Aaron Larson

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 24, 2021 ERCOT Program Cut Natural Gas Supply During Winter Storm A program designed to save power during periods of high electricity demand actually cut off some of Texas' natural gas supply to customers during the severe winter storm that caused… […]

As multiple advanced reactor vendors enter the licensing process to build first-of-a-kind demonstration projects, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA)—a nonprofit “think-and-do tank” that supports the nuclear power industry—has said issues with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) current user fee cost-recovery model could slow innovation. In a report released on May 19, the NIA identified how […]

As leaders around the world take steps to decarbonize energy supplies, many people have focused their attention specifically on wind and solar power. What they may fail to recognize is that nuclear power provides more electricity in the U.S. than all other carbon-free sources combined. This is true in some other countries, such as France, […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 10, 2021 TVA, Kairos Partner to Deploy Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Demonstration In a notable, dedicated effort by a major U.S. utility to boost the development of an advanced reactor technology, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Kairos Power, developer of […]

A lot of energy is consumed by buildings. In fact, the Alliance to Save Energy, a nonprofit energy efficiency advocacy group, says buildings account for about 40% of all U.S. energy consumption and a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. Some estimates suggest about 45% of the energy used in commercial buildings is consumed by […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 5, 2021 Process Control Strategies for Reducing the Minimum Load of Fossil-Fired Plants Recent Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) research aims to better understand the potential of process control enhancements, such as load control, sliding pressure control, and steam temperature control… […]

Incorporating new technology and solutions being used by others could help nuclear power plant staff improve operations and maintenance practices. Nuclear power plants face many challenges. Monitoring heat

In the decade following World War II, the U.S. government took a keen interest in helping to create a commercial nuclear power industry. Although there were military leaders and members of Congress who

Most people are aware that wireless charging technology is available today for small electronic devices, such as cell phones and watches, but when it comes to larger-scale power systems, the concept of wireless transmission of electricity probably seems like science fiction. The truth, however, is that systems have been developed and are being tested that […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 26, 2021 8 Rivers Unveils 560 MW of Allam Cycle Gas-Fired Projects for Colorado, Illinois 8 Rivers Capital, inventor of a novel supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle, plans to begin operating a 280-MW NET Power natural gas–fired plant within the Southern […]

Ocergy Inc., a company developing a couple of new offshore wind energy solutions, announced last week that Chevron Technology Ventures and Moreld Ocean Wind (MOW) were investing in its Series A round of funding. The money is expected to help the company commercialize its OCG-Wind Floating Offshore Wind Turbine technology and OCG-Data environmental monitoring buoy. […]

An innovative second-generation steel-composite modular construction system that is planned for use in GE Hitachi’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) plant could dramatically reduce the amount of labor required during nuclear island construction. Brian Johnson, vice president and BWRX-300 product director with GEH, explained various details about the company’s SMR design as part of […]

The technology used in modern hydrogen fuel cells is not new. In fact, NASA used fuel cells for its manned space missions in the 1960s. But fuel cells have not really “taken off” (pardon the pun) in earthly applications since that time. Some industry insiders believe that will change very soon. “We’ve been sort of […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 12, 2021 Power Infrastructure Prominent in Biden’s $2.25 Trillion Blueprint A major chunk of President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure is dedicated to re-energizing America’s power infrastructure. The initiatives garnered the industry’s approval—with notable…   […]

Florida is known as “The Sunshine State,” so it’s no surprise that solar energy is growing rampantly across the state. Among the utilities adding solar resources to their energy mixes is Florida Power and Light Co. (FPL). FPL claims to be the largest energy company in the U.S. as measured by retail electricity produced and […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 7, 2021 Power Infrastructure Prominent in Biden’s $2.25 Trillion Blueprint A major chunk of President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure is dedicated to re-energizing America’s power infrastructure. The initiatives garnered the industry’s approval—with notable…   […]

Scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new design for a compact fusion reactor that can generate electricity and help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power. General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D facility in San Diego, California, for the U.S. Department of Energy, says the approach is based on the […]

Although you’d be hard-pressed to find an expert who believes oil and gas companies will abandon exploration and production operations anytime soon, several oil and gas majors are expanding their businesses

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