Aaron Larson
Articles By

Aaron Larson

  • Eight of 15 Ukrainian Reactors Remain in Operation After Three Weeks of War

    Ukraine’s nuclear regulator informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on March 16 that eight of the country’s 15 nuclear reactors were in operation despite the ongoing Russian invasion. Of the four sites with operational units, two of six at Zaporizhzhya, three of four at Rivne, one of two at Khmelnytskyy, and two of three […]

  • DOE Funds New Program to Recycle Used Nuclear Fuel, GE Conducting Innovative Related Research

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced this week that it would provide up to $48 million for a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program that could substantially reduce the disposal impact of used nuclear fuel (UNF). The program, dubbed CURIE (Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy), is intended to support “a comprehensive national strategy […]

  • Best of POWER—March 14, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 14, 2022 Pressure on U.S. Nuclear Power Could Mount if Sanctions Imposed on Russian Uranium Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions may have a limited immediate impact on the U.S. nuclear industry, despite its reliance on uranium imports. Potential implications […]

  • Women Are an Important Piece of UAE Nuclear Power Program

    Tuesday, March 8, was International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The idea of an International Women’s Day (IWD) was first proposed in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, during a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The […]

  • Ukraine’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant Taken by Russian Forces

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on March 4 that Russian forces had taken control of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) site, but that the reactors continued to be operated by the plant’s regular staff and there had been no release of radioactive material. “What we are telling you is confirmed information that […]

  • Conflict in Ukraine Threatens Nuclear Power Plants and Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities; Operations Continue

    In its most recent update on the status of Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPPs), issued to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on March 2, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) said it maintained communications with the country’s NPPs and that all units “continued to operate as before.” Of Ukraine’s 15 reactors, more […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—March 2, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 2, 2022 SCOTUS Hears Arguments on EPA’s Purview Over Power Plant GHG Emissions The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on a landmark case that could determine whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to broadly interpret the Clean […]

  • Power Industry People: Finding Top Talent in the Military

    Last month, POWER published an article written by Senior Associate Editor Darrell Proctor that detailed the challenges power companies have been facing when trying to attract high-quality recruits in the increasingly competitive labor market for engineers and other workers with technical backgrounds (see “Groups Grapple with Labor Logistics as Energy Evolves” in the February 2022 […]

  • 2022 CTOTF Innovation Excellence Award Winners Announced

    The Combustion Turbine Operations Technical Forum (CTOTF), in association with POWER, is excited to announce the recipients of its annual Innovation Excellence Awards. Winners were selected through a judging process performed by an independent panel of recognized utility industry experts. Selections were made in five categories: maintenance, environmental stewardship, safety process, operational, and management and […]

  • Best of POWER—February 28, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 28, 2022 Ethiopia Produces First Power at GERD Mega-Dam Ethiopia began delivering power from a 375-MW turbine at its flagship 5.15-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Feb. 20, marking a significant milestone for the project that could become… Solar Developer […]

  • Decarbonizing the World: Hydrogen Technology Is the Next Big Thing

    Many experts believe hydrogen holds great promise as a clean energy resource that can help nations achieve carbon-free goals. Green hydrogen, which is made from water through electrolysis powered by renewable energy, could be used to decarbonize a wide range of hard-to-abate industries, including petrochemical, cement, and steel, which often require high temperatures and combustion […]

  • GE-Led Carbon Capture Project at Southern Company Site Gets DOE Funding

    A GE Gas Power front-end engineering design (FEED) study will receive $5,771,670 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management following successful completion of the award negotiation phase. The funding is focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for power generation applications with a goal […]

  • Best of POWER—February 14, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 14, 2022 China Starts Up First Fourth-Generation Nuclear Reactor The first of two units at China’s much-watched high-temperature gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project was successfully connected to the grid on Dec. 20. The achievement marks a major TVA Unveils […]

  • Fusion Energy Breakthrough: Record Performance Achieved at JET

    Scientists and engineers working at the Joint European Torus (JET) have set a new record for sustained fusion energy. The team on Feb. 9 reported producing 59 megajoules of fusion energy, more than doubling the previous record of 21.7 megajoules set in 1997 at JET. The achievement was touted as “a major step forward on […]

  • Former FERC Commissioner Says ‘Market Design Problem’ Was a Leading Cause of February 2021 Texas Power Crisis

