Aaron Larson
Articles By

Aaron Larson

  • COAL POWER Direct—October 6, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 6, 2021 Improving Power Plant Efficiency with Nanocomposite Surface Treatments It is more important than ever to find ways to use fossil fuels more sustainably. One way to do that is by improving condenser efficiency, and that can be done in […]

  • Stanton Energy Reliability Center Hybrid Supplies Power When Southern California Needs It Most

    Stanton Energy Reliability Center is a unique hybrid power station that includes two GE LM6000 gas turbines, each integrated with a battery energy storage system. The station provides reliable and stable power

  • Sustainability and Efficiency Are Key Considerations at the West Riverside Energy Center

    The West Riverside Energy Center is a two-unit combined cycle power plant located near Beloit, Wisconsin. Alliant Energy’s state-of-the-art facility has several important sustainability and efficiency

  • Getting to Net-Zero GHG Emissions Will Take More Than Closing Coal Plants

    The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, next month. The roughly two-week-long event will bring together delegates from around the world with a goal

  • Three Coal-Heavy Utilities Team Up on New Gas-Fired Power Plant

    Bismarck, North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative will join Dairyland Power Cooperative and ALLETE Inc. as co-owners of the planned Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a combined cycle natural gas power plant proposed for construction in Superior, Wisconsin. The deal between Basin Electric and ALLETE was announced on Sept. 28. Basin Electric will become a […]

  • Experimental Advanced Fuel Rods Loaded in Russian Nuclear Reactor

    The first Russian-made nuclear reactor fuel bundles with experimental ATF (Advanced Technology Fuel) rods have been loaded into Unit 2 at the Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) in southwest Russia. The reactor resumed operations earlier this month after a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage. The Rostov site is home to four VVER-1000 reactor units (Figure […]

  • Best of POWER—September 27, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 27, 2021 Ethiopia Outlines $40 Billion Plan as GERD Hydro Startup Nears Ethiopian officials have said they are moving closer to commissioning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) hydropower installation, part of 71 power projects included in a $40 billion investment […]

  • Is America Ready to Take a ‘Baby Step’ Toward Carbon Pricing?

    Most people recognize that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas (GHG), and while not everyone agrees, a majority of climate scientists believe increasing concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere are causing climate change on Earth. Carbon pricing is a market-based strategy for reducing CO2 emissions. The goal of carbon pricing schemes is to place […]

  • A Life Worth Living

    I think it’s fairly common for people to reflect on the meaning of life from time to time. Often, those thoughts arise following the death of a loved one or the passing of some particularly influential person. Recently, POWER received an obituary for Ronald Stanley Redfield. Mr. Redfield was said to have been a lifelong […]

  • ‘What’s Next’ for Siemens Energy?

    Everyone in the power industry is familiar with Siemens Energy. Its technology is behind about one-sixth of the world’s power generation, and even a larger portion than that in the U.S.—roughly a third. Yet, Siemens Energy as currently organized is a fairly new entity. The company was spun off from Siemens AG and began trading […]

  • Best of POWER—September 13, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 13, 2021 Drought-Crippled Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Hydropower Plants Operating at Substantially Decreased Capacity The iconic 2-GW Hoover Dam and 1.3-GW Glen Canyon Dam hydropower plants are operating at substantially reduced capacity, paralyzed by enduring drought conditions across the West, the […]

  • Former Prime Ministers Tout Need for Pumped Storage and More Hydropower

    Tony Blair and Malcolm Turnbull, former prime ministers of the UK and Australia, respectively, suggested pumped storage and more hydropower will be vitally important to electric grids around the world as more wind and solar are added to the power mix. Speaking on the opening day of the World Hydropower Congress, which began Sept. 7 […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—September 8, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 8, 2021 Types of Coal and Fuel Blending Tips for Coal Power Plants There are a handful of reasons why coal-fired power plant managers may want to blend fuel, but often the driving factor is economics. While the cost of the […]

  • 3D Printing: More Than Just a Cool Process, It Offers Real Benefits

    3D printing is a process used to create an object by sequentially adding build material in successive cross-sections, one stacked upon another. It is a form of additive manufacturing. Once considered more of a novelty, 3D printing has evolved into an incredibly valuable production method used to create very intricate designs, including gas turbine components […]

  • Red Rock Hydroelectric Project: Successfully Generating New Power from a Pre-Existing Dam

