 1990

06/19/2019 | Aaron Larson

Power plant SO2 and NOx emissions have decreased 92% and 84%, respectively, since Congress passed major amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990. Meanwhile, mercury air emissions from power plants have decreased 90% since 2000, as federal limits on mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants went into effect in 2015. […]