    In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused numerous power outages, derates, or failures to start at electric generating plants scattered across Texas and the south-central U.S. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the power supply for about 90% of the load in Texas, ordered a […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—February 2, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 2, 2022 Georgia Power Plans to Retire All Coal Units by 2035 Georgia Power plans to shutter most of its coal fleet by 2028 and completely exit coal-fired power by 2035, according to the utility’s latest integrated resource plan (IRP) filed […]

  • Coal Will Remain Prominent for Decades Despite Growing Renewable Power Capacity

    There are a lot of changes taking place in the world’s energy supplies. We seem to read announcements almost every day about coal plant retirements, and solar and wind farm installations. Yet, when you look

  • Best of POWER—January 31, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 31, 2022 Former Nuclear Leaders: Say 'No' to New Reactors The former heads of nuclear power regulation in the U.S., Germany, and France, along with the former secretary to the UK's government radiation protection committee, have issued a joint statement… Sponsored […]

  • Innovative Device Brings Fault-Testing to the Edge of the Grid, Improving Power System Reliability

    S&C Electric Co., an employee-owned company with global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, rolled out an innovative solution designed to mitigate nuisance outages for power customers located on the grid edge. The new VacuFuse II Self-Resetting Interrupter has the ability to test if a fault is temporary, and if so, it automatically restores power, eliminating the […]

  • How Power Plants Can Reduce Asset Integrity Risks with Digital Technology

    There are countless risks associated with power plant operations. For example, the risk of equipment failure is present in virtually every power plant system. In some cases, the risk is very low and could even be inconsequential. In others, it’s much higher and could be catastrophic, not only to plant operation, but also to the […]

  • Ruling Issued in GE’s Legal Dispute with Siemens Gamesa—and the Winner Is?

    The U.S. International Trade Commission concluded its investigation into a complaint filed by GE against Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) concerning the importation “of certain variable speed wind turbine generators and components thereof.” In its ruling, the commission found that SGRE violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and it issued […]

  • ESG Aspects Loom Large in Power and Utilities M&A Activity

    Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts are factoring into merger and acquisition (M&A) deal activity within the power and utilities sector across North America, according to a report issued by PwC, a professional services firm serving the “Trust Solutions and Consulting Solutions” segments. “As policies are clarified and ESG strategies are strengthened, broad investor interest […]

  • Best of POWER—January 18, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 18, 2022 Ethiopian GERD Mega-Dam Readying to Test Power Production Ethiopia is reportedly gearing up to begin testing hydropower generation at its flagship 5.2-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), despite a continued diplomatic row about its potential implications on water…   […]

  • 20 ‘Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters’ Hit U.S. in 2021

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which calls itself “the Nation’s Scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events,” reported that there were 20 “weather/climate disaster events” with losses exceeding $1 billion each that affected the U.S. in 2021. These events included one drought event, two […]

  • A Win-Win-Win Solution for DER Owners, the Power Grid, and the Environment

    New distributed energy resources (DERs) are being added to the power grid every day. However, DERs don’t automatically provide owners with the greatest value possible. In many cases, that requires the help of an aggregator, that is, a company that specializes in managing DERs owned by a pool of clients and optimizing performance of the […]

  • Evergy to Build Solar Array at Kansas City Coal Power Plant Site

    Evergy, a Kansas City, Missouri–headquartered energy provider serving about 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, announced plans on Jan. 5 to build a 10-MW solar array at the company’s Hawthorn power plant. “Our Hawthorn power plant is a prime location to showcase Kansas City’s commitment to renewable energy and our city’s forward-thinking progress,” said […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—January 5, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 5, 2022 First 1-GW Unit of Major China Coal-Fired Plant Comes Online A Chinese power company said the first of four 1,000-MW units at a new coal-fired power plant in a northwestern region of Inner Mongolia has entered operation. The Guodian […]

  • Optimism Is Warranted in the Power Industry in 2022 and Beyond

    While some sectors of the power industry are struggling to stay relevant, there are many more segments that are thriving. As new technologies are developed and perfected, there is more reason than ever for

  • New Year’s Resolutions: 10 Ways to Improve Coal Power Plant Operations

    The new year is obviously a time when many people reflect on the past and make resolutions for the future. Surveys have shown that exercising more, improving one’s diet, losing weight, and saving money are

  • Three Nuclear Plants Close in Germany, Final Three to Be Retired in 2022

    The end of the year will bring the end of power production for three of Germany’s final six operating nuclear power plants. The 1,410-MW Brokdorf unit in Schleswig-Holstein, the 1,360-MW Grohnde unit in Lower Saxony, and the 1,288-MW Gundremmingen C unit in Bavaria will all be permanently taken off the gird on Dec. 31. That […]