    There are challenges to adding power generating capability to a dam built for flood control, but the Red Rock Hydroelectric Project shows that the obstacles are not insurmountable. With the right team, success

  • Types of Power Purchase Agreements and Why Each PPA Might Be Used

    Stakeholders are increasingly pressuring corporations to become more sustainable, and often that means using renewable energy to help meet their electricity needs. Most non-power companies don’t want to take

  • Types of Coal and Fuel Blending Tips for Coal Power Plants

    There are a handful of reasons why coal-fired power plant managers may want to blend fuel, but often the driving factor is economics. While the cost of the delivered coal is an important aspect, there could be

  • Phnom Penh Power Plant: An Investment for the Future of Cambodia

    The Phnom Penh power station supports Cambodia’s decarbonization goals. The 200-MW facility’s 11 dual-fuel engines can operate on heavy fuel oil today, with a goal of using much-lower-emission natural gas

  • Optimism Abounds as Infrastructure Projects Fuel Growth

    Soon after COVID-19 first broke into the public consciousness in early 2020, panic filled the streets. I’ll be honest, I was nervous. The U.S. stock market plummeted roughly 35% over the course of about a

  • Best of POWER—August 30, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 30, 2021 California Will Add Gas-Fired Units to Increase Power Supply The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for gas-fired power units to help the state cope with continued electricity shortages. The move comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier declared… […]

  • The Benefits of Mobile Aero-derivative Gas Turbines for Power Generation

    If you’ve flown on a commercial airplane, you’ve likely sat within a hundred feet of an operating gas turbine engine. Gas turbines have been used to power aircraft since the 1940s. But gas turbines like those on airplanes are also used for generating electricity. These designs are known as aero-derivative gas turbines and occupy a […]

  • Former Westinghouse Executive Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud in Connection with V.C. Summer Nuclear Project

    Former Westinghouse Electric Co. Senior Vice President Jeffrey A. Benjamin was charged with 16 felony counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and causing a publicly traded company to keep a false record, for his part in failing to truthfully report information regarding construction of new nuclear units at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in […]

  • Is the World on the Brink of a Mass Extinction Event?

    It’s not unusual for species to go extinct; it happens all the time. In fact, scientists estimate that at least 99.9% of all species of plants and animals that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct. That’s pretty amazing, considering how many species still exist—up to 8.7 million, according to some experts. Mass extinction […]

  • Best of POWER—August 16, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 16, 2021 1.2-GW Dedicated Hydrogen-Fired Power Plant Starts Taking Shape in Texas Entergy Texas will seek approval for a 1.2-GW hydrogen and natural gas–fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power facility in Orange County, Texas. The Beaumont-based Entergy Corp. subsidiary on […]

  • POWERnews—August 12, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 12, 2021 Gas Exploration and Production Company to Buy Gas-Fired Power Plant in Texas BKV Corp., a privately held natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, said it will purchase the Temple 1 power plant in Temple, Texas. […]

  • Gas Exploration and Production Company to Buy Gas-Fired Power Plant in Texas

    BKV Corp., a privately held natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, said it will purchase the Temple 1 power plant in Temple, Texas. The deal, valued at $430 million and subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. “We’re excited about this acquisition, and […]

  • Decarbonizing the Power Grid with Hydrogen and Advanced Technology

    Many leaders around the world are focused on decarbonizing their countries’ energy supplies. For most, that means adding renewable energy resources to their electricity mix, and developing a path aimed at retiring coal and other fossil-fueled power plants. Yet, these are not the only decarbonization options. Research and development (R&D) efforts are also ongoing to […]

  • COAL POWER Direct—August 11, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 11, 2021 Group Buys Pennsylvania Coal Refuse Plants to Power Bitcoin Mining A digital mining company has an agreement to purchase a second power plant in Pennsylvania, as the group increases its coal refuse reclamation operations in the state to provide […]

  • The Solar and Wind Power Cost-Value Conundrum

    The costs for wind and solar power generating systems have decreased dramatically over the past decade. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global weighted-average levelized

  • The Future Electric Grid: How HVDC Could Transform the U.S. Power System

    The U.S. electric grid is a complex web of interconnected power lines. It functions remarkably well, considering that it is a constant work in progress. Yet, what has served adequately in the past may not be