The mid-February blackouts in Texas have raised a lot of questions about power grid reliability. While investigations into the underlying causes of the outages could take a while to complete, and I don’t

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 29, 2021 DOE Backs Projects to Produce Hydrogen from Coal, Biomass The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the agency has awarded $2 million to four research and development (R&D) projects aimed at advancing clean-hydrogen production technologies. The DOE's awards on… […]

If you were alive and living in the U.S. during the 1970s, you probably remember waiting in long lines to fill your car with fuel. Yet, gasoline wasn’t the only item in short supply during the “Me Decade”—natural gas was seemingly running out and electricity demand was growing so much that new power plants were […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 18, 2021 DOE Backs Projects to Produce Hydrogen from Coal, Biomass The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the agency has awarded $2 million to four research and development (R&D) projects aimed at advancing clean-hydrogen production technologies. The DOE's awards on… […]

In late 2013, Mexico embarked on a path to transform its energy markets. Then-President Enrique Peña-Nieto oversaw constitutional reforms that ended state-run monopolies, and opened Mexico’s power market to competition and investment from foreign and private companies. By most accounts, the policies were highly effective in spurring investments in renewable energy and efficient natural gas-fired […]

The U.S. solar industry installed a record 19.2 GWdc of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2020, a 43% increase from 2019, according to a report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. The numbers are particularly impressive considering the world was dealing with unique challenges as a result of COVID-19. “After a […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 15, 2021 ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data on March 4 reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 11, 2021 ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as winter… Floating Energy […]

When evaluating resource adequacy requirements, many power companies and grid operators have used a methodology that originated more than 70 years ago. This probabilistic reliability approach has generally performed adequately through the years. It has generally evaluated loss-of-load events occurring at frequencies of one-day-in-10-years (1-in-10) to be acceptable in terms of system reliability. However, it’s […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 10, 2021 ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as winter… Board Votes […]

Lithium-ion has become the dominant battery technology used in energy storage applications around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only, or even the best, technology available. Many companies are working on different battery chemistries that could provide safer, longer-lasting, and ultimately more cost-effective options. One alternative that has gotten little exposure until now […]

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that the number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions decreased to 14.3 million in 2020, down 321,000 (2.2%) from 2019. That was the bad news

Hydropower makes up the majority of the world’s renewable energy capacity, but it’s not necessarily an environmentally friendly form of power. However, groups are working to improve hydropower technology

Power systems around the world are changing. Renewable energy, mainly in the form of wind and solar generation, is being added everywhere, while more traditional forms of power, such as coal-fired and nuclear generation, are being retired from the grid. Meanwhile, natural gas-fired generation has taken the lead role in facilitating the transition by providing […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 22, 2021 Texas Launches Probe of Power Companies After Blackouts The fallout from the severe weather that crippled the power grid in Texas and other states over the past week continues, as officials grapple with what went wrong and who…   […]

When most people hear the term “dirty electricity,” they probably think of power generated from sources considered more-polluting, such as coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuels. However, Satic Inc., an electronics manufacturer and professional engineering firm based in Missoula, Montana, says electricity in homes and businesses is filled with “electrical pollution” that is not […]

Company leaders around the globe are more focused than ever on sustainability. The trend has been driven not only by an innate human desire to “do the right thing,” but also because investors and environmentally conscious consumers are demanding that companies evaluate how their operations are affecting the world and make positive changes to reduce […]

Since 1990, nuclear power has consistently supplied about 19% to 20% of the electricity used in the U.S. However, very few nuclear plants have been added to the U.S. fleet over that time. Currently, the only new nuclear project in the U.S. is Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle expansion, which is expected to add two new […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 8, 2021 Siemens Will Cut 7,800 Jobs From Gas and Power Siemens Energy announced it will cut 7,800 jobs from its gas and power division by 2025 as the company attempts to be more competitive in a global energy market that… […]

The Columbia Energy Center, a two-unit 1,100-MW coal-fired station located in Columbia County, Wisconsin, south of Portage, will be permanently retired by the end of 2024.    Alliant Energy, which co-owns the facility with Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group) and Madison Gas and Electric Co., made the announcement on Feb. […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   February 3, 2021 Duke Energy Reaches $1.1B Deal to Resolve North Carolina Coal Ash Cost Issues In a milestone settlement that could resolve Duke Energy’s “last remaining major issues” on coal ash management in North Carolina, the utility has agreed to absorb […]

It was about a year ago that COVID-19 gained the world’s attention. The first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 22

Sustainability is a buzzword that’s being bantered about up and down Wall Street, and corporate leaders have taken notice. Many companies have adopted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, which are often tied to sustainability goals. In some cases, the pressure to do so has come from customers and/or investors, but in others, CEOs and […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 25, 2021 Biden Effects Regulatory Freeze, Revokes Trump Actions, Rejoins Paris Agreement President Joe Biden just hours after his inauguration effected an immediate freeze on several Trump-era deregulatory actions that directly affect the power sector, and revoked a long list of […]

The POWER Podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, iHeart, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and some other podcast apps. Follow the links below to subscribe via your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube YouTube Music Amazon Music iHeart TuneIn SoundCloud The POWER Podcast Archive (March 19, 2020 – Jan. 21, 2021) Is […]

A microgrid is a discrete energy system consisting of distributed energy resources, such as solar panels, wind turbines, backup generators, and battery storage systems, and loads capable of operating in parallel with, or independently from, the main power grid. A microgrid generally operates while connected to the grid, but importantly, it can break off and […]

The Montgomery County Power Station, a two-unit 993-MW natural gas-fired combined cycle plant, achieved commercial operation on Jan. 1, Entergy Texas Inc. and McDermott International Ltd. reported on Jan. 13. The plant—located at Entergy’s existing Lewis Creek site near Willis, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston—was reportedly brought online “well ahead of schedule,” according […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 11, 2021 Governments Look to Expand Nuclear Power Through SMRs Advancements in small modular reactor (SMR) technology are being supported by government investment within several countries, including the U.S. and the UK, as SMRs are increasingly seen as a way to […]

Enterprise asset management (EAM) involves a combination of software, systems, and services that are used to maintain and control operational assets and equipment. The aim is to optimize the quality and utilization of assets throughout their lifecycle, increase uptime, and reduce costs. EAM involves work management; asset maintenance; planning and scheduling; supply chain management; and […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 6, 2021 Eight International Power Sector Trends to Watch in 2021 and Beyond Roiled over 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, two much-watched international power market outlooks surveying short-term and long-term implications caution the road ahead will be ridden by complexity. The… […]